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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

London Waterloo history exhibit finds home in former international station

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A permanent exhibition detailing the history of London Waterloo has been formally unveiled in the old international terminal in the station.

As part of the London Waterloo 175th Station anniversary (11th July 2023), Network Rail worked with railway historian and enthusiast Mike Lamport to install a temporary historical exhibition of London Waterloo, titled From Cholera to Covid. This exhibition highlights images and stories mapping the social, cultural and transport history of London Waterloo.

It was first situated on the main concourse for one week in 2023 and was well received by passengers and visitors to the station alike. Since then, Network Rail have been working with Mike, South Western Railway (SWR), and the station team at London Waterloo to find a permanent home for the exhibition. This has resulted in the historical exhibition being recreated into vinyl artworks, which will be installed in the glass panels on the perimeter of the waiting area in the Waterloo International Terminal.

Prior to the introduction of the Elizabeth Line, London Waterloo was formerly the busiest railway station in the UK. Today, it is the third busiest, with 57.8 million entries and exits last year, and is a major gateway to the capital. The station handles commuters from south west London and Surrey as well as long distance services from Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, Weymouth and Exeter.

Thomas Desmond, Network Rail’s Wessex Route operations director, said: “London Waterloo is one of the finest stations in the United Kingdom. This vinyl depicting the history of Waterloo is a fantastic addition to the old international terminal here.

“I don’t think I have ever seen in one place such a detailed history of this station, covering such a broad timeline but also picking up on so many interesting moments of history, whilst also acknowledging the social and cultural elements so candidly.

“I hope passengers and visitors to the station enjoy reading about the 175+ year history of the station and beyond as we look forward to Rail 200 in 2025.

“On behalf of Network Rail, I wanted to say a big thank you to Mike Lamport for his dedication and commitment in not only putting this exhibition together but for his support and perseverance in helping us celebrate London Waterloo’s 175th anniversary in 2023.

Mike Lamport, railway historian, commented: “My main motivation in curating the Waterloo Story is my family’s 170 year long and enduring connection to this great station which began with my great grandfather Matthew in the 1850’s and continues today through my son Andrew. I hope that my affection for it shows through in a story that takes us from cholera to Covid and on to tomorrow.

“From its beginnings as a roadside station, through years of chaotic growth which brought it public ridicule and Royal disapproval, to its early 20th century ‘Great Transformation’ making it for many years London’s Gateway to the World through its Southampton boat train, and later Eurostar, connections.”

Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s interim managing director said: “I was delighted to be at Waterloo today for the official unveiling of such a great exhibition of the station’s history and I’d like to thank all the people that worked so hard to make that 175 years come to life.

“At South Western Railway, we understand that our colleagues are vital to the success of our network. We are all part of the railway family – looking out for, and supporting, each other and working together to give our customers the best possible experience.

“I’m glad to say that one of the few things that hasn’t changed in the 175 years of Waterloo station is that sense of camaraderie and friendship that surrounds and enthuses everyone in the railway family.”

Image credit: Network Rail

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