Northern Heights

Mill Hill East Station today

Thanks to my good buddy on the Blogosphere, Annie Mole of the wonderful London Underground Tube Diary (The link is in my Blogroll on the Blog sidebar) for the heads up on this wonderful “short” on the Northern Line Extension which was largely built but never completed after WW11. Over 2 miles of completed tunnel was used as an underground munitions factory during WW11 and the depot which was completed at Aldenham became the maintenance and training centre for the famous Routemaster Bus.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/great-british-design-quest.html

Even if this was not about the Underground Jay Foreman has real talent and has made a wonderful and engrossing short film, pondering whether we're any worse off because the Northern Heights was never finished. So, if you have ever wondered why the Northern Line has that strange little one station branch to Mill Hill East and why it only has one platform, sit back and enjoy this excellent short.


The track running beyond Mill Hill East

This was another line that formed part of the 1930s New Works programme and as such was due to be electrified was the LNER branch that ran between just north of Finchley Central, re-joining the other Northern Line branch just south of Edgware. Much of the work towards electrification had already taken place when World War II halted further development.

In 1941, the section that ran from Finchley Central to Mill Hill East was completed as single track and was electrified. The electrification of the line beyond Mill Hill East however was never completed. The line continued to be used for goods traffic until closed in the 1960s when the tracks were lifted.