The Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway (VS&PR) was an early British railway company which was incorporated by act of Parliament, the (21 & 22 Vict. c. cxviii), on 23 July to build a railway line connecting the existing London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) terminus in Battersea to a new terminal at London Victoria station in Westminster. This involved constructing the Grosvenor Bridge over the river Thames. The company later leased its lines and stations to the and the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR) but continued in existence until December 1922 when it was briefly amalgamated with the South Eastern Railway as a result of the Railways Act 1921, which created the Big Four on 1 January 1923.
Origins The railway was originally created to provide a West End of London terminus for the and three British railways which already had access to, or were planning to use the misnamed ‘Pimlico’ station of the , (which was actually sited in Battersea). These were the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR), and the East Kent Railway, which would soon afterwards become the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR). The new company had an authorised capital of £1 million 45% of which was subscribed by . It was empowered to make agreements with the and , for these two companies to pay an agreed rent in perpetuity.Mihill Slaughter, Railway intelligence London: Stock Exchange 1861. p.174 The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company was to have custody and regulation of the line
The (22 & 23 Vict. c. cxii) enabled the widening of the proposed lines and for the and to subscribe £100,000 each, towards the cost of construction.General Report of the Board of Trade of the Railway and Canal Bills of Session 1859. (1859). p.56.
Completion The line was completed and the side of Victoria station opened in the basin of the Grosvenor Canal on 1 October 1860,"Railway Magazine", March 1958 and leased to the which company had also promoted a bill enabling it to amalgamate with the VS&PR. However this was opposed by the and and rejected by Parliament.'Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway', Daily News 2 August 1860. An agreement was made to widen the lines and bridges to separate the two main users, which was completed in 1862/3. The and station at Victoria (which also provided running powers for the ) was opened 25 August 1862
Absorption The continued in existence until 14 December 1922 when it was absorbed by the South Eastern Railway as a result of the Railways Act 1921, prior to the creation of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923.
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