Changes Kings Cross to Wood Green since 1963

[Dave Cockle]

Nice pictures of Wood Green No 4.

When I was resident signalman there in 1972/3 one of the highlight's of a late turn was the departure of Deltic hauled 5B41 16:50 Bounds Green - Kings Cross E.C.S. (to form 17:40 KX - P'boro). This train was booked to be turned out at No 4 for a fast Line run up to the Cross. As the Deltic had been stationary for some time, prior to departure, there was a build up of oil in the exhaust. After creeping through Wood Green platform on the up branch and snaking through the 15mph point work branch/slow/fast the driver used to open the controller to full power once the loco and first few coaches were on the fast line. All ten tracks between Wood Green and Hornsey were then obscurred by a cloud of drifting white exhaust which took a minute or so to clear. A memorable sight which I can clearly recall from forty years ago.

The oil tank sidings were at the London end of the Sand Yard and tanks were tripped to and thro as required by the Palace Gates Pilot.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Seeing that I've worked the Palace Gates pilot many times I must have been shunted in that little oil depot, old age must be creeping up, I can't remember.

I always remember though that the bobby, in No 4 box, always emptied the tea leaves out of the back window of the box, as there was a bl**** great tea stain down the back wall of the box

manna

[thesignalman]

Incidentally, on platform workings at Kings Cross there was just one train whose platform was "set in stone" and that was to ten o'clock from platform ten. One day when I was there, a change was unavoidable for some reason and it was put in No8. The station manager went ballistic, because after it had been platformed it was discovered to have only been cleaned on one side! Not sure how this came to be, but that's a true story.

John

[Mickey]

Deleted

[Andy W]

In about 1978 all staff who worked at the Cross and who could be on or about the platforms got issued with a slim arrivals and departures book so they could answer platform queries. It was a customer care initative by the then new Area Manager. I thought this is a waste of money - I would never get asked but a couple of days after I got my book, a couple came up and asked me for the train to Newcastle - it was James Bolam and his wife - I think they were filming "When the Boat Comes In" at the time. A quick flick and they got the answer, from an M&EE man! I still have that first book I was issued with, a bit of a keepsake of what was, in retrospect, a really good idea.

There used to be an agreement that if a rake of coaches couldn't be cleaned in the sidings in time for departure it would run into the Cross part done or not done at all and get cleaned there, sometimes after passengers had boarded! Of course, the 10.00 Down should never have run in dirty and I wonder, if somone had only done one side, the change of platform well and truly caught them out!

One thing that never changed was the knowledge of which platforms the Pullmans came in on. Staff had their own "weasel" pitch, allocated in strict seniority, and they used to wait until the stewards hanging by the open door used to call them in as the train arrived. I used to hang out of the windows of 125 West Office on some occasions when it came up 8 and the weaseling was done with military precision. Both the reprographic men in the AMO were former guards (and well into their 70's) and they used to have prime pitches. When the Pullmans were due in, you did your own copying or roneos and put a piece of paper on their desk so they could enter it up as their work later. The reward was priority on jobs or a bit of personal copying, which was really expensive in the 1970's.

[StevieG]

"G'Day Gents

Also gone, Down Main, Copenhagen Tunnel through to KX, including Gasworks Tunnel
Down Slow, Copenhagen Tunnel through to KX, including Gasworks Tunnel ..... "

Presumably you meant Up Main and Up Slow manna ?

Coincidentally the King's Cross 'upgrade' works now in progress, and due for completion over the next four months, include reinstating two tracks (to also be bi-directional) through the Eastern bore of Gasworks Tunnel (which until 1977 had accommodated the UM (Fast) & US), along with changing the layouts on the Fast lines at Belle Isle and the whole layout between Gasworks Tunnel and the platforms.
Also involved are rendering platform 10 trackless and lengthening No.11 (which I suppose may well be renumbered 10), and closure of the remaining operational section of the 1971/'75 KX Power Signal Box (approx. New Southgate / Palmers Green to KX / Moorgate), with signalling control transferring to the Rail Operating Centre (ROC) at York : (Control of the Hertford 'Loop' from Langley junction (exclusive) to approx.Winchmore Hill was transferred from KX to York ROC in Dec. 2018, and of all lines from the London side of Sandy and Meldreth to approx. Oakleigh Park over the 2019 August B.H.).

[manna]

"G'Day Gents

Also gone, Down Main, Copenhagen Tunnel through to KX, including Gasworks Tunnel
Down Slow, Copenhagen Tunnel through to KX, including Gasworks Tunnel ..... "

Presumably you meant Up Main and Up Slow manna ?

Coincidentally the King's Cross 'upgrade' works now in progress, and due for completion over the next four months, include reinstating two tracks (to also be bi-directional) through the Eastern bore of Gasworks Tunnel (which until 1977 had accommodated the UM (Fast) & US), along with changing the layouts on the Fast lines at Belle Isle and the whole layout between Gasworks Tunnel and the platforms.
Also involved are rendering platform 10 trackless and lengthening No.11 (which I suppose may well be renumbered 10), and closure of the remaining operational section of the 1971/'75 KX Power Signal Box (approx. New Southgate / Palmers Green to KX / Moorgate), with signalling control transferring to the Rail Operating Centre (ROC) at York : (Control of the Hertford 'Loop' from Langley junction (exclusive) to approx.Winchmore Hill was transferred from KX to York ROC in Dec. 2018, and of all lines from the London side of Sandy and Meldreth to approx. Oakleigh Park over the 2019 August B.H.).

G'Day Gents

hi Stevie, yes I meant the Up Main and Up Slow, most of the loco staff at the time thought it was a absolutely stupid idea to do away with those two tracks.

manna

[Mickey]

I presume back in 1977 with the knowledge that loco hauled trains were 'on the way out' along with the eventual closure of Passenger loco around 1979/80 substantial track rationalisation was always going to happen. At the time it did seem a bit drastic in abolishing the Up fast & Up slow lines from Belle Isle through the eastern bore of Gasworks tunnel into the east side of the station.

[StevieG]

.... But remembering that the old Up Relief and Down Fast No.1 became the new Fast lines Mickey, (and DF2 & DS, the new Slows), with all four remaining lines through Gasworks made bi-directional.
As you say, light loco movements (shunts as well as journeys from/to Top Shed, Finsbury Park, etc.) reduced a lot over not many years, and now (almost?) all traffic is multiple-units of one sort or another.

Nowadays the advent of the (non-COVID times) four trains per hour each way between the Slows (Finsbury Park-Belle Isle) to/from Thameslink's St. Pancras low level platforms has changed traffic flows quite a bit.

But I still think that, while with the present layout all trains can run between any Slow or Fast line at Belle Isle and any platform in KX, except Plat. 0 (from/to the Fasts only), the new layout going in this year will see see removal of K2032 points, the No.1 Fast ('B' Route) Down-facing crossover to the No.2 Slow at Belle Isle, thus making Plats. 0-6 only accessible from/to the Fasts south of Holloway.
This to me is a retrograde change in that, in the event of planned or unplanned/emergency work/incident preventing use of the Down and Up Fasts anywhere between Belle Isle and Holloway, those seven main platforms will be unusable, leaving only 7-10.

[Mickey]

I might be wrong but has only one diamond crossing with double slips been provided just outside Gasworks tunnel at the throat area?.

[StevieG]

I might be wrong but has only one diamond crossing with double slips been provided just outside Gasworks tunnel at the throat area?.

It's a while since I saw the published plans of old and new Mickey, but fortunately the current issue (No.924) of Rail mag. (cover dates 10-23 Feb.) has an illustrated progress article for the KX Upgrade which includes them : The new layout does not show any double slips, nor even any diamond crossings (apart from the existing layout at Belle Isle for Thameslink where the Up Canal tunnel line crosses the No.1 Slow/Down Slow ('D' Route).

[Mickey]

I might be wrong but has only one diamond crossing with double slips been provided just outside Gasworks tunnel at the throat area?.

It's a while since I saw the published plans of old and new Mickey, but fortunately the current issue (No.924) of Rail mag. (cover dates 10-23 Feb.) has an illustrated progress article for the KX Upgrade which includes them : The new layout does not show any double slips, nor even any diamond crossings (apart from the existing layout at Belle Isle for Thameslink where the Up Canal tunnel line crosses the No.1 Slow/Down Slow ('D' Route).

Hello Stevie, that diamond crossing with double-slips that I saw in the 'throat area' maybe from a picture of the track layout a decade or two ago?.

[StevieG]

I might be wrong but has only one diamond crossing with double slips been provided just outside Gasworks tunnel at the throat area?.

It's a while since I saw the published plans of old and new Mickey, but fortunately the current issue (No.924) of Rail mag. (cover dates 10-23 Feb.) has an illustrated progress article for the KX Upgrade which includes them : The new layout does not show any double slips, nor even any diamond crossings (apart from the existing layout at Belle Isle for Thameslink where the Up Canal tunnel line crosses the No.1 Slow/Down Slow ('D' Route).

Hello Stevie, that diamond crossing with double-slips that I saw in the 'throat area' maybe from a picture of the track layout a decade or two ago?.

The layout being removed now, when new in 1977, had 6 diamond crossing/double slips and three Tandem (3-way) point assemblies.

One of the diamond/double-slips was in the East Sidings, and disappeared when they were remodelled for the creation of Platform 0.
But the other five, which all had switch diamonds in the middle as well, are all in the 'throat' between the tunnels and the platforms, and are only to go as part of the changes happening now and during the remaining closures in the next 3.5 months.

[Mickey]

Below certainly more than one diamond crossing with double-slips in this picture of Kings Cross-

https://c8.alamy.com/comp/D7FDN6/railwa ... D7FDN6.jpg

[Mickey]

The layout being removed now, when new in 1977, had 6 diamond crossing/double slips and three Tandem (3-way) point assemblies.

One of the diamond/double-slips was in the East Sidings, and disappeared when they were remodelled for the creation of Platform 0.
But the other five, which all had switch diamonds in the middle as well, are all in the 'throat' between the tunnels and the platforms, and are only to go as part of the changes happening now and during the remaining closures in the next 3.5 months.

I presume that is what was meant by 'simplifying' the throat area at Kings Cross when the proposal was published last year.