Ruislip Gardens is a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

station. It lies on the Central line, between

West Ruislip West Ruislip is a station on Ickenham High Road on the borders of Ickenham and western Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon in Greater London, formerly in Middlesex. It is served by London Underground (LU) and National Rail trains on ind ...

and

South Ruislip South Ruislip is an area of west London in the London Borough of Hillingdon, south-east of Ruislip, south of Eastcote, north-west of Northolt, and west of South Harrow. A 2017 estimation put the population of South Ruislip ward as 13,150 resident ...

, in

Travelcard Zone 5 Fare zone 5 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. The ...

. The closest stations on the

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line i ...

and Piccadilly line are

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, and in the historic county of Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

and

Ruislip Manor Ruislip Manor is an area of Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London. It is located approximately west north west of Charing Cross. The construction of a halt on the Metropolitan Railway in the area in 1912 led to the develo ...

. The station serves

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...

History

The tracks through the station were laid by part of the

Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway The Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway was a railway built and operated jointly by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and Great Central Railway (GCR) between Northolt (in north west London) and Ashendon Junction (west of Aylesbury). It was ...

with services starting on 2 April 1906 although there was no station at Ruislip Gardens at that time. The station opened on 9 July 1934. As part of the 1935-40 New Works Programme, Central line services were projected westwards from a new junction, west of North Acton on the line to Ealing Broadway. The original intention was to extend the service as far as Denham, but work was delayed by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the formation of the

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

after the war and so the terminus of the extension was cut back to West Ruislip, with services starting on 21 November 1948. The main line services stopping at Ruislip Gardens ceased on 21 July 1958 and the station closed, leaving only the Central line services in place. Until recently the entrance to a passenger stairwell was visible on the London-bound side of the Chiltern tracks.

The station today

The station has an island platform layout. Some services start or terminate here rather than West Ruislip, the trains leaving or entering the Central line depot to the west of the station, south of the running lines. There is a link from the Central line depot for stock movement to the

just to the west of

via a shunting neck. A running link round the southern boundary of the depot has several times been proposed, to make a connection with the Metropolitan line. This would allow through running of Central line trains onwards from Ruislip Gardens to Uxbridge, but nothing has ever come of these suggestions.

Local places of note

and a

Polish War Memorial The Polish Air Force Memorial (informally Polish War Memorial) is a war memorial in West London, England in memory of airmen from Poland who served in the Royal Air Force as part of the Polish contribution to World War II. Over 18,000 men and wo ...

are also close by.

In popular culture

The station achieved poetic immortality in

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

's poem ''Middlesex'': :''Gaily into Ruislip Gardens'' :''Runs the red electric train,'' :''With a thousand Ta's and Pardon's'' :''Daintily alights Elaine;'' :''Hurries down the concrete station'' :''With a frown of concentration,'' :''Out into the outskirt's edges'' :''Where a few surviving hedges'' :''Keep alive our lost Elysium – Rural Middlesex again.''

Connections

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

route E7 and school route

696 __NOTOC__ Year 696 ( DCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday the (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 696 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calend ...

serve the station.

Gallery

Image:Ruislip Gardens Station.jpg, Station entrance July 2006 Image:Ruislip Gardens stn eastbound.JPG, Island platform looking east with Chiltern Railways tracks visible on left Image:Ruislip Gardens stn westbound.JPG, Island platform looking west Image:Ruislip Gardens stn roundel.JPG, Roundel on westbound platform face

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** ** ** {{Central line navbox Central line (London Underground) stations Tube stations in the London Borough of Hillingdon Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1934 London Underground stations located above ground Former Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway stations