Windsor & Eton Central Station

Windsor & Eton Central station is one of two terminal stations serving the town of Windsor in Berkshire, England.

The Windsor Station opened on 8 October 1849,[2] on the completion of the branch line from Slough, but only after considerable opposition from the powers at Eton College, who were convinced that the proximity of a railway would lead the Eton boys astray.

When, in 1863, the Metropolitan Railway opened the world's first underground railway, between Paddington and Farringdon Street in the City of London, the Great Western Railway ran regular through services to Windsor from Farringdon (initially these were broad gauge trains, as the original Metropolitan was laid for mixed standard and broad gauges, and, for some months, the engines and coaches were hired from the GWR). By 1865, there were ten trains daily on this route.[3]

Not to be outdone, the Metropolitan District Railway was expanding its services to the west of London as fast as it could. Hence, on 1 March 1883 they started a service to Windsor from Mansion House, using the GWR mainline. These trains were not popular, possibly because of the unsuitability of using four-wheel coaches for the nonstop section between Ealing Broadway and Slough and possibly because Windsor was too affluent and too far from the City (at the time) to make commuting an attractive proposition. The service was discontinued on 30 September 1885.

For more information about the station see the Wikipedia page