Wembley Central
The the ‘new lines’ opened to Wembley Central (17.92 km) here in 1912 and the Bakerloo began service in 1917. Originally known as ‘Sudbury’ the station here first opened by the London and Birmingham Railway on the same day as Harrow and Wealdstone in July 1837. It gained its current name in 1948.
On the platform
Today, the Underground and Overground trains serve platforms 1 and 2. The station was extensively rebuilt in the mid-1960s when a concreted raft was installed above the platforms and then buildings constructed above them.
It is the first station out of Euston to have platforms serving both the fast lines (3&4) and the slow lines (5&6) of the WCML, although the only services to regularly stop here are the hourly Watford Junction to East Croydon trains operated by Southern.
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North Wembley
North Wembley (19.19 km) opened in June 1912 and first received electric Bakerloo line trains in April 1917.
On the platform
In a typical arrangement for most of the line, the two platforms are situated to the west of the four tracks of the WCML. Electrified at 750 DC using third and fourth rails (underground system) the ‘new lines’ were often referred to as the ‘Watford DC lines’, particularly after the main WCML tracks were electrified using 25kV AC overhead in the 1960s.
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Nothing within walking distance, but there is a Tesco Express housed in an impressive former pub building (previously known as the Hop Bine amongst other names) just opposite the station.
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South Kenton
Although opened as long ago as July 1933, South Kenton (20.09 km) is the ‘newest’ station that Bakerloo trains now call at. It was built more than twenty years after the ‘new lines’ opened to serve new housing developments.
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On the platform
Its single island platform is linked by a pedestrian tunnel to both sides of the railway. The main building on the platform has been constructed in streamlined modern style, typical of the 1930s.
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Kenton
Kenton (21.49km) was opened in June 1912 as part of the ‘new lines’ project. The station here is very similar in design to North Wembley. Electrification and the Bakerloo reached here in April 1917.
On the platform
Kenton now enjoys the same eight trains an hour service as Harrow and Wealdstone, which is also shared by the next three stations to the south.
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Harrow & Wealdstone
The Bakerloo Line arrived at Harrow & Wealdstone (23.3km from Elephant and Castle) here in April 1917 after the ‘new lines’ from Willesden had been electrified. The station first opened back in July 1837 on the London and Birmingham Railway, now the West Coast Main Line (WCML) situated about eleven miles out of the Euston terminus.
The Bakerloo trains originally extended all the way up the ‘new lines’ to Watford Junction, but since 1984 they have terminated here at Harrow and Wealdstone. Although for a brief period between 1982 and 1984 they were actually cut back to Stonebridge Park, further south.
On the platform
The Bakerloo Line trains start and terminate on platform 1 and 2 at the western side of the station. These were actually the original fast line platforms, but everything was moved to the east when the so-called ‘new lines’ were opened from Willesden Junction to here in 1912.
Originally double track, the WCML was quadrupled in the 1870s, with the four lines arranged in pairs according to speed. The north and southbound fast lines pass through platforms 3 and 4, in the centre of the station, and the slow lines serve platforms 5 and 6 on the eastern side.
Trains using the fast lines are not normally scheduled to stop at Harrow, but there is a service of four LNWR-operated trains an hour serving the slow lines. Southbound they provide a non-stop service to Euston, and northbound they extend to Tring or Milton Keynes. Southern also provide an hourly service linking Watford Junction with East Croydon.
Today, the ‘new lines’ service is part of the London Overground and since 2024 has been known as the ‘Lioness Line’. There are currently four trains per hour heading between Euston and Watford Junction. These combine with the Bakerloo trains to and from Elephant and Castle to provide Harrow and Wealdstone eight trains an hour from platforms 1 and 2.
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