Mr Thant wrote:
On 12 Mar, 23:55, "John Rowland"
wrote:

Verbena Close, E16, has a gantry over its entrance which reads
"Goods And Coal Depot". I think the site originally covered the area
now occupied by Verbena Close as well as the area covered by
Cranberry Lane and its sideroads. But I'm baffled about why the site
is at right angles to the North London Line, or how a rail
connection to the North London Line would have crossed Manor Rd

Go to www.old-maps.co.uk and put in the address, and click through to
the 1920 maps along the bottom.

Thanks... I, er, had never noticed that you could step through different
years on this site... You may get fewer questions and more answers from me
in future :-)

It's shown as a spur going from the
North London Line to the south (ie from Canning Town) going under
Manor Road at the junction with Stephenson Street. There are no houses
west of Pretoria Road or north of Hilda Road, and the northern
boundary appears to be Gainsbrorough Road.

Thanks. Prior to visiting Verbena Close I had a quick look at the arches
carrying Manor Rd at the Stephenson St junction, and they didn't look like
they ever had a diagonal line under them, which is why I was confused....
but in this recent-ish photo
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=...5580&encType=1
the passage of the track is quite clear. The conversion of the arches to a
self-storage site since that photo was taken must have obscured the evidence
at ground level, although the parapets presumably still give the game away.
(If anyone can guess exactly why I checked the arches for a diagonal railway
line *prior* to the sign at Verbena Close alerting me to the existence of
the yard, I'll be impressed.)

I think Pretoria Rd is a crazy place to have the street entrance to a goods
yard, though.