Question:
I was at Highgate Station today to do the northern part of the
Parkland Walk and to generally have a look around that part of the
Northern Line. While there I saw that a Tube Lines construction outfit
is working on Archway Road, off to the side of the high-level
platforms.
Am I right in assuming that this construction work poses no risk to
the old platforms?
Also, I have several questions about Highgate itself:
1. With the increased awareness of disabled persons that LU appears to
have, are there any plans to finally install a companion escalator to
Archway Road, to facilitate access to the road?
2. Are the Highgate platforms eight car-lengths for a reason?
3. Why is the destination indicator missing from Highgate Northbound?
4. Why are five roundels missing from the outer trackside wall of
Highgate Southbound, near the leading edge of the platform?
5. Was Highgate Depot intended to be used to transfer stock from the
high-level line to the low-level line, considering that the sidings
run all the way to the portals of the Shepherd's Hill tunnels?
6. Is Highgate one of the few remaining deep-level stations that has
its original continuous station-name tiling, instead of enameled New
Johnston continuous station-name signs?
Answer:
Actually they're nine cars. At the time of the extension, 8 car trains
were running on the Edgware branch (Edgware - Kennington via CX). I think
the platforms were built that length with that in mind as the stations on
the Barnet branch (other than West Finchley) were longer than the standard
7 cars.
Stock used to be transferred from Drayton Park this way. The proposed
passenger services would have had trains running from Moorgate this way.
Remember, the main line used to run the same route to High Barnet and that
what is now Highgate depot used to be the main line stabling depot.
I was there yesterday as well, a sunny saturday afternoon walk to clear
away the cobwebs!)
Looked like the construction work was reinforcing the bank between the
Archway road and the car park and disused platforms below.
If you saw a tall dark-haired guy in a cream-colored jacket wandering
down the Highgate Station Approach road peering over the edge of the
barrier between the road and the cutting, then you saw me :-)
If you saw a guy matching the description I just gave clambering
around the old Alexandra Palace/Highgate railbed, taking pictures of
concrete pilings and cable runs that didn't turn out
There was still freight traffic on the Barnet branch after the end of
passenger services. There was a coal yard and gas works at Mill Hill East
which I assume were still supplied by rail. There used to be goods yards
at East Finchley, Finchley Central, Woodside Park, Totteridge and High
Barnet, and also at the Edgware main line station - I don't know when they
stopped being used. I assume that the stock transfers finished as a
consequence of the route no longer being used by freight traffic and hence
it wasn't viable to maintain the system for the very occasional stock
transfer.
