The Bridges Of Walthamstow
I have been meaning for some time to walk the route of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line (GOBlin) between Walthamstow Central station in Selborne Road to Blackhorse Road station.
But now the line is closed for electrification work, I thought it would be an appropriate time to do it, taking photographs as I walked.
To cross all the bridges, I was constantly doubling back on myself, using a route of.
- West on Selborne Road.
- Right onto Vernon Road
- Left onto Walthamstow High Street
- Right onto Palmerston Road
- Left onto Northcote Road
- Right onto Pretoria Avenue
- Right onto Warner Road and back to Northcote Road
- Left onto Palmerston Road
- Left onto Walpole Road, Suffolk Park Road and The Links
- Right onto Pretoria Road
- Left onto Forest Road
After a short detour to look at the bridge on Blackhorse Road, I arrived at the station, where I took a bus alongside of the GOBlin to Tottenham Hale station.
This Google Map shows Walthamstow Central and Blackhorse Road stations, and the portion of the GOBlin in the area.
The Bridges Of Walthamstow
Note in both the photographs and the map.
- There are eleven bridges including those at Blackhorse Road and Selborne Road.
- Most seem to be in good condition, with Palmerston Road having been recently replaced and others looking as if they have been thoroughly refurbished.
- Only Suffolk Park Road and Stoneydown Avenue Bridges have restrictions on access.
- It would appear that the track going towards Blackhorse Road has been lifted and laying of new track has started at that end.
- There does appear to be some new sheet piling to stabilise the cutting.
- There is ample space on both sides of this section of the line to erect the masts and gantries for the overhead wires.
- I wonder what William Morris would think of the bridge designs.
- I can’t find any information on whether more work needs to be done on the bridge at Suffolk Park Road, except a mention of new public art from 2015.
So in this section at least, it doesn’t appear that there’ll be much problem putting up the overhead wires for the electrification.
The Anonymous Widower 
Those bridges are lovely, thanks for posting. I am sure they brighten up a boring journey for people. It would be great if more bridges had interesting things on them.
Comment by nosnikrapzil | June 15, 2016 |
It’s becoming almost a tradition in London, where often the local school is asked to paint the bridge. You never find these bridges painted over with graffiti.
Comment by AnonW | June 15, 2016 |
That would be a great project for a school, and locals would be less likely to deface because either they or their siblings will perhaps been involved.
Comment by nosnikrapzil | June 15, 2016 |
Interesting post, I live local to the painted bridges, would have had you in a for a cuppa had a I known you were passing!
Comment by Dan Kelly (@deekinstow) | July 7, 2016 |
I’ll be going again soon to take some pictures of the non-electrification.
Comment by AnonW | July 7, 2016 |
[…] The Bridges of Walthamstow describes a walk I took along the route a few months ago. […]
Pingback by Slow Progress On The Gospel Oak To Barking Line « The Anonymous Widower | September 4, 2016 |
Took the very same photo today. We’ve been through this before, but I’m not on Twitter. Your daily rail. Can I add photo here or tag you on Facebook?
Quite some clambering to get those pics!
Good job.
Comment by Russell | January 7, 2017 |