Until the interchange station at South Acton was opened on 1 January 1880, the branch line to Hammersmith &amp; Chiswick employed an unusual mode of operation. Southbound NLR trains to Kew (which was on the western chord to the Hounslow Loop near the current Kew Bridge station) included a carriage for passengers travelling to Hammersmith &amp; Chiswick. This carriage was uncoupled from the rest of the train immediately south of the junction. The N&amp;SWJR's sole locomotive would then reverse onto the mainline, be attached to the carriage, and take it down the short branch to Hammersmith &amp; Chiswick. From 1 January 1880, on the station opening at South Acton, passengers could change there from Broad Street to Richmond trains onto the Hammersmith &amp; Chiswick services.