Staines West railway station

Staines West
Station in 1962.
Location
Place	Staines-upon-Thames
Area	Borough of Spelthorne
Grid reference	TQ033718
Operations
Original company	Staines & West Drayton Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1
History
2 November 1885	Opened as Staines
26 September 1949	Renamed Staines West
29 March 1965	Closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

Staines West railway station was one of two stations in the town of Staines-upon-Thames, 19 miles (31 km) from central London. The station was opened on 2 November 1885 as a rival and synonymously named Staines [Railway] Station as the southern terminus of the Staines & West Drayton Railway — the London and South Western Railway refused to have a connection from the Great Western Railway (GWR) to its two territory-encroaching lines passing through the town, to Windsor and Reading, Berkshire from London, having invested in its own railway bridges across the River Thames (Datchet and Staines) and viewing the GWR as a competitor in Windsor and Reading already.

The station was alongside Pound Mill in Moor Lane, was converted from the conveniently sited house of a mill owner and featured a goods yard. It was renamed Staines West on 26 September 1949. In 1964 there were 14 trains on weekdays. The station closed on 29 March 1965 when passenger services along the branch ceased.^[1][2][3]

After closure to passengers the goods yard was demolished and a rail accessed-oil storage depot built in its place. When the line north of the station was severed by the building of the M25 motorway in 1981, a new connection to the Windsor line was laid to serve the oil depot but ten years later it closed.^[4] The station building survives and has been converted to offices. The platform has been removed in favour of car parking, where a very short section of track is preserved.

The Heathrow Airtrack scheme for a rail connection from Heathrow Airport to lines from Waterloo would approximate part of the Staines West route.

Staines to Windsor Line
Legend
Windsor & Eton Riverside Black Potts Bridge over River Thames Black Potts Viaduct over Jubilee River Mays Level Crossing Datchet Level Crossing Datchet Sunnymeads Wraysbury Staines and West Drayton Railway World War II Link (1940–1947) Reversing point for oil trains Oil Terminal Link (1981–1991) Oil Terminal Staines West(1885–1965) Staines High Street(1884–1916) Waterloo to Reading Line to Reading Staines Waterloo to Reading Line to London Waterloo

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 218. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
2. Staines West - West Drayton
3. Disused Stations: Staines West Station
4. Airtrack Home Page for the disbanded Airtrack Gatwick-Heathrow and mid-Surrey-Heathrow direct railway.

Further reading

• Leigh, Chris (1981). GWR Country Stations. Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1108-7.

External links

• Staines West Station on navigable O.S. map

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Terminus		Staines & West Drayton Railway Staines West branch		Yeoveney Halt

Coordinates: 51°26′10″N 0°30′55″W / 51.4362°N 0.5153°W