please empty your brain below
Back in 1996 I worked in Harlesden so the north London line to northern woolwich proved quite useful when the bakerloo line and whatever passed for south eastern back then was playing up, then a short walk through the tunnel to woolwich

Rachel | 09.12.16 - 7:13 a.m. | #

I often used to ride from Richmond to North Woolwich. In the days when the line was not busy. Ride on the Woolwich ferry, nice afternoon out.
I still remember when the trains went from Richmond to Broad Street, which I think is another section of track that has been partially reopened.

John | 09.12.16 - 7:35 a.m. | #

I meant to add that I like your photo taken from a footbridge of a last day train running along the line near Tate and Lyle. Always amazed me how overgrown and run down that single track looked yet operating a London train service.

John | 09.12.16 - 7:55 a.m. | #

I remember that in the 1970s there were real proposals to close the then Richmond to Broad street service.

Tony Martin | 09.12.16 - 8:03 a.m. | #

Tony Martin, At the time they were going to close the North London Line it was not used much, trains were slam door and short. Had bars across the windows for some reason. Local residents fought hard to keep the line open.
The Clapham Junction to Olympia service was another also under threat. I think the train had nick-name the "OlyBell"
How times change, both these services are now part of the Overground system and very busy, even overcrowded!

John | 09.12.16 - 8:29 a.m. | #

Eighty years ago in North Woolwich, my boat was being - or about to be - built by Harland and Wolff (it was handed over to the Grand Union Canal Carrying Co. on January 26th 1937).

Sarah | Homepage | 09.12.16 - 9:22 a.m. | #

@John
The Kensington Olympia shuttle, which had more than its fair share of unusual rolling stock, was more usually known as the "Kenny Belle"

The bars across the windows of the Class 501 slam door stock on the North London Line were because of the tight clearances in Hampstead Tunnel.

Of the Richmond to Broad Street route, only the section from Dalston Junction to Broad Street closed, and most of that section has now reopened as part of the Overground - only Broad Street itself has gone for good.
But Beeching did indeed propose the whole line for closure - Acton Central, by virtue of alphabetical order, appears very prominently in the list of stations to be closed.

timbo | 09.12.16 - 9:27 a.m. | #

I remember travelling to North Woolwich when it was a diesel train. As a West London lad it felt like a different world, waiting on the low level platform at Stratford for this ancient relic that I think had made its way from Tottenham Hale. This was before the North London Line had been saved and the section east of Dalston Junction re-opened to passengers.

I also remember the museum. Whatever happened to the rolling stock and the smaller items on display inside the station building, my memory is there were some lovely little bits of railway restaurant car china!

ap | 09.12.16 - 9:57 a.m. | #

Belated congratulations on yesterday's landmark, I'm glad to have contributed a few thousand visits over the years.
I was one of the many who travelled the North Woolwich line on its last day of service ten years ago, thanks for the reminder. I used to go out quite often on 'pointless' journeys just for the fun of it, but age makes that less frequent now. Your blog is somewhat an alternative as I can now enjoy going out vicariously. Many thanks again.

Dave | 09.12.16 - 9:59 a.m. | #

In the 70s the North London line wasn't shown on the tube map, so many people didn't know it existed. Part of the campaign against its closure was the suggestion to put it on the tube map, which was finally accepted, and must have helped its popularity.

amber | 09.12.16 - 10:04 a.m. | #

ap - apparently the collection has been dispersed, but most of the smaller stuff is at the East Anglian Railway Museum at Chappel.
http://www.gersociety.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=15

Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 09.12.16 - 10:26 a.m. | #

Don't forget Streetview has a 'time travel' option (click on the clock in the top left corner), so you can go back to July 2008 have look at the area before the track was lifted.
[Streetview]

Still anon | 09.12.16 - 10:54 a.m. | #

Surely leaving milk unattended is the milkman's job?

Mark | 09.12.16 - 10:57 a.m. | #

I do hold out a slight hope that at some stage there will be a cut and cover tunnel built to lower the DLR line sufficiently below Stratford Station (possible, I guess?) that they can reconfigure a lower concourse - as it's dangerously overcrowded at peak times at the moment.

Phil J | 09.12.16 - 11:39 a.m. | #

My mother used to take the train all the way from Palace Gates to North Woolwich to go to the dentist. Not all that often, because she had had all her own teeth removed at 21. From choice, apparently.

Malcolm | 09.12.16 - 1:50 p.m. | #

timbo,

Beeching never proposed closing the North London line. He saw it as a vital freight artery.

He proposed withdrawal of passenger services - not quite the same thing.

Pedantic of Purley | 09.12.16 - 2:54 p.m. | #

One carriage that was kept at North Woolwich is at the TfL Museum's Acton Depot. They may have started work on restoring it-or it may still look this.

HoosierSands | Homepage | 09.12.16 - 6:58 p.m. | #

@Malcolm.
My Mother told me that in her day it was common for young women to have their teeth removed at 21, paid for as a 21st birthday present! false teeth were regarded as a low maintenance option. Good old days?

baldrick | 09.12.16 - 7:02 p.m. | #

I believe that it was also common for a woman to have her teeth removed as part of a dowry.

Plastic Man | 09.12.16 - 7:48 p.m. | #

Regarding teeth,

I thoroughly recommend the book Silvertown which probably has more of a description of having teeth removed (to make women more appealing to prospective suitors!) than you really want.

Pedantic of Purley | 10.12.16 - 12:13 a.m. | #

But why do they feel the need to line the new Crossrail track with a high concrete wall so you can't enjoy a view from the train? It's not as if it's Eurostar and needs to keep in/out refugees and asylum seekers.

ActonMan | 10.12.16 - 3:59 p.m. | #











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