11th July: Waterloo Station

On this date in 1848 London's Waterloo Station was officially opened. Here are some things you might not know about Waterloo:

1. Waterloo is Britain's busiest railway station by passenger usage. Just under 100 million people use it every year. It is the 15th busiest station in Europe and the 91st in the world. It's also the biggest station in the UK in terms of platforms and floor area. There are more than 130 automated ticket gates on the station concourse, plus another 27 in the tube system.
2. When the station first opened in 1848 it was called 'Waterloo Bridge Station' after Waterloo Bridge which was named for the Battle of Waterloo.
3. In the 19th century, it was intended to extend the line from Waterloo into the City of London. This never happened, but passenger numbers kept growing so the station was frequently extended. The authorities would cobble on another temporary building or platform, because one day soon the line into London would be built and then would be the time to build a purpose built station. Hence Waterloo became quite ramshackle and confusing for passengers. As well as the original "Central Station" there were extensions nicknamed 'Cyprus Station' and 'Khartoum Station'. Several platform numbers were duplicated and one railway line even crossed the main concourse. There was another station next to it, also called Waterloo (which is now Waterloo East); so confusion reigned. Just how confusing it was is illustrated in Jerome K Jerome's 1889 novel, Three Men in a Boat, where the three men start their journey at Waterloo and every member of staff they ask for directions gives them different information and they end up having to bribe a train driver to take them to Kingston upon Thames.
4. Eventually, instead of extending the main line, the Waterloo and City tube line (nicknamed "the Drain") was built in 1898. It was a compromise - commuters could get to the City but had to change trains. Finally, it was time to re-build the station. The new station included a large stained glass window depicting the L&SWR's company crest over the main entrance, and a frieze listing the counties served by the railway (the frieze is still there).
5. The original station was designed by William Tite, an architect famous for designing railway stations and cemeteries. One of the cemeteries he helped design was Brookwood Cemetery near Woking in Surrey, owned by the London Necropolis Company. The cemetery was served by its own dedicated rail line and station, London Necropolis, which was next to Waterloo and connected to it by a spur line. From London Necropolis, there was one train a day to the cemetery and coffins were carried on it for 2/6. This station was destroyed during World War II.
6. Until 2009, Waterloo Station had its own police station with 40 officers and three custody cells.
7. A municipal councillor in Paris, Florent Longuepée, wanted us to change the name of the station. From 1994 until 2007 Waterloo was the terminus for Eurostar services which now leave from St Pancras. Longuepée thought French people travelling on Eurostar would be offended by the reference to Napoleon's, well, Waterloo. There is an alternative name for the station in France - Gare d'Austerlitz, after a battle Napoleon won.
8. The station has been used as a theatre. Since Eurostar departed, the Eurostar platforms have not been used (although there are plans now to bring them back into domestic use) In 2011, these platforms were used for a performance of The Railway Children by E. Nesbit. The audience sat either side of the railway track. The show included a steam locomotive coupled to one of the original carriages from the 1970s film.
9. The station frequently appears on TV. Episodes of Spooks, The Apprentice, The Bill, Top Gear, 24 and Only Fools and Horses have been filmed there. It was also a location for the film, The Bourne Ultimatum. It has a musical claim to fame, too, appearing in the lyrics of Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks. "Terry and Julie" who are mentioned in the song, are thought to be sixties icons Terence Stamp and Julie Christie.
10. It has a famous clock with four faces. "Under the clock at Waterloo" is a traditional place to arrange to meet someone.