On Wed, 25 Mar 2015 09:32:06 +0000
Paul Corfield wrote:
On Wed, 25 Mar 2015 09:16:11 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

On Tue, 24 Mar 2015 21:46:55 +0000
Basil Jet wrote:
Am I the only one who think the Seven Sisters - Alexandra Palace branch
is like an April Fool joke? I might be able to see some sense in it if

Given how up and coming Muswell Hill is these days and the amount of bus
traffic that crawls around there, I'd suggest re-opening the Highgate to
Alexandra Palace branch wouldn't be a bad idea. The trackbed is still mostly
extant and there could be a shuttle service to highgate high level where pax
could walk down to the main northern line at the low level.

Unfortunately the rare bats that roost in the disused tunnels would
stop that. I have been lucky enough to visit Highgate High Level and
walk on the old track bed and up to the tunnel entrance. Big warning
signs about not disturbing the bats! I think it's a criminal offence
to disturb them.

Cue rant by way of reply. ;-)

Meh. I'm sure they could be moved. Besides, this short branch would probably
only require one of the tunnels to be re-opened. Obviously it'll never happen
but it would be a real boon for that area which is badly snarled with traffic
all the time. God knows why those idiots back in the day took up the track
in the first place. What were they thinking? If they were at all.

--
Spud

I didn't know there were bats and warning notices! There weren't any
forty/forty-five years ago when I walked from Stapleton Hall Road
through the tunnels to Highgate High Level station which I think is now
a car park. (Cue rant about the good old days!)

On Wed, 25 Mar 2015 09:16:11 +0000 (UTC),
d wrote:

On Tue, 24 Mar 2015 21:46:55 +0000
Basil Jet wrote:
Am I the only one who think the Seven Sisters - Alexandra Palace branch
is like an April Fool joke? I might be able to see some sense in it if

Given how up and coming Muswell Hill is these days and the amount of bus
traffic that crawls around there, I'd suggest re-opening the Highgate to
Alexandra Palace branch wouldn't be a bad idea. The trackbed is still mostly
extant and there could be a shuttle service to highgate high level where pax
could walk down to the main northern line at the low level.

Corrected version.

The closure of the Northern City route to Muswell Hill never made
sense. Nor did cutting back the Northern Line to Mill Hill East. Had
the extension been built to Mill Hill Broadway, today North Londoners
would have had a short cut to Thameslink.

On Wed, 25 Mar 2015 12:07:24 +0000, e27002 aurora
wrote:

On Wed, 25 Mar 2015 09:16:11 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:

On Tue, 24 Mar 2015 21:46:55 +0000
Basil Jet wrote:
Am I the only one who think the Seven Sisters - Alexandra Palace branch
is like an April Fool joke? I might be able to see some sense in it if

Given how up and coming Muswell Hill is these days and the amount of bus
traffic that crawls around there, I'd suggest re-opening the Highgate to
Alexandra Palace branch wouldn't be a bad idea. The trackbed is still mostly
extant and there could be a shuttle service to highgate high level where pax
could walk down to the main northern line at the low level.

Corrected version.

The closure of the Northern City route to Muswell Hill never made
sense.

AFAIR it was somewhat under-used at the time and was closed even
before the dreaded Doctor came on the scene.

Nor did cutting back the Northern Line to Mill Hill East.

It did to the motorway builders. Big Mistake 2 didn't help a lot
either but Green-belting took away much of what had been intended
future traffic.

Had the extension been built to Mill Hill Broadway, today North Londoners
would have had a short cut to Thameslink.

cough 221, 240 /cough

On Wed, 25 Mar 2015 20:22:54 +0000
Charles Ellson wrote:
On Wed, 25 Mar 2015 12:07:24 +0000, e27002 aurora
wrote:
The closure of the Northern City route to Muswell Hill never made
sense.

AFAIR it was somewhat under-used at the time and was closed even
before the dreaded Doctor came on the scene.

The usual short term thinking we excel in in the UK. Of course if they'd
bothered to electrify it instead of running some wheezing steam service people
even then might have been more inclined to use it. If it was open today I can
guarantee it would be packed.

It did to the motorway builders. Big Mistake 2 didn't help a lot
either but Green-belting took away much of what had been intended
future traffic.

Had the extension been built to Mill Hill Broadway, today North Londoners
would have had a short cut to Thameslink.

cough 221, 240 /cough

Pffft. You ever travelled by bus in london in the rush hour? Might as well
walk.

--
Spud

On Thu, 26 Mar 2015 09:28:23 +0000 (UTC),
d wrote:

On Wed, 25 Mar 2015 20:22:54 +0000
Charles Ellson wrote:
On Wed, 25 Mar 2015 12:07:24 +0000, e27002 aurora
wrote:
The closure of the Northern City route to Muswell Hill never made
sense.

AFAIR it was somewhat under-used at the time and was closed even
before the dreaded Doctor came on the scene.

The usual short term thinking we excel in in the UK. Of course if they'd
bothered to electrify it instead of running some wheezing steam service people
even then might have been more inclined to use it. If it was open today I can
guarantee it would be packed.

It did to the motorway builders. Big Mistake 2 didn't help a lot
either but Green-belting took away much of what had been intended
future traffic.

Had the extension been built to Mill Hill Broadway, today North Londoners
would have had a short cut to Thameslink.

cough 221, 240 /cough

Pffft. You ever travelled by bus in london in the rush hour? Might as well
walk.

If it was the rush hour, I'd probably use a train instead to get to a
Thameslink station.

On Thu, 26 Mar 2015 20:04:06 +0000
Charles Ellson wrote:
On Thu, 26 Mar 2015 09:28:23 +0000 (UTC),
wrote:
Pffft. You ever travelled by bus in london in the rush hour? Might as well
walk.

If it was the rush hour, I'd probably use a train instead to get to a
Thameslink station.

And if they hadn't ripped up the track west of Mill Hill East you could
have done.

Actually apart from a couple of small houses which could easily be compulsory
purchased the trackbed is clear all the way to Copthall and a bit beyond.
If LU ever has any spare cash lying around they could do worse than re-extend
back there since its a large housing area plus a sports stadium.

--
Spud

On 2015\03\27 09:27, d wrote:

And if they hadn't ripped up the track west of Mill Hill East you could
have done.

Actually apart from a couple of small houses which could easily be compulsory
purchased the trackbed is clear all the way to Copthall and a bit beyond.
If LU ever has any spare cash lying around they could do worse than re-extend
back there since its a large housing area plus a sports stadium.

The current service is as frequent as you could get on a single track,
so any extension would require some double tracking.

On 27/03/2015 09:27, d wrote:
On Thu, 26 Mar 2015 20:04:06 +0000
Charles Ellson wrote:
On Thu, 26 Mar 2015 09:28:23 +0000 (UTC),
d wrote:
Pffft. You ever travelled by bus in london in the rush hour? Might as well
walk.

If it was the rush hour, I'd probably use a train instead to get to a
Thameslink station.

And if they hadn't ripped up the track west of Mill Hill East you could
have done.

Actually apart from a couple of small houses which could easily be compulsory
purchased the trackbed is clear all the way to Copthall and a bit beyond.
If LU ever has any spare cash lying around they could do worse than re-extend
back there since its a large housing area plus a sports stadium.


Isn't that the section cut by the construction of the M1 or am I
thinking of the wrong branch?


--
Graeme Wall
This account not read, substitute trains for rail.
Railway Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail

On Fri, 27 Mar 2015 09:43:06 +0000
Graeme Wall wrote:
On 27/03/2015 09:27, d wrote:
On Thu, 26 Mar 2015 20:04:06 +0000
Charles Ellson wrote:
On Thu, 26 Mar 2015 09:28:23 +0000 (UTC),
d wrote:
Pffft. You ever travelled by bus in london in the rush hour? Might as well
walk.

If it was the rush hour, I'd probably use a train instead to get to a
Thameslink station.

And if they hadn't ripped up the track west of Mill Hill East you could
have done.

Actually apart from a couple of small houses which could easily be compulsory
purchased the trackbed is clear all the way to Copthall and a bit beyond.
If LU ever has any spare cash lying around they could do worse than re-extend
back there since its a large housing area plus a sports stadium.


Isn't that the section cut by the construction of the M1 or am I
thinking of the wrong branch?

Copthall is before that section. Beyond that the trackbed is long buried
first under an office block now a housing estate so the M1 isn't the only
obstacle. Google maps gives a nice view.

--
Spud