Wood Street railway station explained

Wood Street
Railcode:WST
Manager:London Overground
Fare Zone:4
Locale:Walthamstow
Borough:London Borough of Waltham Forest
Events1:Opened
Years1:17 November 1873
Platforms:2
Symbol:overground
Railexits0405: 0.418
Railexits0506: 0.339
Railexits0607: 0.654
Railexits0708: 0.653
Railexits0809: 0.641
Railexits0910: 0.590
Railexits1011: 0.675
Railexits1112: 0.750
Railexits1213: 0.786
Railexits1314: 0.862
Railexits1415: 0.972
Railexits1516: 1.140
Railexits1617: 1.317
Railexits1718: 1.410 -->
Railexits1819: 1.650
Railexits1920: 1.573
Railexits2021: 0.549
Railexits2122: 1.268
Railexits2223: 1.611
Coordinates:51.5864°N -0.0021°W
Dft Category:D

Wood Street is a railway station on the Chingford branch of the Lea Valley lines, located in Upper Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, north east London. It is 7chain7chain down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between and . It has been operated by London Overground since 2015.

It is also occasionally known as "Walthamstow Wood Street". The station is in Travelcard Zone 4. The station is close to Whipps Cross University Hospital.

History

The station was opened in 1873 by the Great Eastern Railway.[1]

On 13 February 1919 there was an accident at Wood Street when a passenger train ran into an empty stock train. Five people were injured – none seriously. The cause was a signal failure.[2]

In 1923 the Great Eastern Railway became part of the London and North Eastern Railway, which in turn was merged into British Railways Eastern Region following nationalisation in 1948.

When construction of the London Underground's Victoria line was given parliamentary approval in 1955, the plan was to build the line past Walthamstow Central station to Wood Street, where the line would surface to terminate next to the British Railways station, on land previously used as a coal depot. Before construction work started, a decision was made in 1961 to omit the section beyond Walthamstow Central.[3] [4]

The line was electrified in 1960, and electric services commenced on 12 November. At first Class 305 EMUs were used, but initial technical problems led to their replacement by Class 302 and Class 304 EMUs.[5]

The station had a goods depot, which closed on 6 May 1968.[6]

In April 1994 Railtrack took over responsibility for the operation of the infrastructure. Train services have been operated since then by West Anglia Great Northern, National Express East Anglia, Abellio Greater Anglia and,, by London Overground.

Engine shed

There was an engine shed located just north of Wood Street which was a sub-shed of Stratford TMD and was built in 1878.[7] The engine shed was a two road affair with space for 6 tank locomotives – there was also a short siding for coal wagons. An additional siding was added c1934.[8] By the 1950s the staff complement was 36 drivers, 36 Firemen and six Passed Cleaners although recruitment for what was a hard dirty job became more difficult during that decade.[9]

On 1 January 1922 the allocation consisted of three GER Class M15 2-4-2Ts (later LNER Class F4), two GER Class C72 (later LNER Class J68) and eleven GER Class S56 (later LNER class J69) 0-6-0T engines.[10]

In later years the main allocation of the shed was tank engines for working suburban services to and from London Liverpool Street and from the 1920s the allocation was exclusively the LNE N7 0-6-2T locomotives.

The shed was closed in 1960 when the line was electrified.

Services

Trains are operated by London Overground.

The typical off-peak weekday service pattern is:

Journey times are 9 minutes to Chingford and 20 minutes to Liverpool Street.

Connections

London Buses routes 230 and W16 serve the station.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Allen, Cecil J. The Great Eastern Railway. 1955. Ian Allan. Shepperton. 234–239.
  2. Voisey. Francis. Great Eastern Railway Society Journal. January 2005. 121. 121.18–121.19.
  3. January 1962 . Victoria Line Change . London Transport Magazine . 15 . 10 . 5 . Plans for the alignment in the Walthamstow area of the proposed Victoria tube railway line are being changed so that it ends at Hoe Street station, and not at Wood Street station as originally intended. This is because alterations to the layout of the British Railways track and overhead electrical equipment at Wood Street would too costly. Satisfactory interchange with the Eastern Region electric service to Highams Park and Chingford will be provided at Hoe Street. [...] The revision of plans will cut the capital cost of the Victoria line by about €1,400,000..
  4. Book: Horne, Mike . 2005 . The Victoria Line: An Illustrated History . Capital Transport . 26 . 1-85414-292-5.
  5. Baker. John. Great Eastern section Electrification part 6. Great Eastern Journal. July 1993. 75. 29.
  6. Book: Jackson, Alan A. London's Local Railways. 1999 . (2nd run). Capital Transport. Harrow Weald. 1-85414-209-7. 379.
  7. Hardy. Richard. Wood Street Loco – W J Barker Shed Chargeman. Great Eastern Railway Journal. April 2005. 122. 122.2–122.6.
  8. Book: Hawkins, Chris. Great Eastern Railway Engine Sheds Part 1. 1986. Wild Swan. Didcot. 0-906867-40-1. 62–68.
  9. Goodey. Peter. Great Eastern Railway Society Journal. October 2004. 104. 20.
  10. Book: Hawkins. Chris. Reeves. George. Great Eastern Railway Engine Shed Part 2. 1987. Wild Swan. Didcot UK. 0-906867-48-7. 379.