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The Palace Gates line was a short railway branch line in north London running from the main line at Seven Sisters station in Tottenham to Palace Gates (Wood Green) station in Wood Green.
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.
After the 1921 Railways Act amalgamated the GER, GNR and other railway companies into the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1923, a connection to Bowes Park on the GNR Hertford Loop Line, which runs just north of the site of the terminus station, was made in 1929.
With the nearby GNR built stations at Alexandra Palace and Hornsey providing a more direct route to central London, the catchment areas for the line's stations were always fairly small and the opening in 1932 of the first section of the Piccadilly line extension to Cockfosters with stations at Wood Green and Turnpike Lane diminished them further, crucially eroding the line's passenger traffic.
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.
The Palace Gates line was closed to passengers on 7 January 1963. Goods services continued to run until 5 October 1964.
Tracks were removed and the stations demolished and the route of the line has been almost entirely covered by new construction including The Mall Wood Green (Shopping City). The only part of the line that remains is a short section of track within Bounds Green Depot where the line formerly connected to the Hertford Loop Line. A small section of the route can be seen from Avenue Road. [1]
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]
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company incorporated in 1846 with the object of building a line from London to York. It quickly saw that seizing control of territory was key to development, and it acquired, or took leases of, many local railways, whether actually built or not. In so doing, it overextended itself financially.
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 114.5-mile (184.3 km) major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Shenfield, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich. Its numerous branches also connect the main line to Southminster, Braintree, Sudbury, Harwich and a number of coastal towns including Southend-on-Sea, Clacton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze and Lowestoft.
The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923.
Essex Road is a National Rail station in Canonbury in Greater London, England, and is on the Northern City Line between Old Street and Highbury & Islington, 1 mile 59 chains (2.8 km) down the line from Moorgate, and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is at the junction of Essex Road, Canonbury Road and New North Road, with the present entrance on Canonbury Road. Operated by Great Northern, it is the only deep-level underground station in London served exclusively by National Rail trains. Between 1933 and 1975 the station was operated as part of the London Underground, as a short branch of the Northern line. Between 1922 and 1948 the station name was Canonbury & Essex Road. The name reverted to the original form in 1948.
Seven Sisters is an interchange station located in the Seven Sisters area of the London Borough of Haringey, North London for London Underground, London Overground and National Rail services.
South Tottenham is a railway station on the east–west Gospel Oak to Barking Line of the London Overground. It is located on the eastern side of the north–south A10 High Road in Tottenham, North London, 5 miles 69 chains (9.4 km) from St Pancras and situated between Harringay Green Lanes and Blackhorse Road. It is in Zone 3, in the London Borough of Haringey. South Tottenham to Seven Sisters station is considered an official out-of-station interchange by the National Rail timetable, and involves a short walk. This link will become fixed under the planned route for Crossrail 2, which sees a double-ended underground station built linking together South Tottenham and Seven Sisters stations.
The Northern & Eastern Railway (N&ER) was an early British railway company, that planned to build a line from London to York. Its ambition was cut successively back, and it was only constructed from Stratford, east of London, to the towns of Bishop's Stortford and Hertford. It was always short of money, and it got access to London over the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). It was built at the track gauge of 5 ft, but it converted to standard gauge in 1844.
Tottenham Hale is an interchange station located in Tottenham Hale, North London for London Underground and National Rail services.
Northumberland Park railway station is on the Lea Valley line that forms part of the West Anglia Main Line, serving the ward of Northumberland Park in Tottenham, north London. It is 6 miles 73 chains (11.1 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Tottenham Hale and Meridian Water. Its three-letter station code is NUM and it is in Travelcard zone 3. It is one of the stations that can be used to access Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Wood Street is a railway station on the Chingford branch of the Lea Valley lines, located in Upper Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, north east London. It is 7 miles 7 chains (11.4 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Walthamstow Central and Highams Park. It has been operated by London Overground since 2015.
Alexandra Palace railway station is on the Great Northern Route that forms part of the East Coast Main Line, and takes its name from the nearby Alexandra Palace in the London Borough of Haringey, north London. It is 4 miles 78 chains (8.0 km) down the line from London King's Cross and is situated between Hornsey and either New Southgate on the main line or Bowes Park on the Hertford Loop Line which diverges from the main line just north of Alexandra Palace.
Bowes Park railway station is in the London Borough of Haringey in north London, and is on the boundary of Travelcard Zone 3 and Travelcard Zone 4. It is 5 miles 55 chains down the line from London King's Cross. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Great Northern, on the Hertford Loop Line. It was first opened by the GNR in 1880, some nine years after the Loop Line itself was completed.
Forest Gate railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line serving Forest Gate in the London Borough of Newham, east London. It is 5 miles 21 chains (8.5 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Maryland and Manor Park. Its three-letter station code is FOG and it is in fare zone 3.
The Lea Valley lines are two commuter lines and two branches in north-east London, so named because they run along the Lower Lea Valley of the River Lea. They were part of the Great Eastern Railway, now part of the Anglia Route of Network Rail.
The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main lines that operate out of Liverpool Street. It runs generally north through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and Audley End to Cambridge, with branches between serving Stratford, Hertford and Stansted Airport. The line runs along the boundary between Hertfordshire and Essex for much of its length.
Palace Gates railway station was on the Palace Gates Line in Wood Green, north London, on the corner of Bridge Road and Dorset Road.
Crossrail 2 is a suspended proposal for a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit route in South East England, running from nine stations in Surrey to three in Hertfordshire, providing a new North–South rail link across Greater London. It would connect the South West Main Line to the West Anglia Main Line, via Victoria and King's Cross St Pancras. The intent was to alleviate severe overcrowding that would otherwise occur on commuter rail routes into Central London. When first proposed, the hope was for construction to start around 2023, with the new line opening from the early 2030s. The project's cost has been estimated at £31.2 billion.
The Chingford branch line is a railway line between Clapton Junction and Chingford station. Services operate between Liverpool Street station and Chingford. The branch is part of the London Overground.
The Southbury Loop is a line linking Edmonton Green, in north-east London, to Cheshunt. It was opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1891. Initially it was not very successful and was closed to passenger traffic in 1909. Goods trains continued to use the line and during World War I passenger services were reinstated for munitions workers. Once the war finished the line returned to its goods-only status although it was occasionally used for diversionary purposes when the West Anglia Main Line was closed south of Cheshunt. Electrification of the line and the reintroduction of passenger services in 1960 saw the line become busy with regular suburban services as part of the Lea Valley Lines network. Since May 2015 passenger services on the line are part of London Overground.
The Enfield Town branch is a suburban branch line in the England. In 2014 it is in fact the combination of the original Enfield branch which was built in 1849 by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) and a later line built by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) from Hackney Downs to Edmonton in 1872. The line is currently a double-tracked suburban railway with services running between Liverpool Street station and Enfield Town as well as some other services running from Liverpool Street to Cheshunt. Part of the original branch is closed and little visible remains today.
