"Jonathan Morton" wrote in message
...
"Dave Rowsell" wrote in message
...
In the 1950's I lived in North Harrow and think the Met had only two
tracks
running between Harrow on the Hill and Moor Park and beyond. A recent
photo
shows a second set of lines on the south west side of the station.
That could of course have been the BR (ex-GCR) lines. South of and
including
Harrow-on-the-Hill they are on the south-western side of the formation,
giving Harrow three island platforms (from south to north Marylebone
down/up, Met down and Met up). I can't remember whether this arrangement
continues north of Harrow Junction.
Clive's UndergrounD Guides web pages say "Traffic on the Metropolitan
was
heavy enough that it was quadrupled from Finchley Road to Kilburn in
1913,
Wembley Park in 1915, Harrow in 1932, Northwood Hills in 1961, and
Croxleyhall Junction (north of Moor Park) in 1962." I am right in
understanding this to mean that the second pair of lines were built in
1961.
Does any one have information on this second set and/or any images of
their
construction.
Sorry, no images, but the dates would be right, co-inciding roughly with
the
intoduction of the A59 and A60 stock (IIRC, "A" for Amersham and the years
'59 and '60). Not sure if the reference to "second pair" of lines is
strictly correct.
Certainly the Met south of Harrow is paired by direction
(very efficient use of space, with the slows in the middle,
because you can use a single island platform where
there are no fast platforms, as at Northwick Park for instance,
and one island for each direction where fast
trains stop, Harrow for instance).
This is only efficient on space if you are happy to have the fast lines
wiggling like crazy as they go past minor stations. If you want decent
alignments for the fast lines, the lengthy sliver of land required to fit a
minor station platform in the middle of a fast-slow-slow-fast arrangement
might use more land than two platforms on the outside of a
slow-fast-fast-slow arrangement.
I think this continues north of Harrow,
but I can't remember exactly.
So I would guess that quadrupling was achieved
by a new track on each side, BICBW.
This would require twice as many properties to be purchased / demolished,
unless the land for 4 tracks had been set aside when the line was first
built.
--
John Rowland - Spamtrapped
Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html
A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood.
That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line -
It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes