Watford DC line: Difference between revisions

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I will not call it the Lioness line until a consensus on whether to call them that has ben approved
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{{Short description|LondonRailway Overgroundin linesouthern England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox rail line
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The "DC" in the title refers to line being electrified using [[direct current]]. This was done in the early twentieth century with [[third rail|conductor rails]] to be compatible with the [[Railway electrification system#Fourth rail|four-rail]] system used by the Underground and, at the time, the [[North London Line]]; currently, the line uses a [[third rail]] system, with a fourth rail available on the section shared with the Bakerloo line. By contrast, the WCML uses overhead [[alternating current]].
 
Since November 2024, the London Overground service has been branded the '''Lioness line''' by TfL.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Transport for London |title=London Overground’s new look |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/london-overground/the-new-look-london-overground |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=Transport for London }}</ref>as England's football team are called the Lionesses as they won in [[Wembley Stadium]] at the end of July in 2022 and they want to inspire more women in football.
 
==History==
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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)
* QueensQueen's Park No.3 (closed when control passed to Willesden)
* 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 QueensQueen's Park, Willesden and Harrow boxes were staffed for at least part of the day, to deal with junction and siding traffic. In the early 1980s manual control of signalling was needed for a few months after dragging gear on a train destroyed many electric train-stops which were of a design almost confined to this line (LU train-stops are mostly electro-pneumatic). By this time the signal boxes at Stonebridge Power House and Kilburn High Road had been abolished. Emergency crossovers at other locations were controlled by [[Lever frame|ground frames]] enclosed in structures the size of a garden shed.
 
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 QueensQueen's Park to Kilburn High Road up platform, where a trailing crossover between those two stations is maintained in use to allow reversal of Bakerloo line trains unable to gain access to London Underground at QueensQueen's Park, due to planned work or other reasons. The line is currently electrified (like all shared lines) using the standard compromise voltage of {{nowrap|660 V DC}}. This falls comfortably within the lower permanent voltage limit for the {{BRC|378}} "Capitalstar" stock (500{{nbsp}}V) and the upper permanent voltage limit for the [[London Underground 1972 Stock|1972 tube stock]] (760{{nbsp}}V).<ref>{{Cite book |title=BS EN 50163:2004+A3:2022 Railway applications. Supply voltages of traction systems |publisher=[[BSI Group]] |isbn=978 0 539 14248 8 |publication-date=2022-10-14}}</ref> The line has now been converted to {{nowrap|750 V DC}} for the new {{BRC|710}} "Aventra".
 
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&nbsp;kV, three-phase power to ten substations on the line, located at Camden, South Hampstead, QueensQueen's Park, Willesden, Harlesden, Wembley, Kenton, Harrow, Hatch End, Bushey and Watford.
 
===Decline===
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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 theits sixOverground rail linesservices, including that on the Watford to Euston route, new names by the end of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Naming London Overground lines |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/naming-overground |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Transport for London }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-07-01 |title=London Overground lines to be given names |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-66067924 |access-date=2024-02-11 |work=[[BBC News]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-08-25 |title=London Overground lines to be given unique names |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-66609039 |access-date=2024-02-11 |work=[[BBC News]] }}</ref> In February 2024, it was confirmed that the London Overground service on the Watford DC line would be named the ''Lioness line'' (to honour the [[England women's national football team]] who became European champions at Wembley Stadium in [[UEFA Women's Euro 2022|2022]]) and would be coloured yellow on the updated network map.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68296483 London Overground: New names for its six lines revealed], BBC News, 15 February 2024</ref>
 
===London Underground===
The Bakerloo line of the London Underground operates over part of the line from Harrow & Wealdstone to Queen's Park. From QueensQueen's Park the Bakerloo line branches onto dedicated tracks in tunnel via central London to [[Elephant and Castle tube station|Elephant and Castle]].
 
===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)|QueensQueen's Park]]
*[[Kensal Green station|Kensal Green]]
*[[Willesden Junction station|Wilesden Junction]]