page_title: LSWR suburban lines
section_title: Kingston
hierarchical_section_title: LSWR suburban lines / From 1862 to 1869 / Kingston
caption_attribution_description: English: Kingston first station in 1863 on LSWR England
context_page_description: The London and Southampton Railway opened its main line progressively from 1838 and a year later changed its name to the London and South Western Railway. It was immediately successful, especially for passenger traffic, and the company quickly extended south-west and west to Gosport, Dorchester and Salisbury. At the same time it energetically and prospectively developed or acquired branch or loop lines in the territory to Windsor, Wokingham, Epsom and Guildford and beyond.
  The "suburban area" is taken in this article to include the LSWR lines in what is now Greater London, Surrey and small parts of Berkshire extending to Twickenham, Ascot and Windsor in the north, and Epsom and Leatherhead in the south, as well as suburban development on the main line as far as Weybridge and the Chertsey loop. When the lines were promoted, places served on these lines were recorded such as in the Victoria County History of Surrey in 1910-1912 as rural villages, London suburbs or towns.
context_section_description: The town of Kingston had had its somewhat remote station on the main line from the outset and the LSWR obtained powers to reach the town centre, from the north-west. The line was authorised on 6 August 1860, a single arc from Twickenham, approaching Kingston from the west. There was pressure to terminate the line on the west side of the River Thames, at Hampton Wick. This would have required passengers arriving to pay the halfpenny toll to cross the river bridge on foot to Kingston. The LSWR did not wish to open a Hampton Wick station. However the Lords Committee had inserted a clause requiring them to make and maintain a Hampton Wick station as well. The line opened on 1 July 1863, with stations at Teddington, Hampton Wick and New Kingston. As well as LSWR trains, the North London Railway operated passenger trains to Kingston under a duty on LSWR in an earlier Act.
caption: Kingston station at its opening in 1863
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