There are very few mainline railway routes that actually cross London. One of the few that does is the West London line between Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction. The route has had its ups and downs over the years but has remained an important artery for freight throughout. Currently there are five passenger trains an hour in each direction, with several intermediate stations, but this was very different only a few years earlier. With just a couple of trains in the morning peak from Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia and a similar number returning in the afternoon, you really had to search through the timetable to find the services at all. Excursion trains from the Midlands and further afield often used the West London line to get to the South Coast resorts. In later years a limited InterCity service operated over the route. This book covers the route between Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction from the 1970s through to the 1990s, featuring the wide range of freight and interesting passenger workings that could be seen during this period.
