The Anonymous Widower

Could Reversing Sidings Be Used On The Chingford Branch Line?

In Improving The Chingford Branch Line, I showed how the new Class 710 trains and some adjustment to timetables could run eight trains per hour (tph) to Chingford, with 4 tph each going to Liverpool Street and Stratford, by getting the trains to cross at the level crossing at ighams Park station.

Several stations in London, including some on the Underground, have what is known as reversing sidings. In How Trains Reverse At West Croydon, I described the working of the reversing siding there, which London Overground trains use to swap tracks to get back to Dalston Junction station.

So could a strategically placed reversing siding be placed to turn back some services, before the Highams Park level crossing?

I don’t think a reversing siding would be needed until the Coppermill Curve was reinstated to allow trains to go to and from Tottenham Hale to Walthamstow, And even then, it would only be needed if more than eight tph were running to Walthamstow.

A reversing siding would allow the following.

• More than eight tph to go to Walthamstow.
• The creation of a triangular service from Tottenham Hale to Lea Bridge via Walthamstow.
• Services between Chingford/Walthamstow and Seven Sisters/South Tottenham for a future Crossrail 2.
• Services between Chingford/Walthamstow and Gospel Oak along the Gospel Oak to Barkjing Line.

This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the railway lines around Seven Sisters station.

There are certainly a lot of possibilities.

• The Seven Sisters Chord gives access to Seven Sisters, Enfield Town and Cheshunt.
• The Gospel Oak to Barking Line gives access to Cricklewood, Gospel Oak, Richmond and West Hampstead.
• The Gospel Oak to Barking Line gives access via Cricklewood to the Dudding Hill Line for Acton..
• The Gospel Oak to Barking Line gives access via |Willesden Junction to the West London Line for Clapham Junction.

If another four tph service is created to Walthamstow, I suuspect it will be a third long East-West service, which will give eight tph on the busy part of the Gospel Oak to Barkling Line west of South Tottenham.

There are only three stations or four if you add in Forest Road, which I talked about in New Stations On The Chingford Branch Line.

• St. James Street
• Walthamstow Central
• Wood Street
• Forest Road.

I’ll look at each in detail.

St. James Street Station

This is probably too difficult and it’s the first station.

Walthamstow Central Station

This Google Map shows the station.

I think it could be a possibility.

I think that the platforms are certainly able to accept eight car trains and might even take twelve, so there should be space for a reversing siding between the two lines to the East of the station.

Wood Street Station

This Google Map shows the station.

Again, I think this is a possibility.

Wood Street station will need a lot of rebuilding to make it step-free and there is space beyond the platforms towards Chingford to put in a reversing siding for a train.

These pictures show the station.

It is a station with potential.

Forest Road Station

This Google Map shows where Forest Road station will probably go.

It could be just too restricted a site.

How Would The Trains Be Organised?

I think that Walthamstow Central or Wood Street will be the station with a reversing siding.

Say there are going to be three 4 tph services. They could be.

• Gospel Oak to Walthamstow Central or Wood Street
• Liverpool Street to Chingford
• Stratford to Chingford

The sequence at the reversing station would be.

1. The train from Gospel Oak arrives in the down platform, discharges passengers and goes into the reversing siding.
2. The two Chingford services arrive in the down platform, one after the other, pick up any passengers and go to Chingford.
3. The two Chingford services arrive in the up platform, one after the other, pick up any passengers and go to Stratford and Liverpool Street.
4. The train for Gospel Oak comes out of the reversing siding into the up platform, picks up passengers and goes on to Gospel Oak.

No passengers would have to change platforms to change trains.

Would It Be Sensible To Have A Reversing Siding Anyway?

I’m no expert, but I think the answer is Yes!

Crossrail have a reversing siding at Chadwell Heath station, that they say is for service recovery, in this page on their web site.

So perhaps, if say there was a problem on the highams Park level crossing, a train or two could be diverted to the reversing platform to await their slot on the return from Chingford.

Conclusion

A reversing siding at either Walthamstow Central or Wood Street would allow extra services to be developed around the Coppermill Curve and also be useful for service recovery.

Related Posts

Improving The Chingford Branch Line

Could Electrification Be Removed From The Chingford Branch Line?

Could The Hall Farm Curve Be Built Without Electrification?

Crossrail 2 And The Chingford Branch Line

New Stations On The Chingford Branch Line

Rumours Of Curves In Walthamstow

Will Walthamstow Central Station On The Victoria Line Be Expanded?

Wikipedia – Chingford Branch Line

 

 

September 7, 2016 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Chingford Branch Line, Gospel Oak And Barking Line, Walthamstow Central Station