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| Wish I'd done that before 23/03/2014 at 14:03 #57625 | |
northroad
872 posts |
Ever had that feeling when you wish you'd done it before, well yesterday I did......the North London Line or the Overground as Boris would call it. Going to Chiwick to the transport collectors fair that was on, in order to seek out some WTT's that might be there, my wife suggested using the NLL instead of taking the usual tube route. What a little gem this line is. Joining at Highbury and Islington and having to change at Willesden Jct. then on to Gunnersbury. Meandering through places that you don't realise are there when you are stuck in the depths of London. Willesden Jct must be a very cold place when the wind is howling over the top of the WCML. It was also nice to see that some of what must have been countless boxes that must have been there are still in situ. Bollo being one of them. It got me round to wondering which box now controls all of this North London section and all of it's busy junctions. Also just wondering if, from a wish list point of view, if it would be possible to extend the NLL sim so that it took in the complete circle of the Overground line....now that would be something. Geoff. Log in to reply |
| Wish I'd done that before 23/03/2014 at 14:18 #57626 | |
kbarber
1742 posts |
Countless boxes... and how! Even when I first knew that line (very end of the 1970s) a lot of boxes had disappeared. In those days there was Kew East (northern point of the triangular junction with the Southern Region), Bollo Lane, Acton Central, then Acton Wells (which I signed and relieved in for a time). The structure of Old Oak Junction box was still extant although it had closed some years before, then came Willesden High Level Junction (not to be confused with Willesden High Level Sidings, which was on the goods & carriage lines, visible from a Watford suburban train between Harlesden and Stonebridge park) and Kensal Green Junction. A TCB section had replaced any number of boxes between there and Gospel Oak, which box worked with Camden Road. The next box along was Dalston Western Junction, but as both that and Camden Road had IB signals both in advance and in rear it looked to the driver like multiple aspect signalling. What it had been like in the old days I hesitate to imagine... signalboxes everywhere! Reckon one at most of the stations, probably two at some of the stations from Camden Road to Dalston (one for the lines that now carry the East London Line trains - formerly the Number Two lines - and one for the other pair, invariably numbered for the lines they controlled) and some additional ones as well (there was certainly one at Maiden Lane, for instance). That must have been quite a line to work before the abolitions started. Log in to reply The following user said thank you: northroad |
| Wish I'd done that before 24/03/2014 at 15:22 #57673 | |
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mfcooper
707 posts |
There is some info on the open/closed boxes on the NLL here. Since that was posted, Kew East and Bollo Lane were closed and added into Acton Wells Jn box. And in addition:
Last edited: 24/03/2014 at 15:25 by mfcooper Log in to reply The following user said thank you: northroad |
| Wish I'd done that before 24/03/2014 at 16:16 #57676 | |
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northroad
872 posts |
I see from doing a bit of digging on the internet that Bollo Lane has beome a listed building and all that comes with that, but who knows what will happen to it depending on the weather and vandals etc. I did see the previous listing in the forum (should have looked deeper as I sometimes suggest to others on here  ) and that parts of the control had now been passed to Upminster but also read that it is the intention at sometime to put it all into Romford.As I said previously it would make a wonderful sim if you could include Peter's block bells and everything that went with it......who knows maybe one day, in the meantime I plan to use the line when ever I can and keep clear of those dark tunnels below... 
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