Platform Gallery

Platform 1 at Paddington Station, 1904

This view of passengers boarding a train on Platform 1 was taken on the August Bank Holiday 1904.
Teeming with people, passengers and porters bustle about the platform by the clock at the First Class end of the train before it departs.

© Steam Museum of the GWR

1900s, 1904, August, Bank Holiday, Boarding, Edwardian, Paddington, Passengers, People, Platform, Platform 1, Station

Air Raid damage to Paddington Station, 1941

A view of Paddington Station following the explosion of the parachute mine on the 17th April 1941. Showing the internal damage to the station, particularly to Platform 1. Despite the clear up operation taking place passengers are still gathered on the platform awaiting the arrival of the next train. The efficient engineering capabilities of the GWR meant that they were able to resume normal service as quickly as possible.

Passengers at Paddington Station in 1943

This image, taken on Saturday 31st July 1943 (August Bank Holiday), shows hoards of passengers at Paddington Station. In 1939 the slogan “Is Your Journey Really Necessary” was introduced to discourage people from travelling within Britain. It was used to remind people to save fuel and allow trains to transport soldiers and war supplies instead. By the summer of 1943 these regulations had been relaxed slightly, which encouraged more pleasure travel. On this day, 34,000 passengers were despatched from Paddington, with 40,000 recorded on the day before. All the trains to the West Country were loaded to capacity and some passengers were left behind!