The first Waterloo Station opened in 1848 and the current building was completed in 1922, after a huge rebuilding programme started in 1899. Catering for suburban traffic, Waterloo is also the major station for trains to Southampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth and once served the famous boat trains. Close by was the London Necropolis Railway station, which took coffins to Brookwood Cemetery.

For a time, the station was the base for Eurostar trains and a new Crossrail project may see Waterloo connected with Euston. Now Britain’s busiest and largest station, Waterloo was originally owned by the London & South Western Railway and first known as Waterloo Bridge Station. John Christopher tells the story of Waterloo from its early beginnings, when the LSWR extended its route from Nine Elms, to the present day.