Dominic F.:
Did Praed Street Junction exist when the Metropolitan Railway opened
between Paddington Bishop's Road and Farringdon Street in 1863? Or was
the junction only added when the line south to Gloucester Road opened
in 1868?

Paul Terry:
The latter - 1868.

In books about the Metropolitan one often sees a picture of a broad
gauge steam locomotive going over the junction, dated as 1863. ...

One of the classic early lithographs (but dated c. 1868) ...

Metropolitan trains themselves were always standard gauge from August
1863 when the GWR withdrew from the original arrangement to provide
them. But through trains from the GWR operated over the Met starting
later in 1863, and these were broad gauge until 1869. Evidently the
lithograph shows one of them.

What I never thought about until now is that the tracks in the *fore-
ground*, which now form the Circle and District Line tracks, are mixed
gauge in the lithograph. I have never seen anything to suggest that
broad-gauge trains used those tracks. Does anyone know how far toward
South Ken the broad-gauge rails ran, and whether they were ever used?
--
Mark Brader "You can't [compare] computer memory and recall
Toronto with human memory and recall. It's comparing
apples and bicycles." -- Ed Knowles

My text in this article is in the public domain.