Beyond the Nameboard

Bopeep Junction, Nine Elms, St. Kew Highway, Shakespeare Tunnel… all locations familiar to most railway enthusiasts. But why name a junction after a nursery rhyme character? Where were the nine elm trees? Who was St. Kew, and what is the Bard’s connection with railways? And which station was named after a Victorian novel? This unusual sideways look at railway history answers these questions and many more as the origins of the names of a variety of railway locations are investigated. More than 40 locations across the former Southern Railway network from south London to Cornwall are included here, from Bat & Ball to Westward Ho! The entries are supported by some 160 archive and present day photographs of the people, objects and buildings from which their names arc derived. The stories behind these unusual and sometimes downright quirky names interweave national, local and railway history in a way that is sure to surprise and intrigue.