Tube geek (3)The oldest tube station
What's London's oldest tube station?
I'd like to argue that it's older than you'd expect it to be.
I think it's this one.
The world's first underground railway started between Paddington and Farringdon on 10th January 1863, so you'd expect the oldest station to be one of those. Everything that's opened since must be younger, right? But as the Underground network expanded several stations which used to be railway stations were incorporated into the tube network, and some of these were opened before 1863.
1858:Bromley-by-Bow, Plaistow, East Ham
These three stations joined the District line in 1902, but were previously part of the London, Tilbury and Southend railway. They have some lovelyironwork on the platforms which predates the Underground.
1856:Leyton, Leytonstone, Snaresbrook, South Woodford, Woodford, Buckhurst Hill, Loughton
These seven stations joined the Central line in the late 1940s but were originally on a branch of the Eastern Counties Railway. Loughton station has since relocated so needs to be crossed off my list, but the tube still stops at the other six pre-Underground stations.
1854:Barking
This is pushing the definition somewhat because Barking isn't a proper tube station, it's still managed by Network Rail. Also the original 1850s station has been rebuilt twice (in 1908 and 1959) so I doubt that anything pre-tube-era survives.
1847:Canning Town
I don't think this counts. The station was originally located on the other side of Barking Road, shifting to its current site in 1888. That railway is now used by the DLR and not the tube because when the Jubilee line extension arrived in 1999 they added a whole new stack of platforms alongside. No, and no.
1844:Kensington (Olympia)
Another borderline case. The earliest station (plain Kensington) only stayed open for six months, with the current version reopening in 1862. More crucially it's the Overground that now uses the original platforms, with the District line spur a later parallel extra.
1842:Wembley Central
There's nothing original about the current grim cavern under Wembley Central Square. Also Bakerloo line trains only use the 'New Lines' added alongside the West Coast mainline in 1917. But there's been a station here for 180 years, whereas the tube has yet to turn 160.
1839:Stratford
The Stratford we know today - a massive tangled interchange - has evolved over many years and no longer in any way resembles the original station. The Central line first threaded through over a century later in 1946, but arguably that's good enough to make Stratford the third oldest Underground station.
1838:Ealing Broadway
It's not on Wikipedia's list but the Great Western Railway opened a station here in 1838, right alongside where District and Central line trains terminate today. Ealing Broadway is arguably the second oldest Underground station.
1837:Harrow & Wealdstone
Here's our winner, and it's from the earliest days of the railway age. Harrow was the first stop out of Euston on the London and Birmingham Railway, although in 1837 the line had barely reached Hemel Hempstead. The Bakerloo line again uses the 'New Lines' added in 1917, but immediately adjacent to the spot where passengers first waited two months into Queen Victoria's reign. The oldest station on the Underground network is Harrow and Wealdstone, and it predates the Underground by 26 years.
Tube geek (3) The oldest tube station
