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| London Railway Stations |
| Paddington |
| There is an excellent collection of photographs of the station provided by the GWR Steam Museum - follow this link. |
| Not quite so busy - Platform 1 in an undated postcard, probably a few years earlier than that above. |
| The Great Western Hotel was built on Praed Street, in front of the station, and opened on 8 June 1854. The hotel, which was remodelled between 1936 and 1938, replaces the traditional station facade. |
| In September 1961 the decomposing body of a male child was found in a case at Paddington Station. Paper stuffed into his mouth was the cause of death. His identity has never been established. |
| Memorials. There are two memorials in the station. One is a statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel who, amongst other achievements, designed Paddington. The second is a memorial to those employees of the Great Western Railway who perished in the First World War. This bronze may be found on Platform 1. |
| The station has featured in many books, including Agatha Christie's "4.50 from Paddington" (subtitled "What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw") and of course Michael Bond's "Paddington Bear" was named after the station where he arrived as a stowaway from Peru. |
| The G.W.R. had a literary society, apparently with its own rooms at Paddington Station in 1859 and 1865. |
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| (Z) |
| Reproductions of postcards with a (Z) following the description are available to buy from Zazzle - just click on the (Z) ! Similarly, GC = Greetings Card, P = Print, ST = US Postage Stamp, K = Key Ring, FM = Fridge Magnet, SM = Souvenir Mug, X = Xmas Card. |
| Paddington has been the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station, designed by Brunel, dates back to 1854. Paddington was the original western terminus of the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway, which opened in 1863 at the Bishop's Road side of the station. The station of course today connects directly with the London Underground. The station was originally a temporary terminus for the Great Western Railway when its London to Taplow service started in 1838. This original station then became a goods yard when the main station opened in 1854. This yard has lain derelict for many years but is now (2008) I believe, being developed with flats and shops. |
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