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Modern Britain

Railway Walks: Mill Hill East to Edgware

by Peter Kessler, 1 December 2012. Updated 4 September 2016

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Founded in 1862 by the Edgware, Highgate & London Railway (EH&LR), the single track line was intended to serve the new suburbs between Finsbury Park and Edgware. In 1872 it gained a branch line at Finchley Central to serve High Barnet, and another branch was added at Highgate in 1873, heading to Alexandra Palace. As part of the New Works programme of the 1930s, the line was to be double-tracked and converted for Tube train use, but the war intervened. Although much of the work had been done, the doubled track was quickly reduced back to single at the war's commencement and the New Works programme was officially abandoned in 1954. The line between Mill Hill East and Edgware never reopened to passengers, and the five kilometres of track was lifted in 1964.

The Highgate (High Level) to Mill Hill section of the line is still in use as part of the Northern line (apart from the Highgate station area itself), while the abandoned section between Finsbury Park and Highgate is covered in 'Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace' (see related links in the sidebar below).

 

 

     


Main Sources

Conolly, W Philip - British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer, Fourth Edition, Ian Allen, London, 1965

Course, Edwin - London Railways: Then and Now, B T Batsford Ltd, London, 1987

Davies, Reg - Rails to the People's Palace, Second Edition, Hornsey Historical Society, London, 1985

Hornsey Historical Society, The Old Schoolhouse, 136 Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, London N8 7EL

Underground No 9 - London Underground Railway Society, The, The Registrar, TLURS, 67 Weltmore Road, Luton, Bedfordshire LU3 2TN

Online Sources

Abandoned Lines and Railways

Disused Stations

Northern Line Disused Features

 

 

     
Images and text copyright © P L Kessler except where stated. An original feature for the History Files.