Palace Gates line

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Palace Gates line" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

v t e Palace Gates line
Legend
Hertford Loop Line Bowes Park Bounds Green TMD East Coast Main Line Alexandra Palace │ Palace Gates East Coast Main Line Noel Park and Wood Green West Green Lea Valley lines Seven Sisters Lea Valley lines

The Palace Gates line was a short railway branch line in north

The line was constructed by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) and opened on 1 January 1878 with a temporary terminus at Noel Park and Wood Green station before being opened to Palace Gates (Wood Green) station on 7 October 1878. The line was opened in competition with the Great Northern Railway (GNR) line from King's Cross station to provide passenger services from the GER's London terminus at Liverpool Street station to the recently opened Alexandra Palace and the developing suburb of Wood Green.

Extension to Bowes Park

After the

Decline

With the nearby GNR built stations at

In the early 1950s, the line was one of only two branches in the London area still worked by elderly F5, mainly, and F6 2-4-2Ts. The remaining examples of these were called into Stratford Works for withdrawal, in mid-1958. There then being no other suitable locomotives for the Palace Gates line, many of its trains were worked by J68 and J69 0-6-0Ts until sufficient N7 0-6-2Ts became available, following the electrification of suburban services from Liverpool Street station to Chingford and Hertford, in November, 1960. N7 and L1 steam locomotives continued to be used, until September, 1962.

In later years, services ran to North Woolwich rather than Liverpool Street, mainly to the benefit of workers in the docks living in the areas served by the line.

Closure

The Palace Gates line was closed to passengers on 7 January 1963. Goods services continued to run until 5 October 1964.

Remains

Tracks were removed and the stations demolished and the route of the line has been almost entirely covered by new construction including

The latest (2015) proposed route for Crossrail 2, sees an option that would closely resemble the Palace Gates Line, running from Seven Sisters/South Tottenham railway station (double-ended station) through either Turnpike Lane and Alexandra Palace stations, or Wood Green Underground station, on its way to New Southgate railway station.^[2]

References

External links

• Abandoned Tube Stations - Palace Gates Line
• Subterranea Britannica - Seven Sisters Station - contains a history of the Palace Gates Branch
• The History Files: Railway Walks - Seven Sisters to Palace Gates