With regard to the above, I know, and have pictures of the main sidings on the UP line, to London, removed around 1965/66.

However I am almost totally positive, I think, that I can recall a siding behind the DOWN platform, to Uxbridge. I seem to remember PW trains, broken down passenger trains, coal trains and steam engines in this siding. This would be about 1960/61.

Am I mad or just totally confused? There are two arches to the bridge carrying West End Road, the main one with the UP and DOWN lines, and the other one empty. Why an arch if no siding?

Since I plan to build a model railway of Ruislip station at its peak, it would be great to know if I am mad or sane. Any pics or OS maps showing same would be great as well.

Thanks,
The Lost One.

Are London Underground lines designated "Up" and "Down"? I have found a set of signalling diagrams for the Uxbridge branch as it was in 1948...

http://www.harsig.org/PDF/Uxbridge_Branch.pdf

....and the tracks are clearly labelled "Westbound" (towards Uxbridge) and "Eastbound" (towards Rayners Lane). However this seems odd, since I thought Met tracks were designated NB and SB. I know the Met had main line pretensions, and there up Up/Down sidings at Baker Street, apparently. Anyway, the diagram shows a little goods yard on the north ("eastbound"/"up"/"southbound") side but nothing on the southern side of the station.

In the track diagram accompanying the Accident Report on the 1981 Harrow North derailment, the lines at Harrow that dive under the Met main line to Uxbridge are called "NB Uxbridge" and "SB Uxbridge".

http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/doc...wNorth1981.pdf

I do acknowledge I used OUR local terminology for the lines, since we go UP to London and DOWN to Uxbridge. The signalling map is nice, not seen that before, but the sidings at Ruislip were a full 5 sidings at Ruislip in 1934 and 1939, beyond MT13 they were manually-operated. 2 sidings ended just before Ruislip Manor, 2 before the tennis courts, and 1 was for the stock pens. We had a great range of coal merchants, builders, builders merchants, estate agents, electrical contractors and surveyors. Most of these were catering for the expansion of MetroLand. London Underground took up those sidings at the same tiime they destroyed the sidings at Rayners Lane, about 1965.
With regard to the Uxbridge bound platform I am sure that I seem to remember looking through the concrete posts down into coal wagons and also looking at yellow-painted battery powered trains. I might be mad after all!! Perhaps I was on the London platform looking across the tracks!! Seems unlikely as the Uxbridge side was the route I used to get to school.
Thank you very much for the reply. It is much appreciated.

On Monday, April 9, 2012 3:46:30 PM UTC+1, OnePerson001 wrote:
With regard to the above, I know, and have pictures of the main sidings
on the UP line, to London, removed around 1965/66.

However I am almost totally positive, I think, that I can recall a
siding behind the DOWN platform, to Uxbridge. I seem to remember PW
trains, broken down passenger trains, coal trains and steam engines in
this siding. This would be about 1960/61.

Am I mad or just totally confused? There are two arches to the bridge
carrying West End Road, the main one with the UP and DOWN lines, and the
other one empty. Why an arch if no siding?

Since I plan to build a model railway of Ruislip station at its peak, it
would be great to know if I am mad or sane. Any pics or OS maps showing
same would be great as well.

Thanks,
The Lost One.




--
OnePerson001

I think you may be confusing memories of Ruislip and Rayners Lane here. There have definitely never been any sidings on the "down" side behind the platform at Ruislip. Although the bridge was built for four tracks (with, I have read, the intention of providing through lines by-passing the station) they were never laid.

However, the sidings on the south side of the line at Rayners Lane lasted much longer than 1965- they have only been disconnected in the last twenty years, and are still visible on Google Earth. I can remember seeing engineers trains in there well into the 80s- through the concrete fence behind the westbound platform!

Stuart J

Thanks for the reply Stuart. I did mention that I may be suffering from false memories, but what I do know is that you are right over Rayners Lane. The sidings there were removed in two stages. The area now carpark was where the first sidings were removed. The empty bit was the later removal. I remember both being vibrant and fully used. Ruislip sidings, the ones on the North of the lines, were fully used by a great many different businesses. Sad when they were removed and so many people placed out of work. At the time I am concerned with, 1960/62, I was attending school in West Drayton and travelled the line every day. Can I be so wrong?? I hope not, I would feel so daft.

The 1939 OS map does show the way that through-lines would have been routed. I feel that the bend in the line as the tracks left towards Ruislip Manor show the intention. LUL won't let me down into the area to see if any track bed remains!! The LT Museum won't supply any details from their library via the internet, and I cannot get there due to being a cripple!!

I think I may just add the siding to my model anyway, and the through-line workings. At my modelling scale of 1/450th, T-Gauge, I should fit all of it in my 2 metre long board! Modelling the sidings with all their various business interests should be great fun.

I want a Sarah Seddons type loco or 2, I will have to build them myself, and a couple of steam trains. Then early through to modern electric. Great scope in a fantasy world!!

Thanks again Stuart.

David

In message , OnePerson001
wrote:
With regard to the above, I know, and have pictures of the main sidings
on the UP line, to London, removed around 1965/66.

However I am almost totally positive, I think, that I can recall a
siding behind the DOWN platform, to Uxbridge. I seem to remember PW
trains, broken down passenger trains, coal trains and steam engines in
this siding. This would be about 1960/61.

Am I mad or just totally confused? There are two arches to the bridge
carrying West End Road, the main one with the UP and DOWN lines, and the
other one empty. Why an arch if no siding?

If you go to www.old-maps.co.uk, you can look at maps from a range of
dates. The 1935, 1960, 1962, and 1968 maps all fail to show anything
south of the running line, though there's a suggestive amount of empty
space. Even going back to 1914 shows nothing there.

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Mobile: +44 7973 377646 | Web: http://www.davros.org
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is:

Thank you, Clive. I have had a look at the maps, and now doubt my sanity!! I was the only one left in the whole world that thought I was even remotely sane!! Now I think the only option left is to talk to my older sister who travelled the same route for a year longer. I just wish LUL would let me have access to the back of the platform just to look to see if there is any track bed signs left. Thanks again.

On Apr 22, 11:08*pm, "Clive D. W. Feather" wrote:
Am I mad or just totally confused? There are two arches to the bridge
carrying West End Road, the main one with the UP and DOWN lines, and the
other one empty. Why an arch if no siding?

If you go towww.old-maps.co.uk, you can look at maps from a range of
dates. The 1935, 1960, 1962, and 1968 maps all fail to show anything
south of the running line, though there's a suggestive amount of empty
space. Even going back to 1914 shows nothing there.

All probably part of the Met's plans to eventually quadruple the line
when it eventually reached High Wycombe.