manna wrote: " .... Anyone know whats happening with the new platforms at Alexandra Palace and Finsbury Park, please
manna "
Ah, the F2A project, manna [Finsbury Park '2' Alexandra Palace
].
You may be aware that the main point of the project (there are some minor ehancements to be done to the Down Slow No.2 I think) is to convert the Up Goods between Alexandra Palace (formerly Wood Green station), Finsbury Park, and Holloway (modern 'north': Site of Hornsey Road Bridge Sidings) to be an Up Slow No.2 (with the present US becoming US No.1 of course), serving AP and FP stations (not Hornsey or Harringay), and involving creation (restoration
) of a third passenger track through AP station, from the Up Hertford line, before the present Up Hertford/Up Slow convergence outside Bounds Green depot, to the pointwork south of the station.
From what I've seen, Finsbury Park is easy - the Down Fast platform
(No.3; used to be 5)'s been extended over Bridge 16 (Stroud Green Road: bridge span made wider), looks like to 12-Car train length, and only last evening, through the train window on a misty-damp night, I
think I glimpsed from the DF, that Down Slow No.1's west side platform face, No.5, is getting the same treatment.
(Plat.5 was the former 7 : No.4 [was 6] face on DS1's east side is not normally used any more - 25+ years? : Seemingly DOO, and passenger doors in use of both sides of trains, don't mix.)
The main work though is the significant amount of works being done to re-instate, and also extend over Br.16, the old Platforms 1-2 island, (No.1 had once been the Up platform for 'Northern Heights' branch lines' services [Edgware, High Barnet, and Alexandra Palace]), but probably only for the No.1 side - not having an operational west-side face, to serve what's now the Up Goods, but will become Up Slow No.2. That would also allow this 'new' US2 platform to be another example of being numbered '0' ("zero"), thus not disturbing the current numbering of all the other platforms.
This extension north over and slightly beyond, Stroud Green Road bridge is being constructed to the full width of the old platform island, even though the old platform No.2 (the Up Slow's old east side platform face) was 'de-edged' and has not been used for about 40 years : Perhaps someone's decided to do that in case at any future time, it's decided to switch Up Slow (will be Up Slow No.1) trains' platform use from the present west side (current Plat.1) to the line's east side platform face instead.
There are some changes to pointwork in this scheme.
Where the Up Canonbury and Up Moorgate run down the slope south of the station (through what was once part of East Goods Yard), a new running crossover from UC to UM has been installed near the bottom just before these lines curve left to pass under the Up Goods. This is so that Up trains to Moorgate will be able to use either the existing US or 'new' US2 platforms.
North of the station (beside the site of Finsbury Park Carr.Sdgs.), the Up Goods-Up Slow running crossover
(essential from the early GN suburban electrification times when the UG from here to Holloway was not overhead-'wired', and was still needed for trains ex Hornsey Depot destined for service from FP to Moorgate: For now until scheme completion, these must now have to use the points back at Harringay instead) has been removed and re-laid the other way round, to be an US-UG crossover (will end up as US No.1 - US No.2) in parallel with the existing Up Fast-US crossover. This will mean passenger trains approaching on the existing Up Slow will be able to use either of the Up Slows' platforms.
Now, about the up side platform works at Alexandra Palace station (formerly Wood Green : Not the 'proper' Alexandra Palace station
), from what can be seen from passing non-stop trains I still find it puzzling as to what the final arrangements will be.
You'll probably recall that the mid-'70s layout remodelling and simplification here saw the Up Branch through the station abolished, and closure and demolition of the old platforms 1-2 island, for the Up Branch and the east side face for the Up Slow, leaving only the modernised other island to serve the US and Up Fast.
Well the Up Fast platform was taken out of use weeks ago and I think, 'de-edged'.
I had heard from 'inside' that there would be no restoration of an UF platform; and the plan was to narrow this island's east side, and slew the Up Slow westwards to it, leaving enough room to build the third track and create a new platform for it; on the line's east side, I believed.
This, if correct, would mean there'd then be two Up Slows with platforms, but the platforms would be entirely separate, potentially leaving southbound passengers (presumably a.m. 'peak'-time only) for Finsbury Park with a choice of either going to one platform and having to run back up and over the footbridge if their first train turns up at the other platform, or lingering on the bridge on the look-out for which one approaches first - Not too customer-friendly.
As to what I make of the works to be seen at the moment (while passing through at about 90mph), I think it looks like there is certainly some sort of alteration going on to the Up Slow/Up Fast platform island, and there is a new narrow-ish platform to the east (towards the booking office), and I think, room for a new track outside (on east side of) it, between it and the Bounds Green depot exit line (the old Up Goods line), but this platform has a permanent-looking fence along its
east side, and may currently be serving the Up Slow; if so, the US/UF island may be completely out of use for the time being.
As to pointwork, additional crossovers are going in north of the station so that trains approaching on either the Up Slow or Up Hertford will be able to access either of the platform lines in the station. At the south end, more crossovers are going in to supplement the existing pointwork, and I can't get a good mental picture of the layout from flying by at speed.
It's all difficult to assess without a proper visit I'm afraid.