The Tottenham & Forest Gate Railway was a railway line in north London, formed by an act of Parliament of 1890 and built as joint venture between the Midland Railway and the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. It officially opened on 1 July 1894 with passenger serviced commencing 8 days later and was taken over entirely by the Midland Railway in 1912.[1]
| Short Title: | Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway Act 1890 |
| Type: | Act |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to authorise the construction of Railways between Tottenham and Forest Gate and for other purposes. |
| Year: | 1890 |
| Citation: | 53 & 54 Vict. c. clviii |
| Royal Assent: | 4 August 1890 |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/53-54/158/pdfs/ukla_18900158_en.pdf |
| Collapsed: | yes |
The line was authorised at the request of Sir Courtenay Warner, a property developer who owned land in Walthamstow, in order to serve the new developments there. Much of the route crossed many existing roads, and the area had already been extensively built on, so the line was built on top of a long brick viaduct. Many houses were demolished to make way and there was considerable local opposition to the railway.
The line opened to passengerson 9 July 1894 between South Tottenham and Woodgrange Park where it joined the existing LTSR line to Barking and beyond. On the same date[2] a curve was opened allowing East Ham to be served as an alternative to Barking. Trains did not terminate at South Tottenham but continued westwards to various destinations via the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway, much as the Gospel Oak to Barking line does today.
The line had the following stations (listed from west to east using the original station names):
The line now forms part of the Gospel Oak to Barking line, part of the London Overground.