Euston station was the capital’s first mainline station and the first to connect London with another city.
The original Euston station opened in 1837 but was completely rebuilt in conjunction with the electrification of the West Coast Mainline in the 1960s.
Like it or loathe it, the new Euston represented a new era in British railway history.
- 1807: Richard Trevithick’s pioneering demonstration of his “Catch Me Who Can” steam locomotive took place near the site of Euston Station.
- 1830: George and Robert Stephenson were appointed engineers to the London & Birmingham Railway.
- 1832：第一个在伦敦和伯明翰之间修建终点站在尤斯顿广场的铁路议案被上议院否决。
- 1833：终点站选址迁至白垩农场后，第二笔账单被接受。
- 1835：伦敦和伯明翰铁路获得授权，在原计划地点尤斯顿广场修建终点站。
- 1837: 20 July, Euston station opened along with the line as far a Boxmoor.
- 1838: May, Philip Hardwick’s ‘Doric Arch’ completed.
- 1846: Expansion work at Euston Station begins, and is completed in 1849. The London and North Western Railway company is formed, an amalgamation of the London and Birmingham, Grand Junction, Liverpool and Manchester and Manchester and Birmingham railways.
- 1847: the goods locomotive roundhouse and goods yard is developed on the site of the London & Birmingham’s planned station at Chalk Farm. The roundhouse is now the Roundhouse Theatre.
- 1849：5月，大会堂作为LNWR的新总部和车站入口开放。
- 1869: further enlargement of Euston takes place with two lodges built on Euston Road with carved stones advertising LNWR destinations.
- 1870: platforms at Euston are extended.
- 1874：多立克拱门上刻着“尤斯顿”这个名字。
- 1890年代：进一步扩建使尤斯顿的平台总数达到15个。
- 1921：雷金纳德·韦恩设计的LNWR战争纪念馆落成。后来又增加了纪念在第二次世界大战中丧生的铁路男女的牌匾。
- 1923：铁路分组意味着尤斯顿站由新组建的伦敦米德兰和苏格兰铁路承担。
- 1938：LMS公布了重建尤斯顿的计划，尤斯顿在第二次世界大战开始时被遗弃。
- 1950s: BR (London Midland Region) decided to rebuild Euston as part of the electrification of the main line. The new station is designed by British Rail’s regional architect, R. L. Moorcroft and team.
- 1961: Taylor Woodrow are awarded the contract to build the new station. Euston’s Doric Arch and Great Hall are demolished.
- 1968：新的尤斯顿车站由英国女王伊丽莎白二世开通。
- 1979：由理查德·塞弗特设计的三座新办公大楼在车站前面的广场开放。
- 2009: Euston plaza is refurbished by Network Rail.
伦敦和伯明翰铁路被授权Parliament to build their line between the two cities in May 1833. The engineers of the line, George and Robert Stephenson, had always planned their London terminus for Euston Square, but objections from landowners forced them to relocate it to Chalk Farm to get the bill passed.
With permission secured, George Stephenson stepped back from the project and his son Robert took charge as chief engineer. By 1835 he had authorisation to build his terminus at Euston Square as originally planned, and a simple train shed was built with two platforms, one for arrivals and one for departures with tracks between to store carriages.
This was shortly accompanied by a grand ‘Doric Arch’ gateway, designed by Philip Hardwick as an impressive entrance to the terminus site. Euston station opened on 20 July 1837 along with the line as far as Boxmoor. The first inter city journey from London to Birmingham was made by the directors of the Company on 17 September 1838.
Expansion and a new headquarters
到了19世纪40年代早期，尤斯顿已经变得拥挤不堪，因为从中部和东北部来的铁路都把车站作为他们进入伦敦的入口。
In 1846 the station began its first major expansion, and after the formation of the London & North Western Railway in the same year, the building work included the headquarters for the new company which also formed the entrance to the station. Known as the ‘Great Hall’, it was situated between the Doric Arch and the station platforms.
By the 1870s, passenger and parcel traffic had once more outgrown the capacity of the station; two new platforms, additional service roads and an additional entrance were created. By the 1890s, the Terminus had been enlarged once more, with four more platforms being created, bringing the total to 15; 14 for passengers and 1 for parcels.
Planned redevelopment
There was no further expansion to the station after the 1890s, although during the 1930s the London Midland & Scottish Railway had drawn up plans for its redevelopment. After the Second World War and the formation of British Railways, plans for an overhaul of the terminus were revisited.
By the 1950s, steam locomotives were being phased out, and BR’s London Midland Region took the decision to completely rebuild Euston as part of the electrification of the main line between London and the North West of England. It was decided that a bold new station was needed which reflected a new, modern railway era.
Railway modernisation
Phase one of the Euston redevelopment concentrated on the movement of passenger and parcel trains. The restrictions of the original site layout meant that the redevelopment had to make use of the land occupied by the Great Hall and the Doric Arch which were demolished in 1962.
A total of 18 platforms were built; 15 for passengers, 3 for parcels. During this phase and to allow services to reach Euston during the redevelopment, 11 platforms had to remain operational at this time while other services were diverted to Paddington, St Pancras and Marylebone.
Reconstruction also included the construction of two track bays, a parcels deck, signal box, staff buildings and workshops using a combination of building work on site and precast units. Building work started in 1962 and was completed in 1966 with the newly electrified main line.
第二阶段的重点是客运站。两层宽敞、开放的大厅提供了通往伦敦地铁服务、商店、餐厅和新的旅游中心的新通道，这是首个“一站式”概念，乘客可以在一个地方购买机票、预订卧铺和渡轮服务以及酒店住宿。
车站的设计特别将乘客的流动和道路交通分开；车辆在出租车、短时间停留和主大厅下方的多层停车场设施中流通。老火车站唯一保留的元素是尤斯顿广场的LNWR战争纪念馆、尤斯顿路的两个小屋以及卡洛·马罗切蒂（Carlo Marochetti）的罗伯特·斯蒂芬森（Robert Stephenson）雕像，后者重新竖立在火车站广场。
Like it or loathe it
Since its reopening in 1968 there has been little change to the overall design of Euston station, although in the late 1970s a bus terminal and three office blocks were added to the plaza to the front of the station. Several plans for the redevelopment of the area have been put forward in recent years; whatever its future, Euston Station remains one of Network Rail’s busiest and significant stations.
Did you know?
Euston was named after the family seat of the Dukes of Grafton, Euston Hall in Norfolk. The site of Euston station was still farmland when the terminus was proposed to be built there in 1833.