Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2016 2:36:49 GMT
I happened to read another forum on which there was a discussion about why electrification stopped at Amersham (or why it went there at all). It was theorised that the cost of laying power rails to Aylesbury was prohibitive in view of the predicted traffic but there was a substantial "vote" for the signalling being the issue.
Any insights?
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Post by stapler on Nov 9, 2016 8:01:24 GMT
No insight, but wasn't it analogous with the Ongar line?
There, it wasn't so much the cost of installing the conductor rails, but the electricity supply, which was done on the cheap, thus restricting the length and power draw of the trains. Steam continued there until 1957, and huge passenger numbers did not materialise on electrification. There was relatively little development, because of the application of green belt policies. And all this at the time of "you've never had it so good" and the great increase in private car usage and cheap petrol. So surely the LTE would be looking generally at "why electrify?" rather than "why not?" for places on the periphery.
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Post by norbitonflyer on Nov 9, 2016 10:01:25 GMT
It had to stop somewhere. If it was being done today it would make sense to go all the way to the end of the line at Aylesbury. But in 1960 the end of the line was in Sheffield, so Aylesbury would not have been any more logical than Amersham - or indeed Brackley - or Rugby, or.........
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2016 10:13:54 GMT
It could have stopped at Ricky.
A point was made on this other forum that the reason for going to Amersham at all was to justify electrifying to Chesham (and having direct trains).
Chesham, if you go there, is a bigger town than you might think but in those days there were probably already Chesham residents who drove to Chalfont (or Amersham) rather than use the shuttle service.
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Post by stapler on Nov 9, 2016 10:40:16 GMT
Chesham was not quite so affected by green belt issues as some other places. It recorded approx 5000 increases between successive censuses post WW2
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Post by norbitonflyer on Nov 9, 2016 10:53:43 GMT
It could have stopped at Ricky. . Between 1925 and 1960 it did just that. (Electrification of the Met was in three main stages: 1905 to Harrow and (recently-opened) Uxbridge branch, (plus Inner Circle and Hammersmith branch) 1925 to Rickmansworth and (newly-opened) Watford 1960 to Chesham and Amersham. |
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Post by philthetube on Nov 18, 2016 15:50:53 GMT
I was told by a retiring driver, who was on the job in 1960 that some equipment was delivered to electrify beyond Amersham.
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metman
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5056 05/12/1961-23/04/2012 RIP
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Post by metman on Nov 28, 2016 11:14:40 GMT
There was a plan to electrify to Great Miss and shut the chiltern line into Marylebone.
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