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Brief history
The branch extended from Southall on the main line to Brentford
Docks on the River Thames, a total distance of some 4 miles. It
was built by a nominally independent company, with Brunel as the
engineer and financial backing from the GWR. The latter's main interest
in the venture was to access the river-borne traffic at the waterhead
where the Thames and Grand Union Canal met.
Construction of the line and docks began in 1855,
initially as doubled broad gauge, with mixed gauge introduced from
1861. Full conversion to double standard gauge took place in 1876.
Passenger services on the branch lasted until 1942, after which
the line continued as a goods-only branch until final closure in
1964.
Passenger and goods services
From the 1860's until the turn of the century, the branch was serviced
by a dozen passenger trains each way daily. In 1904, these were
replaced by a half-hourly railmotor service, taken over by a railcar
in 1920. By 1929, passenger operation had declined to just a Workmens
service, lasting until WW2. Goods operation fared rather better, with much traffic moving back
and forth between the main line and the large shipping shed in the
docks. This included coal, steel, timber, pulp, flour, feedstuffs,
cork, general merchandise and - in the 1950's - even Morris cars
from Oxford!
A number of local lineside industries also generated traffic on
the branch, including the Firestone rubber works, Quaker oats and
a biscuit factory. And the Brentford Gas Company conveyed Coke in
daily block trains from Southall to the docks.
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