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{{Short description|
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox rail line
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The '''Watford DC line''' is a [[Commuter rail in the United Kingdom|suburban railway line]] from [[Euston railway station|London Euston]] to [[Watford Junction railway station|Watford Junction]] in [[Greater London]] and [[Hertfordshire]]. Its services are operated by [[London Overground]] for the whole length of the line and the [[Bakerloo line]] of the [[London Underground]] between [[Harrow & Wealdstone station|Harrow & Wealdstone]] and [[Queen's Park station (
The line runs beside the [[West Coast Main Line]] (WCML) for most of its length. The rolling stock used on the line are the London Overground [[British Rail Class 710|Class 710 "Aventras"]] made by Bombardier and the [[London Underground 1972 Stock]].
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Signal boxes remaining in use in the early 1970s included:
* Kilburn High Road (closed when the crossover moved to the down side of the station)
*
* Willesden New Station
* Stonebridge Power House (abolished after LU Bakerloo line depot opened)
* Harrow No.2
Normally Kilburn High Road and Stonebridge Power House which controlled only plain track with crossovers were switched out and only
In 1988, the LMS system was replaced by a more standard system controlled from a new signal box, Willesden Suburban, and the remaining local boxes were abolished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stacy |first=Mungo |date=2014-02-25 |title=25 years after Clapham - Pride turns to despair |url=https://www.railengineer.co.uk/years-clapham-despair/ |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Rail Engineer |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1988 |url=https://www.nsers.org/1988.html |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Network SouthEast Railway Society |language=en}}</ref> The new system had solid state interlocking, but far fewer signals; as a consequence the maximum traffic capacity of the line was severely reduced. In the early 1960s, there were headways of less than two minutes between Harrow & Wealdstone and Willesden Junction stations, the section of line used by nearly all services.
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In the late 1950s, the [[LNWR electric units|original electric multiple units]] built for the line were replaced by new [[British Rail Class 501|Class 501]] rolling stock. These were in turn displaced in the mid 1980s by [[British Rail Class 313|Class 313]] units. The line is now operated by London Overground [[British Rail Class 710|Class 710 "Aventra"]] units.
In the 1970s, the track and the rolling stock used on this line and the [[North London Line]] were changed to use a modified version of the BR standard [[third rail]] system, with the fourth rail (now bonded to the running rail used for returning traction current) left in place on the sections of line shared with LU Bakerloo line trains. North of Harrow & Wealdstone, now the limit of LU operation, the fourth rail has in most places been dropped onto the sleepers and remains bonded, thus leaving the resistance of the current return path unaltered. The fourth rail remains in the normal position from
A consequence of converting to third rail with the fourth rail provided only for LU use was that both planned and emergency use of the line by other third-rail-capable trains was possible. Ignoring recent use of [[British Rail Class 508|Class 508]] trains, this last took place when [[British Rail Class 416|Class 416]] trains were diverted to Willesden Junction Low Level station when part of the North London Line was closed for a number of weeks in the late 1980s.
The electricity grid Willesden substation in Acton Lane, [[Park Royal]] supplies 11 kV, three-phase power to ten substations on the line, located at Camden, South Hampstead,
===Decline===
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===Operators===
The line was operated by [[British Rail]]
In April 1994, in preparation for [[Privatisation of British Rail|rail privatisation]], the line became part of the North London Railways train operating unit.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Briddon |first1=Christine |title=Huge shake-up on trains hale end of an era |work=Harrow Informer |date=8 April 1994 |page=5}}</ref> From March 1997 until November 2007, the line was operated by [[Silverlink]]. In November 2007, [[Transport for London|Transport for London (TfL)]] took full management control of all the intermediate Watford DC line stations as part of the London Overground (LO) service with staffing during opening hours, automatic ticket gates and planned station refurbishment to the standard of the Tube network.<ref name="silverlink">{{cite web
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[[File:1972 Stock at Harlesden.JPG|thumb|200px|The line is shared with the Bakerloo line]]
===London Overground===
The London Overground operates over the full length of the line from Watford Junction to Euston. In July 2023, TFL announced that it would be giving each of
===London Underground===
The Bakerloo line of the London Underground operates over part of the line from Harrow & Wealdstone to Queen's Park. From
===List of stations===
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*[[South Hampstead railway station|South Hampstead]]
*[[Kilburn High Road railway station|Kilburn High Road]]
*[[Queen's Park station (England)|
*[[Kensal Green station|Kensal Green]]
*[[Willesden Junction station|Wilesden Junction]]
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