Gallions railway station
| Gallions | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gallions Reach |
| Local authority | London Borough of Newham |
| Owner | London & St. Katharine Docks Company |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| Key dates | |
| 1880 | Opened |
| 1940 | Closed |
| Other information | |
| Lists of stations | |
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Gallions was the name of two distinct railway stations that adjoined the River Thames by Gallions Reach in Beckton, east London.
Construction of a line from Custom House to Gallions was authorised by the parliamentary act that also approved the construction of the Royal Albert Dock, and the branch was opened by the London & St. Katharine Docks Company on 3 August 1880 as far as Central. The full line to the first Gallions station, which was the eastern terminus and had two platforms, opened in November 1880.
There were two commercial reasons for building the branch: firstly the size of the docks necessitated a transport link to enable the business of the dock and commuting to and from the docks to be carried out; secondly Albert Dock handled passengers and easier passenger access to the quays were required for ships that left to all parts of the British Empire. This was why a hotel was built adjacent to the first station which is mentioned in the book The Light That Failed by Rudyard Kipling (who stayed at the hotel) where the hero asks a P&O clerk, "Is it Tilbury and a tender or Gallions and the dock?".
The station was subsequently moved 275 yards further east, reopening on 12 December 1886, to help facilitate the development of the dock. The station was located on a different alignment from the original station with the line diverging at Manor Way station slightly to the north of the original branch.
This station consisted of an island platform with two platform faces: platform 1 was generally used by Great Eastern Railway (GER) services and platform 2 by the shuttle service operated by the dock company towards Custom House. Access to the platforms was from a footbridge at the west end of the station. The tracks continued beyond the end of the platforms to the docks and a pier. In the later years this was operated by William Cory & Son Limited handling coal and employing their own locomotives for shunting. Each platform had a loop line for locomotives to run from one end of the train to the other and a water tower was located at the end of the platforms. The signal box containing 21 working and seven spare levers.
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