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If you’re a commuter who relies on the Southern Rail network to get to work, you’ll likely have suffered through a few hellish journeys this week, as strikes caused ripples of chaos and disruption across the service.

If this sounds familiar, chances are you’re probably already dreading the thought of piling onto a packed carriage on Monday morning, so why not indulge in a bit of escapism by looking back at these brilliant pictures of London’s rail service in a bygone era - before commuting and strikes made us all detest taking the train.

In one of the earliest photographs of the service, there’s an early morning ‘rush hour’ photograph from 1915, which shows Liverpool Street Station looking tantalisingly less busy at peak times.

There’s also an aerial view of steam locomotives making their way out of the sheds at Euston station in 1935, long before electric trains become the norm.

In the Twenties and Thirties, these trains were also used to ferry hundreds of sacks of Christmas mail from Paddington to houses all across the country.

As well as being a hive of activity for people travelling in and out of the capital, train stations have also been home to plenty of four-legged companions over the years.

There’s Jack the ‘collecting dog’ at Euston Station who was regularly made a fuss of by passengers in the 1930s. On the other side of the city, Tiddles, a famous local fat cat lived in the public lavatories at Paddington Station in the 1970s.

Have a close look at this gallery and you may also spot a celebrity or two taking a trip out of the capital. Comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are pictured grinning from a steam train in Paddington Station in 1932, while in a later photograph, Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger light up cigarettes in the first class carriage of a train at Euston station.

These photographs take us on a journey of over sixty years - from 1910 to 1978.

Click on the image above to view the gallery.

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