Selected article
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The
Wimbledon and Sutton Railway (W&SR) was a railway company established by an
Act of Parliament in 1910 to build a railway line in
Surrey (now south-west
London) from
Wimbledon to
Sutton via
Merton and
Morden in the
United Kingdom. The railway was promoted by local landowners hoping to increase the value of their land through its development for housing. It was initially planned that services on the railway would be operated by the
London Underground's
Metropolitan District Railway (MDR) by an extension of its existing service from Wimbledon.
Delays in finding the funding, opposition from the two mainline companies that the line was intended to connect, and World War I, led to the start of construction work being delayed until 1927. The line was completed and opened in January 1930, although the planned extension of the MDR was not implemented and the service was provided by the
Southern Railway. The opening of the line stimulated residential development as planned, but competition from the London Underground's
City and South London Railway, which had its terminus at Morden, meant that the line did not achieve the hoped for passenger numbers. (
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Selected biography
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Charles Henry Holden (12 May 1875–1 May 1960) was an English architect best known for his designs of some of the 1920s and 1930s stations on the
London Underground, but who was already a distinguished architect before then, notably for his
Imperial War Graves Commission cemeteries in Belgium and northern France.
Among his early architectural works at the beginning of the 20th century were
Bristol Central Library and
British Medical Association building in
Strand. From the 1920s to the 1940s Holden was architect for numerous projects for the
Underground Electric Railways Company of London and later
London Transport. The earliest of Holden's commissions included stations on the southward extension of the
Northern line to
Morden in 1925-6 and a
new company headquarters in 1927-9. The 1930-3
Piccadilly line extensions gave Holden the chance to develop a new type of station. Aiming for a striking and inviting modern appearance, he produced a set of designs based on simple, geometric forms built of brick and concrete. A number of these stations are
listed buildings.
Many of Holden's later designs for Underground stations went unrealised or were scaled back because of
World War II with only
East Finchley representative of a series of stations planned for the cancelled extension of the
Northern line to
Bushey Heath and with stations on the
Central line's extension into east London being scaled back by post-war austerity. Modestly believing that architecture was a joint effort, Holden twice declined the offer of a
Knighthood. (
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Selected pictures
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Image 2
Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the
River Thames in west London.
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Image 3
Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the
River Thames between
Chelsea and
Battersea.
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Image 4Archer statue by
Eric Aumonier at
East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 5Helicopter landing at
London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the
River Thames in
Battersea.
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Image 7Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former
Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
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Image 9A
tram of the
London United Tramways at Boston Road,
Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 10London Underground
Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the
traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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Image 11London Underground
A60 Stock (left) and
1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the
Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
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Image 12Planes waiting at
Heathrow Airport's
Terminal 4.
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Image 13Original stations on the
Metropolitan Railway from
The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 14The newly constructed junction of the
Westway (
A40) and the
West Cross Route (
A3220) at
White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
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Image 15View of
Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by
Claude de Jongh.
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Image 16Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir
Jacob Epstein on the
London Underground's headquarters at
55 Broadway.
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Image 18The multi-level junction between the
M23 and
M25 motorways near
Merstham in
Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
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Image 19Southern approach to the
Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the
River Thames in east London between
Rotherhithe and
Limehouse.
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Image 20
Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 21
Hornsey Lane Bridge,
Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 22
Qantas
Boeing 747-400 about to land at
Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue,
Hounslow.
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Image 23The western departures concourse of
King's Cross railway station.
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Image 24
Vauxhall Bridge across the
River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by
F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 25
London General Omnibus Company
B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by
AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during
World War I, this vehicle was operated on the
Western Front.
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Image 27
Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the
Northern line.
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Image 29"Boris Bikes" from the
Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 30Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the
London Eye.
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Image 32The south façade of
King's Cross railway station London terminus of the
East Coast Main Line.
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Image 33The
New Routemaster built by
Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the
Routemaster.
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Image 35Early style tube roundel in mosaic at
Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 37The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the
Inner Circle,
Middle Circle,
Outer Circle and
Super Outer Circle.
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Image 38Preserved
AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport
Green Line livery.
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Image 39
Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 40Sailing ships at
West India Docks on the
Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the
Canary Wharf development.
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Image 41
TX4 London Taxi at
Heathrow Airport.
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Image 42The original
Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 43Escalators at
Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the
station box to reach the deep-level
Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 47
55 Broadway, headquarters of the
UERL and its successors, is a Grade I
listed building in Westminster designed by
Charles Holden.
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Image 48Tram 2548 calls at
Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the
Tramlink network centred on
Croydon in south London.
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Image 49
Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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