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Watford DC line

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Watford DC line
Class 710 at Harrow and Wealdstone in 2022
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
Locale
Termini
Stations19
Service
Type
System
Operator(s)
Depot(s)
Rolling stock
Technical
Number of tracksTwo
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification
Route map

(Click to expand)
Legend
West Coast Main Line
Watford DC
Abbey line
to St Albans Abbey
 Watford Junction National Rail
Watford High Street
 
to Rickmansworth (closed 1952)
and Croxley Green (closed 1996)
(see also never-built Croxley Rail Link)
 Bushey National Rail
Carpenders Park
Hatch End London Buses
Headstone Lane London Buses
Bakerloo line turnback siding
 Harrow & Wealdstone London Underground National Rail London Buses
to Stanmore Village (closed 1964)
 Kenton London Underground London Buses
Metropolitan line
London–Aylesbury line
 South Kenton
North Wembley London Underground London Buses
Chiltern Main Line
 Wembley Central London Underground National Rail London Buses
Stonebridge Park Depot (LU)
Wembley Yard
 Stonebridge Park London Underground London Buses
North Circular Road
 Harlesden London Underground London Buses
Willesden
Dudding Hill Line
North London line
to Richmond
 Willesden Junction London Underground London Buses
West London line
to Clapham Junction
Willesden TMD
North London line to Stratford
via Camden Road and Dalston Kingsland
Kensal Green
Queen's Park north sheds (LU)
 Queens Park London Underground London Buses
Queen's Park south sheds (LU)
Bakerloo line to Elephant & Castle
 Kilburn High Road London Buses
South Hampstead London Buses
Chiltern Main Line
Metropolitan line
Jubilee line
Primrose Hill
Camden carriage sidings
North London line to Stratford
Regent's Canal
Euston carriage sidings
 Euston London Underground London Buses National Rail
This diagram:

The Watford DC line is a suburban railway line from London Euston to Watford Junction in Greater London and Hertfordshire. Its services are operated by London Overground for the whole length of the line and the Bakerloo line of the London Underground between Harrow & Wealdstone and Queen's Park.

The line runs beside the West Coast Main Line (WCML) for most of its length. The rolling stock used on the line are the London Overground Class 710 "Aventras" made by Bombardier and the London Underground 1972 Stock.

The Watford New Line was opened in stages by the London and North Western Railway from 15 June 1912 as part of a wider scheme of suburban capacity improvement and electrification. Delayed by World War I, full electric service from Watford Junction to Euston commenced on 10 July 1922.

The "DC" in the title refers to line being electrified using direct current. This was done in the early twentieth century with conductor rails to be compatible with the four-rail system used by the Underground and, at the time, the North London Line; currently, the line uses a third rail system, with a fourth rail available on the section shared with the Bakerloo line. By contrast, the WCML uses overhead alternating current.

Since November 2024, the London Overground service has been branded the Lioness line by TfL.[1]

History

[edit]

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) drew up a plan in 1907 to widen their line between Watford and Kilburn and continue on to Euston in tube tunnel. The was superseded in 1911 by a more ambitious plan that included new lines on the surface from Watford to Chalk Farm, electrification of this and other lines and linking up with the Bakerloo line.[2]

Local relief line

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The Watford New Line was opened in phases. The section of double track between Willesden Junction and Harrow & Wealdstone opened on 15 June 1912 and was used for local steam train traffic.[3] The new stations at Harlesden, Stonebridge Park, North Wembley and Kenton opened on 15 June 1912.[a]

The section of new line between Harrow & Wealdstone and Watford High Street opened on 10 February 1913, with a new station at Headstone Lane.[4] Local steam trains were now able to use the new line between Watford Junction and Willesden Junction.[b] The existing station at Watford High Street received direct services to London for the first time.[5] The opening of this section of line coincided with the beginning of service at Croxley Green and Watford West stations on the Croxley Green branch line.[4]

Electric service

[edit]

Queen's Park station became the northern terminus of the Bakerloo line on 11 February 1915. The station was due to open with Kilburn Park and Warwick Avenue stations on 31 January 1915 but was delayed because of World War I.[6]

The Bakerloo line was extended from Queen's Park to Willesden Junction on 10 May 1915.[7] Kensal Green station, between Queen's Park and Willesden Junction, opened on 1 October 1916 for Bakerloo line service.[8][9]

On 10 December 1916, trial electric services were run between Willesden Junction and Watford Junction.[10] The Bakerloo line service was extended from Willesden Junction to Watford Junction on Monday 16 April 1917. The service over this section initially ran every 15 minutes on Monday to Saturday with a skip-stop service at peak times. On Sunday trains terminated at Willesden.[11]

The final section of new line was constructed between Queen's Park and Chalk Farm, with two platforms provided at Euston for electric trains.[12] LNWR electric service from Broad Street and Euston to Watford Junction commenced on Monday 10 July 1922, following a trial service on 7 July 1922.[13] Service that had been withdrawn in 1917 was reinstated at South Hampstead, Kilburn and Chalk Farm stations.[13] The introduction of all electric service on the line decreased the journey time for Bakerloo trains by three minutes.[14] Peak services ran every 15 minutes from Watford Junction to Euston, Watford Junction to Broad Street and Watford Junction to Elephant and Castle. At off-peak times the Euston and Broad Street services ran every half hour.[15]

Signalling

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The line opened with conventional semaphore signalling mechanically operated from signal boxes at each station, this system remained in use after electrification.

The London, Midland and Scottish Railway introduced an automatic electric signalling system in the early 1930s over most of the route and some signal boxes were abolished.[16] A similar system was also used for a shorter period between Bromley-by-Bow and Upminster now part of the District line. The very closely spaced mix of automatic and semi-automatic signals, repeater signals, and auxiliary calling-on aspects was intended to let trains to proceed, after a set delay, at low speed past "failed" signals on track with no junctions without the need to contact a signalman, but this could lead to a nose-to-tail queue of trains as they all reached the location of a real line blockage.[17]

Train stops were provided (except at repeater signals) to allow London Electric Railway (LER) trains to operate over the line without the special provision of a second man; this enabled the same practice to be continued with all other Underground and main line stock subsequently allocated to this line and which was provided with trip equipment.

Signal boxes remaining in use in the early 1970s included:

  • Kilburn High Road (closed when the crossover moved to the down side of the station)
  • Queens Park No.3 (closed when control passed to Willesden)
  • Willesden New Station
  • Stonebridge Power House (abolished after LU Bakerloo line depot opened)
  • Harrow No.2

Normally Kilburn High Road and Stonebridge Power House which controlled only plain track with crossovers were switched out and only Queens Park, Willesden and Harrow boxes were staffed for at least part of the day, to deal with junction and siding traffic. In the early 1980s manual control of signalling was needed for a few months after dragging gear on a train destroyed many electric train-stops which were of a design almost confined to this line (LU train-stops are mostly electro-pneumatic). By this time the signal boxes at Stonebridge Power House and Kilburn High Road had been abolished. Emergency crossovers at other locations were controlled by ground frames enclosed in structures the size of a garden shed.

In 1988, the LMS system was replaced by a more standard system controlled from a new signal box, Willesden Suburban, and the remaining local boxes were abolished.[18][19] The new system had solid state interlocking, but far fewer signals; as a consequence the maximum traffic capacity of the line was severely reduced. In the early 1960s, there were headways of less than two minutes between Harrow & Wealdstone and Willesden Junction stations, the section of line used by nearly all services.

In the early 2000s, Willesden Suburban was closed and control passed to Wembley Main Line Signalling Centre.[20][21]

Electrification

[edit]
An Oerlikon electric train at Harrow and Wealdstone (1956)

The original electrification was on a fourth rail system, similar to that now used by London Underground, which allowed LER trains to use the new line. Power was supplied from the railway's own power station at Stonebridge Park until the 1960s when it was closed, after which it has been obtained from public supplies. As originally installed, there was provision for interconnection of the high voltage section of the power station to adjacent public supplies for output or intake but this ceased when national supplies were standardised at 50 Hz.[22]

In the late 1950s, the original electric multiple units built for the line were replaced by new Class 501 rolling stock. These were in turn displaced in the mid 1980s by Class 313 units. The line is now operated by London Overground Class 710 "Aventra" units.

In the 1970s, the track and the rolling stock used on this line and the North London Line were changed to use a modified version of the BR standard third rail system, with the fourth rail (now bonded to the running rail used for returning traction current) left in place on the sections of line shared with LU Bakerloo line trains. North of Harrow & Wealdstone, now the limit of LU operation, the fourth rail has in most places been dropped onto the sleepers and remains bonded, thus leaving the resistance of the current return path unaltered. The fourth rail remains in the normal position from Queens Park to Kilburn High Road up platform, where a trailing crossover between those two stations is maintained in use to allow reversal of Bakerloo line trains unable to gain access to London Underground at Queens Park, due to planned work or other reasons. The line is currently electrified (like all shared lines) using the standard compromise voltage of 660 V DC. This falls comfortably within the lower permanent voltage limit for the Class 378 "Capitalstar" stock (500 V) and the upper permanent voltage limit for the 1972 tube stock (760 V).[23] The line has now been converted to 750 V DC for the new Class 710 "Aventra".

A consequence of converting to third rail with the fourth rail provided only for LU use was that both planned and emergency use of the line by other third-rail-capable trains was possible. Ignoring recent use of Class 508 trains, this last took place when Class 416 trains were diverted to Willesden Junction Low Level station when part of the North London Line was closed for a number of weeks in the late 1980s.

The electricity grid Willesden substation in Acton Lane, Park Royal supplies 11 kV, three-phase power to ten substations on the line, located at Camden, South Hampstead, Queens Park, Willesden, Harlesden, Wembley, Kenton, Harrow, Hatch End, Bushey and Watford.

Decline

[edit]

Evening services between Queen's Park and Watford Junction were reduced from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes from 17 June 1963, due to a drop in passengers.[24]

During 1965, there was a significant reduction of services with off-peak Bakerloo line trains withdrawn north of Queen's Park and services to Broad Street cut in July.[25]

Operators

[edit]

The line was operated by British Rail and was part of Network SouthEast from 1986. In June 1988 it was rebranded as the Harlequin line.[26] The name was selected by a competition organised by British Rail. The winning entry, by a commuter from Pinner, was made up of a combination of Hatch End, Harlesden and Queen's Park stations.[27] The rebrand cost £4,000,000 (equivalent to £14,804,150 in 2023) and was launched at Wembley Central station by Ed Stewart, Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves.[27]

In April 1994, in preparation for rail privatisation, the line became part of the North London Railways train operating unit.[28] From March 1997 until November 2007, the line was operated by Silverlink. In November 2007, Transport for London (TfL) took full management control of all the intermediate Watford DC line stations as part of the London Overground (LO) service with staffing during opening hours, automatic ticket gates and planned station refurbishment to the standard of the Tube network.[29]

Services

[edit]
An old Silverlink Metro train calls at Harlesden
The line is shared with the Bakerloo line

London Overground

[edit]

The London Overground operates over the full length of the line from Watford Junction to Euston. In July 2023, TFL announced that it would be giving each of the six rail lines, including the Watford to Euston route, new names by the end of 2024.[30][31][32] In February 2024, it was confirmed that the London Overground service would be named the Lioness line (to honour the England women's national football team who became European champions at Wembley Stadium in 2022) and would be coloured yellow on the updated network map.[33]

London Underground

[edit]

The Bakerloo line of the London Underground operates over part of the line from Harrow & Wealdstone to Queen's Park. From Queens's Park the Bakerloo line branches onto dedicated tracks in tunnel via central London to Elephant and Castle.

List of stations

[edit]

Discontinued services

[edit]

Past services have included:

When the south curve of the triangular junction between Watford High Street and Bushey existed, a few trains used Croxley Depot (now demolished), which was shared by LU and BR trains.

An interchange with the Stanmore branch line once existed at Harrow & Wealdstone. This short branch line was closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts; the empty trackbed is still visible at Harrow & Wealdstone adjacent to the eastern ticket office.[36]

Abandoned expansion proposals

[edit]
A diagram of the proposed rail services
Main article: Croxley Rail Link

Another proposal to bring London Underground service to Watford Junction was the Croxley Rail Link,[37] which envisaged diverting the Watford branch of the Metropolitan line along a re-opened stretch of track to the west of Watford, effectively reinstating the former Croxley Green to Watford Junction service. Underground trains would then join the DC line at Watford High Street, potentially forming an interchange either with London Overground or the Bakerloo line, depending on the outcome of other projects. Funding for this project was agreed during November 2015,[38] however after cost overruns and disagreements over funding sources, work on the project stopped in 2017, and it was confirmed in 2018 that the project would not be going ahead in its current form.[39][40]

Notes

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  1. ^ New platforms were also provided on the new line at the existing Wembley station.
  2. ^ The line between Watford High Street and Watford Junction used the Watford and Rickmansworth Railway tracks.

References

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  1. ^ Transport for London. "London Overground's new look". Transport for London. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  2. ^ "New Electric Railways". Daily Express. 18 November 1911. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Progress of engineering works". Railway News. 10 August 1912. p. 17.
  4. ^ a b "Opening of the New Line to Watford: London and Northwestern Railway". Railway News. 8 February 1913. p. 325.
  5. ^ "The New Service to Watford". Pall Mall Gazette. 12 February 1913. p. 8.
  6. ^ "The Bakerloo Extension". The Evening News. 12 February 1915. p. 4.
  7. ^ "Bakerloo Line Extended". Harrow Observer. 28 May 1915. p. 4.
  8. ^ "News in Brief". Reading Mercury. 30 September 1916. p. 10.
  9. ^ Patmore, John Allan (1987). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Greater London. David & Charles. p. 129.
  10. ^ "New Electric Line". Harrow Observer. 15 December 1916. p. 5.
  11. ^ "Open Air Tube". Daily News. 17 April 1917. p. 3.
  12. ^ "Latest Electric Line". Daily Chronicle. 8 July 1922. p. 3.
  13. ^ a b "New Electric Railway". Daily Mirror. 8 July 1922. p. 3.
  14. ^ "Quicker Watford Trains". The Daily Telegraph. 10 July 1922. p. 8.
  15. ^ "Opening of New Electric Railway". St. Pancras Guardian. p. 2.
  16. ^ "LMSR New Lines signalling". www.davros.org. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  17. ^ "LMS Watford New Line Signalling". railsigns.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  18. ^ Stacy, Mungo (25 February 2014). "25 years after Clapham - Pride turns to despair". Rail Engineer. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  19. ^ "1988". Network SouthEast Railway Society. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Signal work on track". 28 December 2000. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  21. ^ Errata sheet for Volume 8 Signal Box Register London Transport - Index pages 49 and 64 https://www.s-r-s.org.uk/downloads/RegcorrsLT.pdf
  22. ^ Marsden, Colin J. (2008). The DC Electrics. ISBN 9780860936152. OCLC 318668763.
  23. ^ BS EN 50163:2004+A3:2022 Railway applications. Supply voltages of traction systems. BSI Group. 14 October 2022. ISBN 978 0 539 14248 8.
  24. ^ "More trains at Park, less at Central". Wembley News. 7 June 1963. p. 1.
  25. ^ "Restore Trains". Harrow Observer. 21 October 1965. p. 8.
  26. ^ "Harlequin Is A Deathtrap". Harrow Leader. 1 July 1988. p. 1.
  27. ^ a b "Harlequin's new signings". Pinner Observer. 23 June 1988. p. 4.
  28. ^ Briddon, Christine (8 April 1994). "Huge shake-up on trains hale end of an era". Harrow Informer. p. 5.
  29. ^ "Naming London Overground lines". Transport for London. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  30. ^ "London Overground lines to be given names". BBC News. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  31. ^ "London Overground lines to be given unique names". BBC News. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  32. ^ London Overground: New names for its six lines revealed, BBC News, 15 February 2024
  33. ^ Shannon, Paul D. (2023). Branch Line Britain: Local Passenger Trains in the Diesel Era (1st ed.). Havertown: Pen & Sword Books Limited. p. 25. ISBN 9781399089937.
  34. ^ a b Catford, Nick; Pearson, David (18 May 2017). "Disused Stations: Croxley Green Triangular Junction and Depot". Disused Stations. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  35. ^ "Harrow & Wealdstone - Stanmore Village BR". www.abandonedstations.org.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  36. ^ "Croxley Rail Link". tfl.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  37. ^ UK, DVV Media. "Metropolitan Line Extension funding agreed". railwaygazette.com. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  38. ^ McIntyre, Fiona (26 January 2018). "London mayor 'effectively abandons' £284M Met line extension". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  39. ^ Russell, Rachel. "The story of the Met Line extension project so far". Watford Observer. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
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