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J Lynch · April 25th 05, 12:37 PM posted to uk.transport.london

"Colin Rosenstiel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(J Lynch) wrote:

"Mark Brader" wrote in message
...
Last week, Baz Marratxi asked:
Sorry to be ignorant but could somebody please tell me more
about Palace Gates ? Where, when, etc.

-- snipped

When Palace Gates opened on 1878-10-07, it was the terminus of a
Great Eastern branch extending 2 miles from Seven Sisters station
on their line to Enfield. An intermediate station on the branch
was Green Lanes, later called Noel Park, and the branch had opened
that far on 1878-01-01. There was a plan to extend the branch
to the Alexandra Palace station then existing, which actually was
adjacent to the palace, but this never came to fruition.

-- snipped

Thank you for a very interesting synopsis of the history of the Place
Gates line. However I would suggest that the main reason that the
connection between Palace Gates and (the then) Alexandra Palace station
was not progressed, would be due to the difference in height between the
two locations. As you note, the original Alexandra Palace station was
part of the "Northern Heights". This building can still be seen on the
skyline from the station now known as "Alexandra Palace" (and provided
quite a spectacle when it caught fire a few years ago). The gradient
necessary for a link line would probably have required the use of rack
and pinion!

I thought the original (prospective Northern line) Alexandra Palace
station was at the bottom of the hill from the actual palace?

It has been a while since I had a look, but my recollection is that the
station was immediately adjacent to the main building. At that time the
platforms were still extant, although they may have disappeared since then.