old days at Victoria Station, London

A postcard dated 1904 of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway's station at Victoria. The other railway which operated from the same area, but a separate building was the London, Brighton and South Coast railway.

In 1898 the LB&SCR decided to demolish its station and replace it with an enlarged red-brick Renaissance-style building. Since widening of the station was prevented by the existing LCDR station and the Buckingham Palace Road, increased capacity was achieved by lengthening the platforms and building crossovers, to allow two trains to use each platform simultaneously. Work was completed in 1908, and included the rebuilding of The Grosvenor Hotel at the same time.

Meanwhile the LC&DR station was rebuilt and re-opened on 16 June 1906. The frontage of the new building was designed by A. W. Blomfield, architect to SECR, and is in Portland stone.

In 1899 a joint management committee known as the South Eastern & Chatham Railway ran both operations until the 1923 "grouping" to form the Southern Railway.

undated postcard of a LB&SCR train inside Victoria station.

A postcard from the 1910s of the rebuilt LC&DR station - the inscription states "South Eastern & Chatham Railway"; after 1923 it stated "Southern Railway" which it still does today.

Extract from a map from 1897 - the LB&SCR station to the left; the LCDR station to the right