I moved to Watford a couple of months ago and work in Bushey - as
Bushey Heath, Brockley Hill and Aldenham are not too far away, are
there any remnants of the aborted Northern Line extension left to see?
Still on the topic of abandoned railways, I live on the western edge
of Watford, and the sad, decaying remnants of Croxley Green (ex-LMS)
station are not too far down the road from my house :-(

David E. Belcher

(David E. Belcher) wrote in message . com...
I moved to Watford a couple of months ago and work in Bushey - as
Bushey Heath, Brockley Hill and Aldenham are not too far away, are
there any remnants of the aborted Northern Line extension left to see?
Still on the topic of abandoned railways, I live on the western edge
of Watford, and the sad, decaying remnants of Croxley Green (ex-LMS)
station are not too far down the road from my house :-(

There is a considerable amount to see:

Finsbury Park-Highgate is the best preserved, with the old bridges,
Crouch End's platforms and a substation shell available for viewing,
along with the ubiquitous cable posts.

Mill Hill East-Edgware is equally well preserved, except for the
section between Bunns Lane and Page Street, which is all but
obliterated (except for the now-abandoned slip road built on the
ex-LNER trackbed).

Highgate-Alexandra Palace is a bit difficult to find, but once you
find it near the site of Park Junction on the NE corner of Highgate
Depot, you can follow it at least as far as the site of Muswell Hill.
After that, a quick trip around some houses and under a bridge and its
smooth walking (with more cable posts) all the way to the old BR labs
at Alexandra Palace.

Edgware-Bushey Heath is all but destroyed; I doubt there's anything to
see nowadays.

"TheOneKEA" wrote in message
om...

Edgware-Bushey Heath is all but destroyed;
I doubt there's anything to see nowadays.

Rectory Lane in Edgware goes over a bridge which was built over the planned
railway. The cutting beneath the bridge is filled in.

Also, a platform at Mill Hill The Hale station can be found in the
undergrowth.

--
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

"David E. Belcher" wrote in message
om...
I moved to Watford a couple of months ago and work in Bushey - as
Bushey Heath, Brockley Hill and Aldenham are not too far away, are
there any remnants of the aborted Northern Line extension left to see?

Not a lot, but still a surprising number of clues if you know where to look.

Edgware station - disused platform alongside Platform 1, and ISTR that part
of the frontage was demolished to make way for the abortive extension (the
bit on the left looking into the forecourt from Station Road, which was
recently rebuilt in similar style). I have a feeling that the trainshed over
Platforms 2 and 3 was shortened at the northern end as part of the Bushey
Heath works, BICBW.

Rectory Lane, Edgware - brick abutment where the brief tunnel beneath
Station Road would have emerged. If you turn into Rectory Lane from Station
Road and follow the road round to the left, it's directly ahead of you. The
cutting has been filled and is now a small car park.

Edgware to Brockley Hill - all of the route has been used for housing,
though Tony Beard's book notes that all of the roads built on the trackbed
are dead ends!

Brockley Hill - The viaduct south of the A41 has been demolished, however an
abutment remains on the north side of the A41, which would have supported a
skew bridge over the road, crossing at an oblique angle. North of this
would have been the site of Brockley Hill station, where the stubs of the
arches remain in the field alongside the A41.

AFAIK, there is nothing to be seen north of here. The tunnels at Elstree
Hill were buried as part of the M1 works, and little work was done at the
sites of Elstree Hill and Bushey Heath stations. Aldenham Depot was
demolished in the 1990s and the site is now a commercial park, roughly
retaining the "footprint" of the depot. Elstree Hill is worth a night-time
visit simply for the fine view of London!


Hope this is of interest.