Harrow - Uxbridge Fast

Personally if this was reality, I would extend all Piccadilly services to Uxbridge via the Slow Stopping Lines and put the Mets on the fast (and making a stop at Rayners Lane so that slow Picc punters/Fast Met punters can exchange to a more convenient Train)

To me, that sounds a lot more feasible!

Ruislip was the only station between Rayners and Uxbridge and it did have a passing loop on the westbound. All the other stations on the branch opened later.

Thanks for the info Harsig. I thought the OP was referring to the old Down Uxbridge No.1, behind signal JB5, that allowed trains from platform 1 to proceed directly onto the Uxbridge chord without crossing the entire layout to reach the burrowing junction.

Would the WB island idea ever gain traction (no pun) today, with the presence of the siding?

From an operating point of view a third platform would be vastly superior to the current arrangements. At present when a train terminates at Ruislip it has to detrain in the platform (during which time no following train can pass) then run half a mile to the signal protecting the siding, come to or nearly to a stand before the signal will clear then draw slowly into the siding, all the while following trains are unable to proceed. Once the train is ready to depart a gap has to be found (or created) in both the eastbound and westbound services because the train has to cross the westbound to reach the eastbound. It then has to run the half mile back to Ruislip before re-entering service.
Remember that all the scheduled Ruislip reversers are in the peaks when the line sees the maximum number of trains.
With a third platform provided the terminating train can arrive directly in the middle platform. Once in the platform the through westbound service would now be able to run unimpeded.There is no need to detrain, the driver need only change ends and when the train is ready to depart it could do so directly to the eastbound line without affecting the westbound.
The siding could then be relegated to its original intended purpose of providing a connection between the Met Line and Ruislip Depot. This in itself would have some advantage. It is often the case that the last few engineers' trains returning from overnight work on the Underground system are trying to use Ruislip siding to gain access to the depot at the same time as the first of the scheduled Ruislip reversers is trying to use the siding to reverse.

Having said all that I would suggest that the chance of a third platform being installed is relatively slim because it would represent a relatively significant investment in the facilities of a station well outside the central area. The many schemes to make alterations to improve capacity at Rayners Lane have also foundered on just the same problem.

Careful, you're starting to look at the big picture, that's not allowed.

As Harsig has desribed, providing a platform for trains to reverse in at Ruislip would certainly help to avoid the accumulation of delays that can so easily occur, especially during the peaks. On several occasions I've left Harrow on time in the evening peak and finally got to Uxbridge 8 or 9 mins late despite the best efforts of almost every member of staff involved.

The first problem is the track layout at Rayners Lane (with a flat junction, just 2 platforms, and a reversing siding) which would be very costly to alter and reduce conflicts.

Then, as Harsig describes, we have the 'very inefficient and not originally designed for reversing service trains' layout at Ruislip which could at more reasonable cost be made to work a whole lot better.

The final problem is the conflicts at Uxbridge, which would not occur so often if trains hadn't already been delayed at both Rayners Lane and Ruislip.

So the Uxbridge branch, despite being 'out in the sticks', is busy but I can't imagine LUL ever spending serious money on it.

Probably because it would inconvenience passengers changing beween an s/b Met and an e/b Picc and would not stack up under a "minutes saved per pound spent" analysis.

There are some track layout changes being planned for Rayners Lane, as mentioned by Bob Bayman at a LURS meeting a few months ago. What the alterations will be like is anyone's guess ;D