On Jul 13, 12:12*pm, Charlie Hulme
wrote:

John B wrote:

When I used to commute peak-hours on the NLL (Highbury to Frognal),
the issue was being able to physically get on the train. Seats were a
very long way from a priority for anyone.

And that on a line Dr Beeching proposed for closure!

Indeed. The picture's a little more complex than that, of course - the
NLL back then ran from Broad Street up to Dalston Jn before heading
around to Richmond. AFAICS from just glancing at this map on Joyce
Whitchurch's website, the plan was to ditch the NLL service but retain
the Broad Street to Watford Jn service (and do something with the DC
Line service between Euston and Watford Jn too):
http://www.joyce.whitchurch.btintern...aps/lonmap.jpg

Today's NLL is a rather different beast - arguably created out of the
twin files of the 1980's, the Thatcherite expansion of the City, and
Red Ken Livingstone's pro-public transport policies. The former
because the little used Broad Street station was closed and the land
redeveloped as a large modern office complex with the faux-medieval
moniker Broadgate, situated on the edge of the square mile and
suitable as a modern open-plan venue for thrusting business keen to
move out of dowdy and pokey archaic City offices. The latter because
the GLC (under Ken) played an instrumental part in pushing for the NLL
to be re-routed from Dalston through Hackney to Stratford, and then
down to North Woolwich.

I'm sure those with a less tenuous grasp on the history will correct
me on my postulations above, but the point is that the change shifted
the NLL's centre of gravity eastwards somewhat... but that's not quite
the right metaphor, as actually the change shifted the NLL into being
even more of an orbital route. The growing importance of Stratford as
a major interchange, itself something of a knock-on effect from the
development of the Docklands, also led the NLL to become increasingly
important.

That's not to say that the section from Camden to Richmond that
Beeching proposed withdrawing entirely isn't an important link too.
And of course what was left - from the Primrose Hill link with the
WCML/ DC Line into Broad Street, doesn't look like it was going to get
much of a local service, if it got anything (I know, I know, I should
go off and read the damn report instead of just looking at the summary
map!). But it's interesting that it's the closure of Broad Street -
which wasn't proposed by Beeching (at least not the first report) -
that provided the impetus to create today's NLL service.

And it's also the closure of Broad Street that brought around the
proposals to extend the East London Line, reusing the trackbed from
Shoreditch up to Dalston Jn.

All that said, I dare say that if Broad Street station was still here
and the NLL was still running into it, it would likely be a well
patronised service today. And there would quite possibly have been
proposals to re-start passenger services on the Dalston to Stratford
stretch. And perhaps even a madcap scheme to extend the East London
Line to connect with the approaches to Broad Street.

Anyway... what was I saying... erm... only how times change... or
something like that!