Stunning Heritage : South Harrow 3

 Ultimately Uxbridge

The District Line, formerly terminating at South Harrow (above., bottom right) from 1903, was "quickly" extended to Rayners Lane (top left) in 1910, whence trains ran on to Uxbridge. Most of the route was on a viaduct across the drained Roxeth Marsh.

Perversely, the Roxeth Viaduct receives no acknowledgement in Wikipedia's list of London's finest.

fbb has not measured its length or counted the number of arches (mostly infilled with light industrial "premises"), but the prestigious London Underground Society tells us that it is nearly three quarters of a mile long and has nearly 70 arches.

Nearly? Maybe they lost count?

Good views can be had from the appropriately named road, The Arches.

This noble and entertaining thoroughfare starts on the west side of the track ...

... crosses under ...

... with the road completing its trajectory on the east. Here we look back towards South Harrow station and note the very few arches that have never been filled in!

Almost the last arch reached the northern end of the yellow line on the fbb map above.

So the station at South Harrow remained a terminus for only seven years. Here is the building seen from South Hill Avenue, looking south and away from Northolt Road.

It hasn't changed much today ...

... although trees obscure an exact copy of the older view. It was a very sweet rural station building ...

... which still stands today but without entrance canopy.

Here is the building as it sits on the present up platform ...

... again bereft of its canopy.

Here a old view looking north with a typical District Line train departing ...

... with canopies a-plenty!

Provided By Piccadilly

In July 1932 the Piccadilly Line took over the route. It appears that the aim was to better balance levels of service; enabling more trains to serve the remaining FOUR District termini. (Wimbledon, Richmond, Hounslow and Acton).

In an move not fully explained in Wikipedia, Piccadilly trains only ran to South Harrow leaving a District Line Shuttle to venture forth to Uxbridge.

fbb wonders whether that "Next Train" sign harbours a memory of the "split" service, although, by the time the sign was in place in the new station, Picc trains ran all the way to Uxbridge.

So the mystery is not fully resolved by the history!

This shows a Picc train in the happy heady days of 1951!

Stationman E W Lyon giving a
hand signal to the guard of a
Piccadilly line train at South Harrow station.

This view, much earlier, shows a Picc train viewed from the booking hall of the old station.

The full service to Uxbridge was fulfilled by the tiny tube trains from October 1933.

Just to remind us, here is a train at the platform today ...

... and a view from the good old (undated) days.

But there is a slight "smell" of gas! 

A snippet will follow next week.

Isn't The Internet Wonderful?

This picture was captioned "South Harrow, The Toll Gate in South Hill Avenue".

This road, readers may remember, runs along the eastern side of the station, past the old building. 

fbb sees no tollbooth!

But here is the gate today.

Still no tollbooth!

fbb thinks (nope, is quite sure) that South Hill Avenue was not a toll road, but a private road, the old equivalent of a "gated" estate. The other end is not gated ...

... but a sign warns you of the "privacy" of the community. 

When Streetview visited, the noddy car did not pass the barrier from either end ...

... despite its remaining open - to all?

 Next weekend Variety blog : Sun 23rd Feb