Bow railway works was at Bow, an area of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

London Borough of Tower Hamlets

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...

. It was built in 1853 by the North London Railway

North London Railway

The North London Railway was a railway company that opened lines connecting the north of London to the East and West India Docks. The main east to west route is now part the North London Line. Other lines operated by the company fell into disuse, but were later revived as part of the Docklands...

.

Bow railway works was built by the North London Railway in 1853 on a 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) site which also included a sizeable wagon repair shop, under the direction of William Adams

William Adams (locomotive engineer)

William Adams was the Locomotive Superintendent of the North London Railway from 1858 to 1873; the Great Eastern Railway from 1873 until 1878 and the London and South Western Railway from then until his retirement in 1895...

 the locomotive superintendent. At first it was used for the repair of locomotives purchased from outside contractors, but from 1860 it was enlarged to enable it to undertake locomotive construction.