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Old maps

Just come across this website http://www.npemap.org.uk/ 1940s OS maps searchable by postcodeA shocking waste of time. Interesting to see so many railways dotted about - never knew there was one heading north from Brentford in those days.

David Eales ● 6732d16 Comments

"Interesting to see so many railways dotted about - never knew there was one heading north from Brentford in those days."That branch ran from Brentford Dock to Southall, and was the last railway line that Brunel engineered.  Passenger trains had in fact ceased in 1942.  Although the section from the Thames to the Great West Road has been demolished, the rest of the line is still in use for freight, including a train every night (a "Binliner" in railway jargon) carrying waste from West London to a landfill and composting site in Oxfordshire.

Richard Jennings ● 6732d

David... I think you'll find it's impossible to waste time looking at maps,nobody can have too many! :0) I'm not sure if you've seen it,but Brunels "Three Bridges" at Windmill Lane near the Iron Bridge is worth a look,a road over a canal over a railway..brilliant engineering.Also that stretch of railway had a mobile anti aircraft gun whizzing up and down it during WW2.Nice to know it's still in use,even for a "Binliner" service.

Tony Wood ● 6732d

Good link! Richard, do you know offhand who the shipper of the waste is? - guess its Hounslow or perhaps Ealing has a share, a lot now depending on the landfill quotas.Tony, did you see the mobile anti-aircraft gun must have been rivetting for a youngster (or your dad)? There was also a Trumpers Halt further up with passenger services.The Three Bridges puzzled me for far longer than it should! I realised its really two and that the misnomer is from the three modes of transport. The real local name is Windmill Bridge, which I`ve recently tested on a Norwood resident, as I imagine the first bridge near the windmill site was over the canal for fifty years,thus establishing its name, before Brunel pushed the GWR down to Brentford (presume Brentford Docks).

Robert Darke ● 6732d

Try:                www.old-maps.co.ukTHe site has OS maps of the whole country from the 1860s to the 1930s for Ealing at least. I found exactly that "Carry on Constable location on the 1934 map at resolution 1: 10 580The map pictures aren't meant to be downloadable but...

Alan Brainsby ● 6732d

"Richard, do you know offhand who the shipper of the waste is? - guess its Hounslow or perhaps Ealing has a share, a lot now depending on the landfill quotas."The waste is shipped by "West Waste", the West London Waste Authority, which was established in 1986 to undertake waste disposal for six boroughs:  Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmon-upon-Thames.  They have three waste transfer stations, at Brentford, South Ruislip and Stonebridge Park.  I guess the Brentford one takes waste from Hounslow and Richmond, and perhaps Ealing.

Richard Jennings ● 6732d

Hi Robert  No I'm glad to say I'm not quite old enough to remember the war,but I do have a photograph of it somewhere in Ealing,next time I'm down I'll get you a copy if you like?  I think it was there specifically to protect local industries..AEC...Firestones and the docks etc.

Tony Wood ● 6731d

Some factoidry from the Department of Interesting if Increasingly Useless Information and Showing Off:-The passenger halt was actually Trumpers Crossing halt, located some distance south of Trumpers lane which did not then cross the canal.Brentford (GWR) passenger station was nect to Brentford High Street, the line continuing as freight-onlky to Brentford dock.The branch was originally double track, one being broad (7ft) gauge, the other standard (4ft 8.5in).The Three/Two Bridges setup was a typical piece of IK Brunel showing off  -  it was quite unnecessary for the railway to cross the canal at that point, but Brunel contrived to make it so purely in order to show off his supposed skill, at his luckless clients' expense  - NOT an example of good engineering practice.There was a similar bridge-over-bridge at Stairfoot near Barnsley - in that case railway over railway over road  -  but that one, being Northern and unassociated with Marc Brunel's much-hyped son, was not preserved and has disappeared without trace.

Chris Veasey ● 6730d

"Some factoidry from the Department of Interesting if Increasingly Useless Information and Showing Off"And this from the Department of Showing Off by Correcting Other Departments' Inaccuracies ......."The passenger halt was actually Trumpers Crossing halt"When opened in 1904, it was actually "Trumper's Crossing (for Osterley Park) Halte" [sic], and named after Mr Trumper, the owner of the nearby Warren Farm.  By 1921, in a desperate bid to attract passenger traffic, the name had changed to "Trumper's Crossing for South Hanwell and Osterley Park".  It closed in 1926. "The branch was originally double track, one being broad (7ft) gauge, the other standard (4ft 8.5in)."The branch was originally built wide enough for double track broad gauge, but opened in 1859 with only a single broad gauge track.  A second track of mixed gauge was added in 1861.  Both tracks were converted to standard gauge in 1875.

Richard Jennings ● 6730d

Wonder if Brunel in topper met Mr.Trumper! Most will know Trumpers Way running up to the Boston Road.Chris, Windmill Bridge or spurious Three Bridges does seem to have a deep cutting and thousands of bricks, probably from local brickfields. What would your preferred economical route have been bearing in mind the asylum was well established in the 1830`s?

Robert Darke ● 6730d

Over the canal and road separately, on a slightly different route in this locality which (asylum notwithstanding) was then even more greenfield than now; not burrowing under the canal at the pre-existing road bridge point.

Chris Veasey ● 6730d

The problem that Brunel faced was that Osterley Park was in the way, and presumably its owner the 6th Earl of Jersey refused to allow the railway across his land*.  At that time I think it stretched almost to Windmill Bridge, so there wasn't much room between the park and the asylum.  Taking the railway UNDER the canal made for a fairly even gradient up from the Thames to Southall, and was probably the best solution in engineering terms.* After the 9th Earl gave Osterley Park to the National Trust in the 1940s, there was no such difficulty in routing the M4 across the middle of the park.

Richard Jennings ● 6730d

If you are interested in historic local maps, Ealing Libraries are hosting a series of talks on the Alan Godfrey maps, reprints of local maps from 1934 and 1935. The first talk is on South Acton and Gunnersbury and is on Tuesday 13 May at Acton Library, 6.30pm, and costs £2 (to book a place call 020 8752 0999)

J Brown ● 6727d

Remember observing the Binliner trucks being loaded from the industrial estate leading off the Great West Road, and hearing the odd explosion from what I imagined were television tubes being dropped or compressed and have seen by chance one of the waste trains making its way through the cutting. Its good that the line is still useful when you think of the workmens efforts in construction and the original investment over such a long time may now look good value when you compare to many post-war developments already being replaced.

Robert Darke ● 6726d

Nothing like as useful as could be if a passenger light rail line was routed along that corridor as part of a properly planned local network  -  now that ('Brent Valley Tramlink'?) would be a good light rail/ tramway, OFF the road, catering for many journeys currently not practicable or worthwhile other than by car or for those with an infinity of time, patience and stamina at their disposal.

Chris Veasey ● 6726d

Its a shame the GWR line doesn`t run through one or two built up areas which is probably the reason for its early demise to passenger traffic. It would be a wonderful stretch for the G.W.R. Preservation Group to operate on should the waste terminal eventually close.Also recently read that Windmill Lane (named by 1754) between Brentford (presume from Syon Lane) right up to the centre of Greenford was formerly Watermill Lane! The top end is still in place from the Greenford Road and Greenford Cemetery has the Windmill Lane address.                                                www.gwrpg.co.ukwww.gwrpg.co.uk

Robert Darke ● 6498d

"It would be a wonderful stretch for the G.W.R. Preservation Group to operate on should the waste terminal eventually close."They have run on the branch before (the photo below shows a diesel unit they hired for the occasion), but my impression is that they don't now have adequate skills, manpower or rolling stock to put together a proposal that Network Rail would accept.  Otherwise I'm sure they could run some shuttle trips at weekends, say Southall platform '0' to Trumpers Way and back (return ticket compulsory as there's no platform at Trumper's Halt any more!).

Richard Jennings ● 6497d