What is London and Blackwall Railway?
[[File:London Limehouse Blackwall.jpg|thumb|Original bridge at [[Limehouse]] on the London and Blackwall Railway. It now carries a branch of the [[Docklands Light Railway]]]] The '''London and Blackwall Railway''' (L&BR) in East [[London]], England, ran from [[Minories]] to [[Blackwall, London|Blackwall]] via [[Stepney]], with a branch line to the [[Isle of Dogs]]. It was originally called the '''Commercial Railway'''. It connected central London to many of [[London Docklands|London's docks]]. ==History== The railway opened in 1840. It was leased by the [[Great Eastern Railway]] in 1866, but remained independent until it was absorbed into the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] at the [[1923 Grouping]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Awdry |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Awdry |title=Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies |year=1990 |publisher=Guild Publishing |location=London |id=CN 8983 |page=144 }}</ref> Passenger services ceased in 1926 and goods services ceased in 1968. The decline of inner London's docks led to closure. ==Other railways== In 1852 the [[North London Railway]] linked up with the L&BR at Poplar. In 1871 another branch line, the ''Millwall Extension Railway'', opened from Millwall Junction to [[Millwall Docks railway station|Millwall Docks]] to serve the [[West India Docks]] better. A year later the line was extended to [[North Greenwich railway station|North Greenwich]]. ==Re-use== Much of the infrastructure of the L&BR was re-used as part of the [[Docklands Light Railway]], which opened on 31 August 1987. ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Rail transport in London]] [[Category:1840 establishments in England]] [[Category:1926 disestablishments]] [[Category:1920s disestablishments in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:1968 disestablishments in England]]