[crossposted to uk.transport.london - original thread at uk.railway]

Chris Read wrote:

Whilst there have been threads on uk.transport.london, I've seen nothing
here, and thought some readers might appreciate a reminder that the
Stratford - North Woolwich NLL service finishes forever at close of service
this Saturday, 9th December.

North Woolwich and Silvertown stations close permanently (1). They are
broadly replicated by stations on the DLR King George V branch.

Custom House DLR station remains open, but the NLL platforms close
permanently.

Canning Town and West Ham NLL platforms will eventually be incorporated into
the DLR extension to Stratford International.

I understand an 'invited guests only' special will form the very last
passenger service over the line on Sunday 10th, and a class 313 unit will be
named 'Silvertown'.

Chris

(1) There are nascent plans for a preservation society to take over this
section, which would be good for city kids who love steam, but the views
hardly compare to the Bluebell.........


A couple of thoughts for anyone who may be 'doing' the North London
Line's eastern extremity for the last time later today.

If you arrive at North Woolwich intent on making a return trip but
don't want to head back north straight away you could always have a
gander at some other forms of river-related public transport. Take a
trip on the Woolwich Free Ferry over to the south side - there's some
interesting views of the Thames Barrier, Canary Wharf and the rest of
Docklands from the middle of the Thames, especially if you perch at the
top of the steps on the car deck level (which makes sense once you're
on the boat!).

Come back under the river through the atmospheric Woolwich Foot Tunnel.
There are free manned lifts at either end (the wary should be reassured
by the fact the guys are not just lift attendants but also act as
bouncer-esque security who monitoring CCTV from the lifts).

Foot traffic under and over the Thames at this point will surely
decline significantly when the extension to the DLR's City Airport
branch to Woolwich Arsenal station by way of a tunnel under the river
opens in early 2009.

Indeed if you go to King George V station, is the current terminus of
the DLR's City Airport branch and stand on the bridge over the line you
can see on the northern side of the station you can see the stacks and
stacks of prefabricated tunnel lining ready to be taken to their
underwater resting place. Canvas screens unfortunately prevent you
seeing the real nitty gritty of the tunneling works. King George V is
at the north end of Pier Road (there are signposts).

Lastly you can take a wander around the BT Teleport - which is located
incredibly close to North Woolwich station - it's just to the west of
the station in the square area between Store Rd, Factory Rd, Henley Rd
and Pier Rd. It's one of the main satellite uplink stations in the UK
and is stuffed with some very large satellite dishes. The advantage of
the riverside location is that it guarantees nobody is going to come
and build a skyscraper in that will obstruct the view of the sky of
said dishes.

A link to a Streetmap of the area (this is pre-DLR City Airport
extension mapping - the new line runs to the south of King George V
dock):
http://snipurl.com/north_woolwich_map