London Underground station's name changed because original was 'stupidly long'
London's intricate transport system is a labyrinth of countless Tube, Overground and Docklands Light Railway stations. Among the renowned termini such as Liverpool Street, Waterloo and Euston, there are some with rather peculiar names. Consider, for example, Cyprus and East India on the DLR, or the iconic London stations named after pubs like Swiss Cottage and Angel.
While these names might perplex tourists, one station's name was so bizarre that railway chiefs ultimately decided to alter it. Tucked away on the Metropolitan line between Wembley Park and Northwick Park in North West London, you'll stumble upon Preston Road, reports MyLondon.
This station, inaugurated in 1908, originally catered to a local clay pigeon shooting site for that year's Olympic Games in London.
However, when it came to christening this stop en route to Harrow, succinctness wasn't a priority. The station was initially dubbed Preston Road Halt for Uxendon and Kenton - quite the mouthful that doesn't exactly fit snugly onto a sign.
It's also the only station name with an instruction in it, advising anyone journeying to Uxendon and Kenton to switch services. Between 1931 and 1932, the station was relocated to the other side of the road bridge where it presently stands.
Following this move, the Metropolitan line station was finally rebranded to its current title, Preston Road. The Zone 4 station is not only famous for its name but also for its impressive collection of platform plants and flowers.
These stunning horticultural displays have bagged numerous awards, making the wait for passengers a truly enjoyable experience. This is particularly true for those waiting at Preston Road, which is only serviced by 'slow' trains that stop at all stations.
Both fast and semi-fast trains skip the stations between Wembley Park and Harrow-On-The-Hill.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Out
a day ago
- Time Out
London transport is getting a colourful new look to celebrate TfL's 25th birthday
How did you celebrate your 25th birthday (if you're that old)?. Cake? Party hats? Overdoing it at a pub night? Well, TfL is commemorating 25 years of service with a glow-up, giving eight of its services a fresh new makeover. A new purple-blue design will wrap TfL buses, DLR trains, Jubilee line trains, trams and IFS Cloud Cable Car cabins. As well as featuring a new colour, the new design will depict a timeline of London's transport network achievements over the last quarter-century, including the launch of the Oyster card in 2003 and the opening of the Elizabeth line in 2022. In a first for TfL, the distinctive new designs will be in place on a number of vehicles across all types of London transport. The Docklands Light Railway (DLR), Elizabeth line, IFS Cloud Cable Car, London Overground, London Trams and London Underground, as well as on one of London's more than 2,000 zero-emission buses and a taxi, will boast the designs, while a special 25th anniversary roundel will also feature on Santander Cycles bikes. Commenting on the designs, London's Transport Commissioner Andy Lord said: 'We're excited to launch these special designs across a number of our services for the first time to mark the occasion, whilst also looking ahead to the next 25 years and all the improvements we have in the pipelines, such as those to make our network as accessible and inclusive as possible.' Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance called the 25th anniversary 'a great opportunity to reflect on just how much our transport network has evolved and transformed in recent years, serving millions of Londoners and visitors to our city each and every day'. He added:, 'We're committed to doing all we can to invest in and improve our network further, so it is fit for future generations and the next 25 years.' And the next 25 years are set to be big for TfL. In the pipeline for London's transport network is a £2.9 billion investment programme to modernise the Piccadilly line, proposals to extend the Bakerloo line in southeast London and new Docklands Light Railway trains, which enter service next year. The anniversary celebrations don't stop at the redesign. TfL has organised an anniversary poster series highlighting its major achievements, and has hosted and planned a series of events, competitions and opportunities for the public to get involved. These include an upcoming 'then and now' photography exhibition and a poster design competition at the London Transport Museum, and a call-out for people to share their favourite memories from the network since 2000. Find out more about that call-out here. The specially designed transport skins will stay on the TfL network until at least the end of the year, so you've got plenty of time to catch them in action.
Time Out
6 days ago
- Time Out
Travel disruption this weekend: full list of train and tube closures for July 25-27
It's the best time of the week: we've once again (almost) reached the weekend. As ever, it's set to be a busy one in London with loads of exciting things going on that you're going to want to get involved in. Whether you're going to a Euros final watch party to cheer the Lionesses on (or root for their Spanish rivals) or showing support at Trans Pride this Sunday, you'll probably be using public transport to get around. Unfortunately, in a city this big, there's always going to be some delays or disruptions on the railways and the underground. That includes planned closures, which are easy to work around when you know what's coming. Here's all the planned train and tube disruptions this weekend (July 25-27). DLR Across the city, the most significant disruption scheduled for this weekend is on the DLR. On Friday July 25, the entire line will be shut, meaning you'll have to find other ways into the east. Buses and the Jubilee line will help you get where you need to go. On Saturday and Sunday (July 26 and 27), the line is only part-suspended. It will be closed between Canary Wharf and Stratford, and between Canary Wharf and Bank. It will also be entirely closed from Canning Town to both Bank and Tower Gateway, meaning you'll essentially have to get to Canning Town or Canary Wharf in order to use the majority of the services. Don't fear though: replacement buses will be provided. Overground Mildmay line The Mildmay will be operating a reduced service this weekend. On Friday (July 25) it will be closed between Stratford and Camden Road, on Saturday (July 26) the 9.04pm and 10.34pm trains from Clapham Junction to Stratford won't go ahead. The 11.19pm service from Clapham Junction to Willseden will be similarly cancelled. On Sunday (July 27) there will be further disruptions to the Mildmay line. Trains will only run every ten minutes between Richmond and Stratford until 10.15pm, when they will fall to once every 20 minutes. From 10.15, there will also be no service from Camden Road to Stratford and vice versa. There will be no service between Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction at all on Sunday. Suffragette line There will be no trains running on the Suffragette line between Barking and Barking Riverside from 11.30pm on Saturday (July 26) until Monday morning. Windrush line After 10.15pm on Sunday (July 27), there will be no service between Highbury & Islington and Dalston Junction. Replacement bus services will be in operation.
Spectator
7 days ago
- Spectator
The nostalgic joy of Frinton-on-Sea
For the recent heatwave, it was my mission to escape our little Wiltshire cottage, where it hit 35°C. It has one of those very poor structural designs unique to Britain that, like plastic conservatories or the Tube, is useless in hot weather. First, we went to stay with friends in Frinton-on-Sea with our English bulldog, who was born in nearby Clacton and is shamelessly happy to be back among his people. Some years ago I lived in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, a living museum of America's pre-revolutionary settler history. Frinton doesn't go quite that far – there are no ersatz yeomen milking doleful cows – but to visit is to enter a time warp back to the mid-1930s. It's the sort of place where Hercule Poirot might solve a crime while en vacances. The town's heyday was the first half of the 20th century, when society notables including Churchill and Edward VII came to enjoy the solemn whimsy of ornate villas (Dutch gables, gothic crenellations and French balconies to the owner's taste), the pristine golf course and the elegant lawn tennis club. Most famous of all are the beach huts, a long, neat row on stilts, which contain so many people's early memories. My grandmother lived near Colchester and every summer my mother courageously carted her six children (and, on two occasions, a cat in a basket) from Wales, across the London Underground and out to Essex for a week. Encounters with childhood nostalgia can be disappointing. The den from primary school has been tarmacked over. A favourite climbing tree has blown down. Caramac bars have been discontinued. Frinton, though, is just as I remember it. The sweet shop, the greensward, the wooden groynes covered in seaweed. The big sky and murky sea. Second homes and holiday lets are rare. Deep consideration is given to what innovations might lower the tone, and most things are rejected. There is now one pub, which opened 25 years ago, and one fish and chip shop that started in 1992. Huts have been painted cheerful pastel colours instead of the original dark brown. Other than that, Frinton is unchanged. Is the town an example of stout local pride or stick-in-the-mud nimbyism? With its mad but lovely housing stock and proximity to London, it might have become England's answer to East Hampton were the local council and residents not so resistant to change. As it is, you can't even sell ice creams on the seafront. I like it. Tucked into Nigel Farage's constituency, Frinton embodies the 'good old days' that so many Reform-minded people want to get back to, because those days simply never left them. Two days later, via London where I record the Telegraph's Daily T podcast with Tim Stanley, we head west to my parents' house in [redacted] Pembrokeshire. The small coastal town is another delight, the secret of which makes locals and lifelong holidaymakers cry when they see it featured in Sunday supplement 'best places to stay' lists in case it attracts the kind of hordes who block up Cornish lanes with their enormous Range Rovers. Costa del Cymru is a balmy 30°C and plays host to an unwelcome shoal of jellyfish who park up in the bay and a raucously fun farm wedding above the golf course. By day we swim, sandcastle, and siesta in front of the cricket and tennis. In the afternoons we loll in the garden and, in lieu of a children's paddling pool, have great results with a washing up bowl and the lovely sensation of sticking your finger up a gushing hosepipe. At night we are treated to lobster – proudly potted by Dad – white wine and the blissful sensation of snuggling down under a duvet against the slight chill. It's a deeper sleep than we've had in weeks. At the end of the stay, Mum and I try on some hats for my sister's impending wedding, then we play a tedious game of suitcase Tetris before travelling home in heavy rain. I drive and my husband works. It makes me think of how robust the constitutions of cabinet ministers must be, seeing as they do most of their box work from the back of a car and aren't sick. We arrive home to a dead lawn and the creepers of wisteria climbing into our bedroom windows like The Day of the Triffids. I check my weather apps – variable and unsettled; ho hum – and get back to work on my latest novel, which is about the shenanigans of randy young farmers in the countryside. That night I lie awake on top of the sheets in the humid darkness, sure I can ever so faintly hear the crash of waves and the cry of gulls. There is no refreshing waft of breeze, neither easterly nor westerly.
