Alexandra Palace railway station (Muswell Hill branch)

Alexandra Palace railway station (Muswell Hill branch) is a former station in the grounds of Alexandra Palace in the Muswell Hill area of north London. It is one of a number of stations to have held the name at various times and should not be confused with the current holder, Alexandra Palace station on the First Capital Connect line to the east.

The station was the terminus of a short branch line from Highgate station. The previous station on the line was Muswell Hill station. The station was located immediately adjacent to the north side of the Palace buildings.Nothing remains of the tracks or island platform today which have been removed and covered with car park but the small station building, known locally as CUFOS (Community Use For Old Station), remains.

History

The station was built by the Muswell Hill Railway (MHR) and opened in 1873 along with the Palace. However when the Palace burned down only two weeks after opening, the service was considerably reduced and then closed for almost two years whilst the Palace was rebuilt. It reopened in May 1875, but there were further periods of closure from August 1882 to March 1885 and September 1885 and May 1889 [Wall, M (2003). "Lost Railways of Middlesex", Countryside Books, Newbury; p.116.] .

In 1911 the line was taken over by the Great Northern Railway. After the 1921 Railways Act created the "Big Four" railway companies, the line was, from 1923, part of the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER).

In 1935 London Underground planned, as part of its "" to take over the line from LNER together with the LNER's routes from Finsbury Park to Edgware and High Barnet, modernise it for use with electric trains and amalgamate it with the Northern Line.

Works to modernise the track began in the late 1930s and were well advanced when they were interrupted and halted by the Second World War. Works were completed from Highgate to High Barnet and Mill Hill East and that section was incorporated into the Northern Line. Further works on the section between Highgate and Alexandra Palace were postponed and the line continued under the operation of the LNER. Because of wartime economies services were reduced to rush hours only, so that after the war the dwindling passenger numbers and a shortage of funds led to the cancellation of the unfinished works in 1950 and passenger services to Alexandra Palace station were ended by British Railways on 3 July 1954 along with the rest of the line between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace.

The line continued to be used for goods until 18 May 1957 when it was closed completely. Today the track has been removed and most of the platforms and station buildings have been demolished. The track bed between Muswell Hill and Finsbury Park is now largely a Parkland walk.

References

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ee also

* Edgware, Highgate and London Railway
* Palace Gates (Wood Green) railway station - closed railway station originally named "Wood Green (Alexandra Palace)"
* List of closed London Underground stations

Abandoned Works/Former Services

External links

*ltmcollection|86/9887186.jpg|London's Transport Photographic Archive Alexandra Palace station in 1935.
* [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/a/alexandra_palace/index.shtml Disused Stations - Alexandra Palace]