In article ,
(Recliner) wrote:

I had a few minutes in Bayswater to kill yesterday and decided to
take a look at the famous dummy houses in Leinster Gardens. I must
say that the false facades still work well, and are maintained (by
LU?). Even the pigeon deterrents are in place, exactly the same as
on the adjacent properties. In fact, I actually walked right past,
distracted by the building work next door.

But I wonder why the gap has been retained in the century plus
since the lines below were electrified. It's no longer needed for
venting steam engines, and I'd have thought there would be pressure
to reconstruct genuine buildings over the tracks, just as happens
over stations. Have there been such plans, or is there some major
technical/financial reason for not doing so?

For those not familiar with the site, see
www.urban75.org/london/leinster.html
http://golondon.about.com/od/thingst...terGardens.htm

Shhh! You be putting asset-stripping ideas in Boris or Gordon's heads now!

--
Colin Rosenstiel