Tom Anderson wrote:

The width! Ten roads would be about fifty metres across, wouldn't it?
That's a decent amount of space - a row or two of houses, i'd say.

Well, as it happens, there's three rows of houses on there now -
Heddington Grove.

Live.local's aerial photography shows the area of the sidings quite
well:

http://maps.live.com

On Mon, 17 Dec 2006 wrote:

Tom Anderson wrote:

The width! Ten roads would be about fifty metres across, wouldn't it?
That's a decent amount of space - a row or two of houses, i'd say.

Well, as it happens, there's three rows of houses on there now -
Heddington Grove.

Aha!

So, hang on, what altitude was the yard at? The railway's on a viaduct;
either the sidings were at ground level and there was a big ramp, or they
were at the level of the railway, on a huge platform.

Ah, no - by the time it gets to Caledonian Road, the line's at, indeed
below, ground level, isn't it? Was the entrance to the sidings at the up
or down end? The description given earlier in this thread made me think it
was at the up end, which would still seem to require some sort of ramp.

Live.local's aerial photography shows the area of the sidings quite
well:

http://maps.live.com

It does indeed.

tom

--
It's amazing how often conversations with you have the imaginary sound
of human bones being crushed to rubble in the background. -- itchyfidget,
to snowking

Tom Anderson wrote:


So, hang on, what altitude was the yard at? The railway's on a viaduct;
either the sidings were at ground level and there was a big ramp, or they
were at the level of the railway, on a huge platform.

They were at the same level at the Holloway Road end, and slightly
above main-line level as the tracks began to descend Holloway Bank.


Ah, no - by the time it gets to Caledonian Road, the line's at, indeed
below, ground level, isn't it? Was the entrance to the sidings at the up
or down end? The description given earlier in this thread made me think it
was at the up end, which would still seem to require some sort of ramp.

They were single-ended sidings, with all access at the north end. As I
mentioned earlier, trains leaving the sidings would run along the
westernmost track, behind Holloway North Down signalbox, down to
Finsbury Park No2, then run round before proceeding under the ECML,
past the entrance to Ashburton Grove yard (where trains were loaded
with household refuse), then up an incline to rejoin the ECML just
north of Holloway Road.

Trains and locomotives going to the sidings had to set back, with the
movement controlled by a shunt signal mounted on top of the viaduct
wall, round about Dunford Road.

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 wrote:

Tom Anderson wrote:

So, hang on, what altitude was the yard at? The railway's on a viaduct;
either the sidings were at ground level and there was a big ramp, or
they were at the level of the railway, on a huge platform.

They were at the same level at the Holloway Road end, and slightly above
main-line level as the tracks began to descend Holloway Bank.

Holloway What? Is that the gentle slope from Caledonian Road to Holloway
Road? Or from Holloway Road to Finsbury Park? I'm aware of the former
slope, but not the latter; since i cycle between the three of them every
day, i would be rather interested to learn if there's a downhill i hadn't
noticed ...

below, ground level, isn't it? Was the entrance to the sidings at the
up or down end? The description given earlier in this thread made me
think it was at the up end, which would still seem to require some sort
of ramp.

They were single-ended sidings, with all access at the north end. As I
mentioned earlier, trains leaving the sidings would run along the
westernmost track, behind Holloway North Down signalbox, down to
Finsbury Park No2, then run round before proceeding under the ECML,

Where did that happen, if i may ask?

past the entrance to Ashburton Grove yard (where trains were loaded with
household refuse),

And where there was still the local tip until Arsenal moved in ...

then up an incline to rejoin the ECML just north of Holloway Road.

Trains and locomotives going to the sidings had to set back, with the
movement controlled by a shunt signal mounted on top of the viaduct
wall, round about Dunford Road.

Where i lived! A shunt signal at the end of my road - imagine that! Okay,
maybe not so exciting in the grand scheme of things, but it's still
interesting to hear about local history - sort of adds depth to sitting
there watching GNER intercities roar past. And this may be the most
exciting thing ever to have happened on Dunford Road (except for our last
new year's eve party - a story for which the world is not yet prepared).

tom

--
Orange paint menace

Tom Anderson wrote:
On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 wrote:

They were at the same level at the Holloway Road end, and slightly above
main-line level as the tracks began to descend Holloway Bank.

Holloway What? Is that the gentle slope from Caledonian Road to Holloway
Road? Or from Holloway Road to Finsbury Park? I'm aware of the former
slope, but not the latter; since i cycle between the three of them every
day, i would be rather interested to learn if there's a downhill i hadn't
noticed ...

It's the climb (at about 1 in 200) from the north portal of Copenhagen
Tunnel, up towards Finsbury Park. Leaving the tunnel, going
northwards, one passed under the flyover that led to Goods and Mineral,
past the back of Caledonian Road Tube station (there used to be
allotments on the area of land at the back of the station, above the
retaining wall), under Caledonian Road, then past Holloway South Down
signalbox (built up against the brick retaining wall at Stock Orchard
Street - there was a door in the wall, with steps for access by
signalmen). Opposite was the site of Holloway Cattle Sidings, and
Holloway Up South box.

Then the buffer stop ends of Holloway Carriage Sidings, which ran
alongside, with the main line gradually rising to their height, before
passing over Holloway Road.


below, ground level, isn't it? Was the entrance to the sidings at the
up or down end? The description given earlier in this thread made me
think it was at the up end, which would still seem to require some sort
of ramp.

They were single-ended sidings, with all access at the north end. As I
mentioned earlier, trains leaving the sidings would run along the
westernmost track, behind Holloway North Down signalbox, down to
Finsbury Park No2, then run round before proceeding under the ECML,

Where did that happen, if i may ask?

Between what was Finsbury Park Diesel Depot (formerly Clarence [coal]
Yard) and the main ECML. The depot was behind Isledon Road, with an
entrance more or less opposite the Michael Sobell Sports Centre.
Parkside Crescent is built on there now. Up above, at main line height,
between the ECML and the low level lines at Finsbury Park No2, was
Coronation Shed, a wooden structure originally built to house the
'Coronation' rolling stock, but later used for the inner suburban DMUs.


past the entrance to Ashburton Grove yard (where trains were loaded with
household refuse),

And where there was still the local tip until Arsenal moved in ...

Yes. And the replacement facility is supposed to be on the site of the
old Holloway Cattle Sidings (see above).

then up an incline to rejoin the ECML just north of Holloway Road.

Trains and locomotives going to the sidings had to set back, with the
movement controlled by a shunt signal mounted on top of the viaduct
wall, round about Dunford Road.

Where i lived! A shunt signal at the end of my road - imagine that! Okay,
maybe not so exciting in the grand scheme of things, but it's still
interesting to hear about local history - sort of adds depth to sitting
there watching GNER intercities roar past. And this may be the most
exciting thing ever to have happened on Dunford Road (except for our last
new year's eve party - a story for which the world is not yet prepared).

Holloway North Down signalbox was between the main lines and the goods
lines, just before Dunford Road. It was a medium sized brick
structure, flat-roofed, with metal-framed windows all around. There
was a corresponding Holloway North Up box, on the other side of the
main line. The use of boxes signalling only either Up or Down lines
was a feature of the approach to Kings Cross, due to the volume of
traffic and number of lines.