VIRGOs in Hillingdon, Middlesex (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Thursday, September 22, 2011, 20:40 (4818 days ago) @ Roger Griffiths

You're most welcome Roger, sorry for probably stating the obvious in some respects, I didnt realise the Uxbridge connection went deeper in your family.
Perhaps surprisingly Uxbridge Common is still there and houses the Carter Steam Fair every autumn amongst other pleasant events.

I was wondering if the Railway had been part of your family. Only a few miles south of Uxbridge is West Drayton station and the ex-GWR mainline from Bristol into London. West Drayton is an important station wrt GWR history: the very first locomotives to run on the GWR were "installed"(?) there in 1837 after arriving by the adjacent canal from London docks and Liverpool. It was the first station from Paddington towards Reading, and the first GWR loco works. There is still a preserved short section of Brunel's broadgauge line near Uxbridge next to the University that bears the great man's name.
Uxbridge itself is a terminus for the Metropolitan railway into London, London's first Underground opening in 1863. In fact the northwest extension from London Baker Street towards Harrow then Uxbridge & Amersham/Watford is mostly "overground" despite now being called a "Tube" Line. When I moved here I was struck by how crowded the housing north of the A40 is (Ruislip, Greenford, Pinner etc etc) with no room at all for cars to park etc. That's because most of the housing was built from 1900 onwards as "Metroland" by the railway company, intended to house workers from London who would use the railway for commuting. No-one foresaw cars becoming common, then they were playthings for the likes of Royalty.

So yes, in the early 1900s, plenty of railway related jobs in the area too.