Royal Oak tube station

History

The station

When the Great Western Railway (GWR) main line was first opened in June 1838, the first stop out of Paddington was at , 13 mi from . Intermediate stations were opened over the years, and the first stop became progressively closer to Paddington: a station at (5 mi from Paddington) was opened in December 1838, and one at (4 mi from Paddington) in 1868. 1 mi out, although one opened at Westbourne Park (1 mi out) in 1866.

An agreement between the GWR and the Metropolitan Railway (who had co-owned the Hammersmith & City with the GWR since 1867) came into force on 1 July 1868, although it did not become legal until the following year. Under the agreement, various improvements were to be made; these included the provision of a station at Royal Oak, and the reconstruction of Westbourne Park. On 30 October 1871 the station at Royal Oak opened, 53 chain out; As originally built, it had three platform faces; one for down trains and two, each side of an island, for up trains.

During the quadrupling of the Great Western Main Line (GWML) in 1878, a dive-under, known as Subway Tunnel, was constructed between Royal Oak and Westbourne Park. This was for Hammersmith & City services, allowing them to cross the main line without interfering with the flow of traffic; it was brought into use on 12 May 1878.

Trains along the GWML ceased to call at Royal Oak from 1 October 1934, but the Hammersmith & City service remained. Ownership of the station was not transferred to London Transport until 1 January 1970. The first GWML stop out of Paddington is now .

Ranelagh Bridge depot

There had been a locomotive depot at Westbourne Park since 1855, which was replaced by the Old Oak Common depot in 1906. To avoid the need for locomotives to make the 6 mi round trip from Paddington just to be turned, coaled and watered, a small maintenance facility for locomotives was constructed on the southern side of the line, directly opposite Royal Oak station, which occupied part of the site of Westbourne Lodge and its grounds. It was known as Ranelagh Bridge depot, and opened in 1907. There was a turntable, a water tower, a coaling stage and sidings where about 15 locomotives could be held awaiting their next trip west. The turntable was removed in April 1964, and the depot facilities were altered to suit Diesel locomotives; the depot closed in 1980.

Coach station proposal

At the end of 2018 residents became aware that Royal Oak was under consideration as a possible location for a new coach station to replace Victoria Coach Station, to be built on land north of the station (previously used for soil handling machinery used in construction of the nearby Crossrail tunnels). This was strongly opposed by Westminster's main political parties, given the limited capacity of Royal Oak tube station and other local transport links, and the predominantly residential nature of the area. No firm details were published by Transport for London, but opponents of the scheme claimed that Royal Oak was the preferred site, that the scheme would occupy a 10,000 sq m site stretching from Lord's Hill Bridge (Royal Oak) to Westbourne Terrace, that a road bridge crossing the area would be closed and removed, and (in letters sent to local residents) that the tube station would have to be closed for an extended period while construction was in progress, since the coach station proposal included step-free access to the platform. On 13 March 2019 the Mayor of London informed local groups that use of the site had been considered but it was not a viable site for this purpose and TfL would not take their plans forward. The Mayor has subsequently told the London Assembly that the area of land may instead be used for other purposes such as sustainable housing and improvements to accessibility at the station.

In popular culture

• Lord Hills Bridge is mentioned in the song "Nature Springs" on the album The Good, the Bad & the Queen.

Connections

The station is served by London Buses day and night routes.

Gallery

File:Royaloaktube.jpg|Platform of the Royal Oak tube station looking westbound File:Royal Oak Tube Platform.jpg|Platform eastbound towards Paddington main line station. Note the six numbered approach lines File:RoyalOakPortal1.jpg|Construction equipment for the Royal Oak Crossrail Portal, looking East along the eastbound platform, 2010 File:RoyalOakPortal2.JPG|Construction equipment for the Royal Oak Crossrail Portal, looking West under Lord Hill's bridge from the eastbound platform, 2010 File:Crossrail Tunnel Royal Oak Portal Construction.jpg|Construction of the Crossrail Portal at Royal Oak, seen from a footbridge to the west of Royal Oak Station, July 2011 File:12-02-portal1.jpg|A later view from the same position, February 2012 File:12-02-portal2.jpg|Construction equipment west of the footbridge, February 2012. File:Ada-panorama-2.jpg|The second Tunnel Boring Machine "Ada" en route to the Royal Oak Portal, June 2012 File:Crossrail conveyer system.JPG|Conveyor belt system for soil from tunnels, from station platform, August 2012 File:Belt2.JPG|Conveyor belt system for soil from tunnels, from Lord Hill's Bridge, September 2012 File:Royaloak01.JPG|The station platform from Lord Hill's Bridge, April 2013 File:Royaloaktunnels 01.JPG|The Crossrail portal after completion of tunnelling, September 2014

References

1. {{harvnb. Baker. 2007
2. "Fit for the Future: Future Stations".
3. {{harvnb. Butt. 1995
4. {{harvnb. Harris. 2006
5. [http://www.tflcorporatearchivescatalogue.co.uk/CalmViewA/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=LT000726%2f045&pos=7 TFL Corporate Archives ref. LT000726/045]
6. {{harvnb. MacDermot. 1927
7. {{harvnb. Peacock. 1970
8. {{harvnb. Peacock. 1970
9. {{harvnb. MacDermot. 1927
10. {{harvnb. Peacock. 1970
11. In the meantime, the [[Hammersmith & City line. Hammersmith and City Railway]] had opened from Green Lane Junction (near the present [[Westbourne Park tube station. Westbourne Park]]) to {{stl. London Underground. Hammersmith. Hammersmith & City on 13 June 1864, with the first stop on that route originally at {{stl. London Underground. Ladbroke Grove,{{harvnb. MacDermot. 1931
12. {{harvnb. Peacock. 1970
13. {{harvnb. Peacock. 1970
14. {{harvnb. Mitchell. Smith. 2000
15. {{harvnb. Croome. 2003
16. {{harvnb. MacDermot. 1931
17. {{harvnb. Peacock. 1970
18. Mitchell. Smith. 2000
19. Mitchell. Smith. 2002
20. It was served by both main line and Hammersmith & City trains, and, for over sixty years, this was the first stop out of Paddington for main line trains; it remains the first stop for Hammersmith & City services. The station was hit during the 1940-41 blitz, with track, the platform and a nearby main-line train taking bomb damage.[https://www.steampicturelibrary.com/railway-war/second-world-war/bomb-damage-royal-oak-near-paddington-c1940-19929775.html Bomb Damage Royal Oak Near Paddington c.1940] at the Steam Museum of the Great West Railway.
21. Peacock. 1970
22. {{harvnb. Mitchell. Smith. 2000
23. {{harvnb. Peacock. 1970
24. {{harvnb. Mitchell. Smith. 2000
25. {{harvnb. Lyons. 1974
26. {{harvnb. Mitchell. Smith. 2000
27. {{harvnb. Mitchell. Smith. 2000
28. {{harvnb. Mitchell. Smith. 2000
29. "Save Bayswater Village - Stop the Royal Oak Coach Station".
30. "Westminster Labour calls for Royal Oak Coach Station option to be taken off the table in favour of Heathrow and East London alternatives". Westminster Labour.
31. (31 January 2019). "Campaigners battle transport chiefs over £350m plan to move Victoria Coach Station".
32. (15 February 2019). "Proposed Coach Station and skyscraper will adversely affect local people in Little Venice". Westminster Conservatives.
33. "Letter from the Mayor of London". Westminster Labour Party.
34. "Update on TfL Royal Oak proposal". London Assembly.
35. [https://lyricsjonk.com/good-the-bad-the-queen-the-nature-springs.html Nature Springs lyrics] on Lyricsjonk.com