In a previous post I explained the origins of the GNCR route from Finsbury Park to Moorgate. Now we'll see what happened between the formation of London Transport in 1933 and the post-WWII years.
London Transport inherited the line along with the rest of the Met. No time was lost in pruning at the outer reaches of the Met's empire in Buckinghamshire. The GNCR however was a different kettle of fish - it had potential which LT soon planned to exploit.
The New Works Programme of the late 1930s was the most ambitious expansion of the London Underground network. Just before the formation of LT the Piccadilly line was already being extended northwards into historic GNR (now grouped into the LNER) territory, and this would greatly ease the pressure of interchange passengers at Finsbury Park.
Now it was the GNCR that was to be extended. The New Works Programme included extensions west and east to the Central line over mainline tracks. A similar idea applied to the GNCR would see its trains continue northwards over the suburban branches of the LNER to High Barnet, Edgware and Alexandra Palace - known as the 'Northern Heights' because of their elevation over the low-lying London next to the River Thames.
The extensions were a sort of reverse mirror image of the original 1900s GNCR plan. Instead of the GNR services being diverted southwards to Moorgate over the new line, the GNCR shuttle services - operating as the Northern City line - would now be transferred to the Northern line. They would be projected north of Finsbury Park over the newly-electrified branches (and beyond Edgware) to replace the steam suburban services on the three branches. A complicated plan, made even more complicated by the two existing branches of the Northern line also being extended to the same places!
Construction and conversion was well under way when World War II started. The connection between the tube terminus at Archway and the surface lines at East Finchley was made. Due to wartime circumstances the rest of the work ceased however, except for a half-baked projection of tube trains to Mill Hill East - but with trains running via the original Northern line through Archway (Highgate) rather than from the GNCR.
After the war the GNCR extensions were only 12-18 months away from full completion. However the economic effects of the war on Britain and changed thoughts about preserving the countryside around London following 1930s development were looming on the horizon. After some prevarication all the uncompleted extensions were cancelled. The line to Edgware was left with a single track from Finchley Central to a wooden platform at Mill Hill East. Only a few arches and tunnels marked the route of planned extension beyond to Bushey Heath. High Barnet was to be served only by Northern line trains via Archway and Camden Town. The branch to Alexandra Palace was left to moulder away and closed completely in the mid-1950s.
What was the effect of all this on Finsbury Park? Well, if the plans had been implemented then the Northern line trains would have run through new platforms on the east side and level with the mainline platforms at Finsbury Park - where today's fancy new Station Place bus station canopy is. As it was, the half-complete platforms were left as a skeleton of rusting ironmongery, wooden boards and scaffolding marring the street frontage until 1983.
However, we've jumped forward a bit - other plans were made in the 1950s which would change Finsbury Park.
To be continued...
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Canary Wharf DLR station
It's the most impressive station on the Docklands Light Railway. Three through lines - each with a platform face on either side making six platforms in total. Already three-car length, with a barrel-vaulted overall roof and marble finishings.
But did you know that the station was originally built exactly the same as the prototypical DLR station in 1987 - then completely demolished and rebuilt before it saw a single passenger?
When the DLR was being planned it was felt important to have an elevated route across the middle of the abandoned West India Docks as a highly-visible 'statement of intent' about the Docklands regeneration project. As constructed the viaduct (really a series of three cross-dock steel and concrete bridges) had three near-identical stations at West India Quay, Canary Wharf and Heron Quays.
Courtesy of a friendly Train Captain* I had a tour across the entire DLR network in August 1987, a couple of weeks before the public opening. From Stratford to Island Gardens (the red route), then to Tower Gateway (the green route), back to Island Gardens and Stratford again on 1986 German-built unit number 10.
Originally the developments on the Isle of Dogs were planned as low-key, low-rise light industrial, residential and small business units. However, a couple of months prior to opening the game plan had changed, with the unveiling of plans by an American developer for a aspirant version of the City of London on Canary Wharf.
By the time of my tour the railway was of course structurally complete, and test trains were running daily service on both routes. The computer control system was being tweaked for reliability before public service started. Originally the system was planned to open to the public immediately after the ceremonial opening by HM The Queen, at the end of July 1987.
The week prior to scheduled opening however it was decided to defer public service for an unspecified period, because a reliable service could not be assured. The royal opening went ahead as scheduled, with well-publicised "breakdowns". In actual fact there were two issues, neither of which was a technical failure.
Firstly The Queen arrived at Island Gardens earlier than scheduled, so rather than stick to the planned timetable the Royal Train was manually despatched ahead of schedule. When the train arrived at Mudchute the automatic train regulation system noted this, and held it there to regain the timetable held on the computer.
The second issue - HM being 'trapped' on the train when it arrived at Poplar - was actually caused by one of Her Majesty's over-eager security men using the emergency door release to get out while the train was still moving. This (correctly) caused the train to make an emergency stop before reaching the stopping mark and preventing the doors being released normally.
The original signalling system was fairly inflexible - while there were no lineside signals it still worked on the fixed block basis, with block sections marked by a red circle with a red diagonal cross. When trains stopped at stations a box of tricks between the rails (DDL - Docking Data Link) provided a link between the train and the control centre computers.
My tour passed quite uneventfully, with the train stopping at all stations - Canary Wharf included. At this time an agreement in principle had been reached with the developers that a much larger station would be provided at Canary Wharf in scale with their office development plans.
As a result when the DLR for passengers opened on Bank Holiday Monday 31 August 1987 Canary Wharf station remained closed - and was already in the process of being dismantled! Because of the modular construction of DLR stations it was quite easy to unbolt the parts above platform level and they were stored on South Quay for a long while afterwards.
The platform structure itself was then demolished and by October virtually no sign of the station remained - except that, in the northbound direction there was a block marker. Because of the fairly rigid computer signalling system described earlier it was easier to leave the stopping instruction in the control computer though, leading to misconceptions from passengers that 'Not finished building this station yet' or later 'Why have we stopped here, the train has broken down'.
After demolition of the platforms loops were built on either side of the original twin track line, forming today's outer platforms. Trains diverted onto these new tracks, allowing the original viaduct through the centre station site to be demolished and replaced with a new dead-end single track in the centre.
The station opened in a half-finshed state in mid-1991, the flank platforms first via temporary entrances, followed by the centre islands and the lower concourse, and finally the terminating centre track was commissioned. It wasn't long however before the centre road was extended southwards giving three through roads to Heron Quays and increasing flexibility, and the line north to West India Quay was quadrupled.
Since then the station has remained remarkably unchanged. Apart from signage it looks pretty much as it did in 1993, and there aren't many DLR stations you can say that about...
* the original title of what now has the mundane name of Passenger Service Agent
But did you know that the station was originally built exactly the same as the prototypical DLR station in 1987 - then completely demolished and rebuilt before it saw a single passenger?
When the DLR was being planned it was felt important to have an elevated route across the middle of the abandoned West India Docks as a highly-visible 'statement of intent' about the Docklands regeneration project. As constructed the viaduct (really a series of three cross-dock steel and concrete bridges) had three near-identical stations at West India Quay, Canary Wharf and Heron Quays.
Courtesy of a friendly Train Captain* I had a tour across the entire DLR network in August 1987, a couple of weeks before the public opening. From Stratford to Island Gardens (the red route), then to Tower Gateway (the green route), back to Island Gardens and Stratford again on 1986 German-built unit number 10.
Originally the developments on the Isle of Dogs were planned as low-key, low-rise light industrial, residential and small business units. However, a couple of months prior to opening the game plan had changed, with the unveiling of plans by an American developer for a aspirant version of the City of London on Canary Wharf.
By the time of my tour the railway was of course structurally complete, and test trains were running daily service on both routes. The computer control system was being tweaked for reliability before public service started. Originally the system was planned to open to the public immediately after the ceremonial opening by HM The Queen, at the end of July 1987.
The week prior to scheduled opening however it was decided to defer public service for an unspecified period, because a reliable service could not be assured. The royal opening went ahead as scheduled, with well-publicised "breakdowns". In actual fact there were two issues, neither of which was a technical failure.
Firstly The Queen arrived at Island Gardens earlier than scheduled, so rather than stick to the planned timetable the Royal Train was manually despatched ahead of schedule. When the train arrived at Mudchute the automatic train regulation system noted this, and held it there to regain the timetable held on the computer.
The second issue - HM being 'trapped' on the train when it arrived at Poplar - was actually caused by one of Her Majesty's over-eager security men using the emergency door release to get out while the train was still moving. This (correctly) caused the train to make an emergency stop before reaching the stopping mark and preventing the doors being released normally.
The original signalling system was fairly inflexible - while there were no lineside signals it still worked on the fixed block basis, with block sections marked by a red circle with a red diagonal cross. When trains stopped at stations a box of tricks between the rails (DDL - Docking Data Link) provided a link between the train and the control centre computers.
My tour passed quite uneventfully, with the train stopping at all stations - Canary Wharf included. At this time an agreement in principle had been reached with the developers that a much larger station would be provided at Canary Wharf in scale with their office development plans.
As a result when the DLR for passengers opened on Bank Holiday Monday 31 August 1987 Canary Wharf station remained closed - and was already in the process of being dismantled! Because of the modular construction of DLR stations it was quite easy to unbolt the parts above platform level and they were stored on South Quay for a long while afterwards.
The platform structure itself was then demolished and by October virtually no sign of the station remained - except that, in the northbound direction there was a block marker. Because of the fairly rigid computer signalling system described earlier it was easier to leave the stopping instruction in the control computer though, leading to misconceptions from passengers that 'Not finished building this station yet' or later 'Why have we stopped here, the train has broken down'.
After demolition of the platforms loops were built on either side of the original twin track line, forming today's outer platforms. Trains diverted onto these new tracks, allowing the original viaduct through the centre station site to be demolished and replaced with a new dead-end single track in the centre.
The station opened in a half-finshed state in mid-1991, the flank platforms first via temporary entrances, followed by the centre islands and the lower concourse, and finally the terminating centre track was commissioned. It wasn't long however before the centre road was extended southwards giving three through roads to Heron Quays and increasing flexibility, and the line north to West India Quay was quadrupled.
Since then the station has remained remarkably unchanged. Apart from signage it looks pretty much as it did in 1993, and there aren't many DLR stations you can say that about...
* the original title of what now has the mundane name of Passenger Service Agent
Monday, 27 October 2008
One-platform stations
In 1986, when Heathrow Terminal 4 opened, the following ten stations only had one platform served by Underground trains:
Aldwych (closed 1994)
Chesham
Heathrow Terminal 4
Kensington (Olympia)
Mill Hill East
New Cross (closed 2007)
New Cross Gate (closed 2007)
North Weald (closed 1994)
Ongar (closed 1994)
Shoreditch (closed 2006)
Now only four remain.
Aldwych (closed 1994)
Chesham
Heathrow Terminal 4
Kensington (Olympia)
Mill Hill East
New Cross (closed 2007)
New Cross Gate (closed 2007)
North Weald (closed 1994)
Ongar (closed 1994)
Shoreditch (closed 2006)
Now only four remain.
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Primitive journey planner
Heathrow Central tube station long ago had a primitive journey planner. Basically a huge (approx 6ft x 4ft) tube map mounted on a slanted table with little bulbs in place of the station ticks or interchange circles.
You had a set of push buttons, one for each tube station, and pressing one of these would cause a sequence of the lights to show you the best route to that station. Great fun for boys who liked playing with such things, and probably quite helpful for passengers as well!
Unfortunately I think this disappeared sometime around 1990.
You had a set of push buttons, one for each tube station, and pressing one of these would cause a sequence of the lights to show you the best route to that station. Great fun for boys who liked playing with such things, and probably quite helpful for passengers as well!
Unfortunately I think this disappeared sometime around 1990.
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
UERL: what's this about?
UERL :: Underground Eclectic Railways of London.
Anyone with a knowledge of the history of the London Underground will know that, in the early years before London Transport was formed, the majority of the Underground was already under common management - by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London.
Two eclectic things that persuaded me to name this blog: the variety and mixed history of railways that collectively make up the Underground; and the subject matter of my postings.
I can't guarantee to finish a series of posts quickly (or at all) as I may wander off on a tangent. As well as the Underground, I'll also cover the DLR, Overground and mainline railways if I feel like it. Hopefully you'll find something of interest here, though exploring the links on the right may prove more interesting!
Thus the name - hopefully easy(ish) to remember and makes sense.
Anyone with a knowledge of the history of the London Underground will know that, in the early years before London Transport was formed, the majority of the Underground was already under common management - by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London.
Two eclectic things that persuaded me to name this blog: the variety and mixed history of railways that collectively make up the Underground; and the subject matter of my postings.
I can't guarantee to finish a series of posts quickly (or at all) as I may wander off on a tangent. As well as the Underground, I'll also cover the DLR, Overground and mainline railways if I feel like it. Hopefully you'll find something of interest here, though exploring the links on the right may prove more interesting!
Thus the name - hopefully easy(ish) to remember and makes sense.
Acknowledgements
I have my father to thank for fostering my interest in the Underground, and my wider family and friends for indulging me on endless boring (for them) trips to obscure parts of London.
Much of my knowledge comes from the variety of interesting literature published over the years. Specifically I would recommend almost anything under the author/editorship of (in no particular order) Brian Hardy, Doug Rose, Alan A Jackson, J Graeme Bruce, Desmond Croome, Piers Connor, Mike Horne, John R Day, Bob Greenaway.
More recently we have the internet to share our knowledge and observations on a professional and amateur level, and to the right you'll find an expanding list of interesting and useful sites.
Much of my knowledge comes from the variety of interesting literature published over the years. Specifically I would recommend almost anything under the author/editorship of (in no particular order) Brian Hardy, Doug Rose, Alan A Jackson, J Graeme Bruce, Desmond Croome, Piers Connor, Mike Horne, John R Day, Bob Greenaway.
More recently we have the internet to share our knowledge and observations on a professional and amateur level, and to the right you'll find an expanding list of interesting and useful sites.
1996 to 2009: a big gap, no big change
The 13-year gap between the Jubilee line's 1996 stock and the Victoria line's new 2009 stock is the greatest in the history of tube stock classification.
2009
< 13 >
1996
< 1 >
1995
< 3 >
1992
< 6 >
1986
< 3 >
1983
< 10 >
1973
< 1 >
1972
< 5 >
1967
< 5 >
1962
< 2 >
1960
< 1 >
1959
< 3 >
1956
< 7 >
1949
< 11 >
1938
< 3 >
1935*
However, the 2009 stock is actually not hugely different in appearance from the 1986 stock, the Metro-Cammell trains in particular - despite the 23 year gap. Outside hung doors (single at car ends, two pairs at car thirds) rubber/lino flooring, swathes of white/off-white plastic, large non-opening windows, LED dot-matrix displays, all longitudinal seating.
Have we reached a point where there won't be any more significant advances in Tube profile stock? Compare the Gate with Standard, Standard with 1938, 1938 with 1960, 1960 with 1986. Each of them introduced new concepts, but I don't see any such change from a passenger's point of view with 2009 stock.
The space train concept put forward for the Victoria replacement stock seems to be firmly pushed to the back of the shelf - if there was going to be one line on which such a concept could have been tried surely this was it. Articulation, smaller wheels, more motors, different floor and door arrangements allowing better passenger circulation.
On the other hand perhaps it's not to the manufacturer's (or the operators) advantage to be too radical. I understand the Paris Metro is considering replacing the innovative stock used on line 7bis because they've proved too troublesome in just over ten years of service.
* Going back beyond 1935 (the prototype for the classic 1938 stock) gets tricky because of the number of variants of Standard (sic) Stock and Gate stock before that - I couldn't remember all the different types and years!
2009
< 13 >
1996
< 1 >
1995
< 3 >
1992
< 6 >
1986
< 3 >
1983
< 10 >
1973
< 1 >
1972
< 5 >
1967
< 5 >
1962
< 2 >
1960
< 1 >
1959
< 3 >
1956
< 7 >
1949
< 11 >
1938
< 3 >
1935*
However, the 2009 stock is actually not hugely different in appearance from the 1986 stock, the Metro-Cammell trains in particular - despite the 23 year gap. Outside hung doors (single at car ends, two pairs at car thirds) rubber/lino flooring, swathes of white/off-white plastic, large non-opening windows, LED dot-matrix displays, all longitudinal seating.
Have we reached a point where there won't be any more significant advances in Tube profile stock? Compare the Gate with Standard, Standard with 1938, 1938 with 1960, 1960 with 1986. Each of them introduced new concepts, but I don't see any such change from a passenger's point of view with 2009 stock.
The space train concept put forward for the Victoria replacement stock seems to be firmly pushed to the back of the shelf - if there was going to be one line on which such a concept could have been tried surely this was it. Articulation, smaller wheels, more motors, different floor and door arrangements allowing better passenger circulation.
On the other hand perhaps it's not to the manufacturer's (or the operators) advantage to be too radical. I understand the Paris Metro is considering replacing the innovative stock used on line 7bis because they've proved too troublesome in just over ten years of service.
* Going back beyond 1935 (the prototype for the classic 1938 stock) gets tricky because of the number of variants of Standard (sic) Stock and Gate stock before that - I couldn't remember all the different types and years!
King's Cross: old Metropolitan and Circle station
Some interesting photos have recently been published on Abandoned Tube Stations.
They show platform, concourse and street level views of the old station as it is today. Very interesting however are the pictures of the subway that went from the old station to the corner of Euston Road and York Way, at the south-eastern corner of King's Cross mainline station. I was vaguely aware of the existence of this subway, but this is the first detailed account of it that I know of.
They show platform, concourse and street level views of the old station as it is today. Very interesting however are the pictures of the subway that went from the old station to the corner of Euston Road and York Way, at the south-eastern corner of King's Cross mainline station. I was vaguely aware of the existence of this subway, but this is the first detailed account of it that I know of.
Monday, 20 October 2008
Decrepit? No, atmospheric!
What's the most decrepit - or, if you prefer, atmospheric - part of the London Underground?
I would wager that the old footbridge connecting the west end of the Circle & Hammersmith line platforms at Baker Street would give any other part of the network a good fight.
Have a look at it if you get the chance, as it will disappear in its current form with the Baker Street step-free access project.
I would wager that the old footbridge connecting the west end of the Circle & Hammersmith line platforms at Baker Street would give any other part of the network a good fight.
Have a look at it if you get the chance, as it will disappear in its current form with the Baker Street step-free access project.
Not so simple: Finsbury Park (Part I)
Manor House to Highbury & Islington - take the Piccadilly line for one stop, use the cross-platform interchange, and take the Victoria line for one stop? Yes... but it used to be rather different. I'll explain in a series of posts, this first dealing with the early history of the line from Finsbury Park to Moorgate.
Think about Finsbury Park station to start with. Underground there are four platforms - two for the Piccadilly line and two for the Victoria line - but they were all built in the early 1900's. Naturally this causes the first stirrings of curiosity: why were the Victoria line platforms built sixty-odd years before the line opened?
The reason is not advance planning - that's never been a strong point of London's transport system. When the underground station was built two platforms (those to the west side of the station, today's southbound platforms) were for the Piccadilly line, and two platforms (those to the east, today's northbound platforms) were for the Great Northern & City Railway.
The GNCR was associated with the Great Northern Railway (the company running services through the mainline station above) and the intention was for some of the GNR's steam hauled suburban services to be routed through the new GNCR tunnels to deep-level tubes at Moorgate station - very handy for the City of London. At Finsbury Park the GNR engine would have been removed and replaced with an electric loco for the tunnel passage.
Before the line was complete however the two companies fell out. The connections from the surface station at Finsbury Park to the GNCR at Drayton Park were never finished. Holed up in underground platforms the GNCR was left to run a pretty useless little stub of a line (with heavy bus and tramcar competition) running from an inner suburban station to a terminal which was really only of any great interest to city workers at the start and end of their working day.
Rather than using their planned direct route, GNR trains to the City reached it by two other routes: via Canonbury to the North London Railway's Broad Street station and via the connections at King's Cross to the Metropolitan Railway's 'Widened Lines', running alongside the Met and Circle line between King's Cross and sub-surface terminal platforms at Moorgate.
Nothing further came of the original plans for running through suburban trains from the GNR. Never an attractive proposition in isolation, the GNCR company was fairly soon taken over by the Metropolitan Railway - still an independent pseudo-mainline railway with country branches. The Met didn't implement any grand designs on the GNCR, and the line entered (along with the rest of the Met) London Transport ownership in 1933 fundamentally similar in structures, services and passengers to when it was built. Expansionist LT soon formulated ambitious plans for it however.
To be continued...
Think about Finsbury Park station to start with. Underground there are four platforms - two for the Piccadilly line and two for the Victoria line - but they were all built in the early 1900's. Naturally this causes the first stirrings of curiosity: why were the Victoria line platforms built sixty-odd years before the line opened?
The reason is not advance planning - that's never been a strong point of London's transport system. When the underground station was built two platforms (those to the west side of the station, today's southbound platforms) were for the Piccadilly line, and two platforms (those to the east, today's northbound platforms) were for the Great Northern & City Railway.
The GNCR was associated with the Great Northern Railway (the company running services through the mainline station above) and the intention was for some of the GNR's steam hauled suburban services to be routed through the new GNCR tunnels to deep-level tubes at Moorgate station - very handy for the City of London. At Finsbury Park the GNR engine would have been removed and replaced with an electric loco for the tunnel passage.
Before the line was complete however the two companies fell out. The connections from the surface station at Finsbury Park to the GNCR at Drayton Park were never finished. Holed up in underground platforms the GNCR was left to run a pretty useless little stub of a line (with heavy bus and tramcar competition) running from an inner suburban station to a terminal which was really only of any great interest to city workers at the start and end of their working day.
Rather than using their planned direct route, GNR trains to the City reached it by two other routes: via Canonbury to the North London Railway's Broad Street station and via the connections at King's Cross to the Metropolitan Railway's 'Widened Lines', running alongside the Met and Circle line between King's Cross and sub-surface terminal platforms at Moorgate.
Nothing further came of the original plans for running through suburban trains from the GNR. Never an attractive proposition in isolation, the GNCR company was fairly soon taken over by the Metropolitan Railway - still an independent pseudo-mainline railway with country branches. The Met didn't implement any grand designs on the GNCR, and the line entered (along with the rest of the Met) London Transport ownership in 1933 fundamentally similar in structures, services and passengers to when it was built. Expansionist LT soon formulated ambitious plans for it however.
To be continued...
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