Editing Marylebone station (section)

====GCR and LNER====
[[File:Marylebone Station, geograph 4193120 by John Salmon.jpg|thumb|left|The facade of Marylebone station, designed by Henry William Braddock]]
The early history of Marylebone is tied into the [[Great Central Railway]] (GCR)'s [[Great Central Main Line]] (GCML) extension into London. When [[Edward Watkin|Sir Edward Watkin]] became chairman of the [[Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway]] (MS&LR) in 1864, the line was not particularly lucrative as it had no direct connection to London. Watkin was unhappy about transferring traffic to the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] and, when he became chairman of the [[Metropolitan Railway]] in 1872, he decided to build a dedicated line between the MS&LR and Central London.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=331}}

The approach to Marylebone was the last section of the Great Central Main Line to be built. Progress was delayed in the 1890s because of objections, particularly as the line would pass through [[Lord's]], the principal cricket ground in London and home of [[Marylebone Cricket Club]]. Watkin promised that Lord's would not be disrupted by the railway construction and an [[act of Parliament]] to complete the line was passed on 28 March 1893.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=332}} The station was built on a {{convert|51|acre|ha|adj=on}} site around Blandford and Harewood Squares, west of [[Regent's Park]]. More than 4,000 working-class people were evicted from their homes to turn Harewood Avenue and Rossmore Road into approach roads; around 2,600 of them were rehomed in new apartments near St. John's Wood Road. Watkin resigned the chairmanship in 1894, following ill-health, and was replaced by [[Edward Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Wharncliffe|Lord Wharncliffe]].{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=333}} The approach to the station through Lord's was achieved by a [[cut-and-cover]] tunnel constructed between September 1896 and May 1897, avoiding the cancellation of any cricket.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=334}}

[[File:Marylebone 1 1966.jpg|thumb|Marylebone station in January 1966; it has since been redesigned with two replacement platforms]]

The station opened to coal traffic on 27 July 1898{{sfn|McCarthy|McCarthy|2009|p=74}} and to passengers on 15 March 1899.{{sfn|Butt|1995|p=156}}{{sfn|Dow|1962|p=340}} It was the terminus of the GCR's London extension main line&nbsp;– the last major railway line to be built into London until [[High Speed 1]].{{sfn|Christopher|2015|p=48}} The Great Central Railway linked London to stations in {{rws|High Wycombe}}, {{rws|Aylesbury}}, [[Rugby Central railway station|Rugby]], [[Leicester Central railway station|Leicester]], [[Nottingham Victoria railway station|Nottingham]], [[Sheffield Victoria railway station|Sheffield]] and [[Manchester Piccadilly railway station|Manchester]]. Local services from north-west [[Middlesex]], High Wycombe and Aylesbury also terminated at Marylebone.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=332}} The GCR moved its headquarters to Marylebone from Manchester in 1905.{{sfn|Simmons|Biddle|1997|p=189}}

The station was designed by Henry William Braddock, a civil engineer for the GCR.{{sfn|Christopher|2015|p=48}} It has a modest design owing to the GCR's lack of money.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=535}} The main booking hall is {{convert|63|ft|m|1}} by {{convert|40|ft|6|in|m|1}}.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=335}} It is a domestic version of the [[Edwardian Baroque architecture|''Wrenaissance'' revival style]] that fits in with the residential surroundings with [[Dutch gable]]s, employing warm brick and cream-coloured stone.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=335}} The GCR crest was worked into the wrought iron railings in numerous places.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=535}}

The original plan was for eight platforms, but half were designated as a "possible future extension"{{sfn|Dow|1962|pp=287,409}} and the cost of building the GCML was greater than expected.{{sfn|Dow|1962|p=287}} The line leading to the station cut through {{convert|70|acre|ha}} of middle-class housing, including the Eyre Estate in [[St John's Wood]] and the area around Lord's, drawing protests and requiring a relocation of the track and station facilities.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|pp=534–535, 797}} There was never enough money for the extra platforms and only four were built: three inside the [[train shed]] and one to its west (platform 4).{{sfn|Dow|1962|p=328}} As a result, the concourse is unusually long and had three walls for most of the 20th century. The northern wall was missing, as the GCR anticipated that the other four platforms, under an extended train shed, would be built later on. An office block was later built on the vacant site. The cost of the London Extension meant that the adjoining Great Central Hotel, designed by Sir Robert William Ellis, was built by a different company.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=336}} The hotel operated for a relatively short time and was converted to offices in 1945, becoming the headquarters of British Rail from 1948 to 1986.{{sfn|McCarthy|McCarthy|2009|p=74}} The offices were restored as a hotel in 1993.{{sfn|Simmons|Biddle|1997|p=291}}

The GCR constructed an engine shed at the site in 1897, but it was short lived. A locomotive servicing area, consisting of a [[Railway turntable|turntable]] and [[coaling stage]] remained in use until the end of steam traction at the station in 1966.{{sfn|Griffiths|Smith|1999|p=81}}

[[File:Marylebone Station 5 geograph-2276174-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|left|A Manchester-bound express waiting at Marylebone in 1956, headed by an [[A3 Pacific]]]]

Passenger traffic on the GCR was never heavy because it was the last main line to be built; it therefore had difficulty competing against longer-established rivals, especially the [[Midland Railway]] from its terminal at St Pancras, for the lucrative inter-city passenger business.{{sfn|Clough|2013|p=60}} Low passenger traffic meant Marylebone was the quietest and most pleasant of London's termini.{{sfn|Girling|2013|p=247}} The GCR was unhappy about having to use part of the Metropolitan Railway's route to reach Marylebone and opened a new line to High Wycombe on 2 April 1906. The additional suburban services generated traffic for the station, which had previously been so empty on occasion that the staff outnumbered passengers.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|pp=338–339}} While passenger traffic remained relatively sparse, the line was heavily used for freight, especially coal; in 1914, 67% of traffic was goods-related. Trains ran from the north and East Midlands to the freight depot adjoining the station, which was marginally the largest in London.{{sfn|Simmons|Biddle|1997|p=189}}

The heyday of the line was between 1923, when the GCR was absorbed into the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] (LNER) and 1948, when the LNER was nationalised to form the [[British Rail]] Eastern Region.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=340}} As a result, many prestigious locomotives were frequent visitors to the line; these included [[LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman|''Flying Scotsman'']], [[LNER Class A4 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley|''Sir Nigel Gresley'']] and [[LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard|''Mallard'']] which ran on the [[East Coast Main Line]]. Special trains ran on the line to destinations such as Scotland.{{sfn|Riddaway|Upsall|2015|p=276}} The station's busiest use came after the construction of [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] in 1923, when it was used to contain large crowds wishing to see the [[FA Cup Final 1923|FA Cup Final]]. Special services ran from Marylebone to the [[British Empire Exhibition]] at Wembley Park the following year.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=340}}

Unlike other London termini, Marylebone saw little direct damage during [[the Blitz]]. It was closed between 5 October and 26 November 1940, after the approach tunnels were breached and the goods depot was bombed on 16 April 1941.{{sfn|Jackson|1984|p=341}}