Waqs there ever a rail line that went round the old Wembly stadium?

Question

And is it still there now? Also where did it come from and go to.

Answer 1

The Metropolitan Line ran on one side of it with a station called Wembley Park, and the Great Central (out of Marylebone) went the other side and served a station called (not surprisingly!) Wembley Stadium (and which is now called Wembley Complex). The old LMS line through Wembley Central was nowhere near the stadium. With the exception of a miniature railway which someone MAY have built round the stadium - and I can find no information to say that there ever was such a thing - nothing actually went ROUND it  officially  ! ! !

Answer 2

The first answer is incorrect. There was, indeed, a single line which left the Marylebone - High Wycombe line south of the stadium at Neasden South, swinging round it to a special station called Wembley Stadium, coming back to the main line. It was last used in 1968 but remained derelict for several years afterwards.  I'm looking at a photograph of it now. If you want to send me an email, I can send you a copy of the three pictures I have. The station was built in the style of the pavilions which were built for the 1924 British Empire Exhibition held on the Stadium site. The first6 answer refers to a narrow gauge railway. This was a feature of that exhibition called the 'never-stop railway'. Incidentally, what is now known as Wembley Complex and prior to that as Wembley Stadium was previously known as Wembley Hill

Later. The next answer is completely wrong again. and shows a lack of knowledge. The line which served the Empire Exhibition and Stadium  via the single loop line left the Neasden South Junction - Northolt Junction line at the first junction looped round the stadium behind the Neasden carriage sidings (do you remember those?) and  came back on itself - trains could only travel out and back to Marylebone. The original Wembley Stadium Station WAS NOT the station currently served by Chiltern Trains, originally called Wembley Hill, then Wembley Stadium and now Wembley Complex. Here are notes compiled by Ralph Rawlinson on the line  and posted in the Yahoo group, Britains Lost Railways:-

LNER WEMBLEY LOOP LINE (single line 1 mile 200 yds)

Opened 28.4.1923

Closed 1.9.1969

Stations Exhibition Station (Wembley) r/n Wembley Exhibition r/n 1928 Wembley Stadium.

Loco shed Neasden 34E six-track shed (opened 1899, closed 1962). The building of the Exhibition station led to Neasden becoming the most cosmopolitan depot in Britain. It was often host to locomotives of the Big Four and several regions of BR until its closure.

History

In 1923 the LNER opened a loop off their Marylebone - Northolt Jn line specifically to serve the British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley Stadium in 1925. The station at Wembley stadium was extensively used for the exhibition and again in 1948 for the Olympic Games. Its main use, however, was for football matches such as the Cup Finals which could generate 100,000 spectators.

Trains would leave Marylebone every 8min for the 12 minute trip requiring the services of eight trains and nine locomotives. The loop, which was traversed in a clockwise direction, enabled services to run out and back without reversal. Regular services, however, were not provided so it never appeared in timetables. The last train ran in May 1968 although the official closure was not until September the following year.

Route - when open

Trains diverged from the Northolt line at TO200854 turning north to reach the station located halfway along the loop which continued turning east as it passed over the River Brent then south to rejoin the main line at TO204855 a short distance east of the first junction.

Route - today

Although parts of the loop are still visible, in general redevelopment has resulted in almost its complete disappearance from the area.

Further, I have uploaded three old photos to this album:-

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/wysehillwi...

Later still. The negative responses I have received to this post made me think I was loosing my marbles. I've looked a bit further and give these additional links:-

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/resul...

From the Aerofilms library, a plan of the Empire Exhibition which shows the line of the railway in question and the station.

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/resul...

An aerial photograph of the Exhibition, showing the Stadium in the top left and (very faintly) the current Wembley Complex station. However, running clearly across the bottom is the loop line and a train standing in the station can clearly be seen.

Answer 3

As has already been said, there was - and still is - a line from Marylebone to what was then called Wembley Stadium (now Wembley Complex) which continued on towards High Wycombe. It did NOT  "then come back to rejoin the main line" - it continued, crossing the Bakerloo/LMS Watford lines via Sudbury and joined the Central/GWR Birmingham lines at Northolt  -----  so exactly WHAT MAIN LINE did it come back TO? Like the first answer says, the line that served the original Stadium station was the old GCR out of Marylebone which took at left turn at Neasden leaving the main Aylesbury line to go straight on via Wembley Park AT WHICH it did NOT stop - there being no GCR station there !