The World's Greatest Station

Her Majesty Queen Mary officially opens the much rebuilt Waterloo station for the London and South Western Railway, 21 March 1922.

Nothing attracted the newsreel cameras like a royal visit and the opening of the re-modelled Waterloo station, attended by Queen Mary, was something to shout about. This film, shot by Topical Budget on 21 March 1922, shows the royal party climbing those familiar steps adorned with memorials to railway workers lost in the Great War - a scene remarkably unchanged today.

The original Waterloo had been extended many times. Before 1899 the station had 18 platforms - but only 10 platform numbers - a source of great bewilderment to the travelling public and a heavy responsibility for railway officials. Stagnated by WWI, the fully rebuilt and integrated Waterloo finally came to completion in 1922.