Another Potty Idea

Harringay Council would probably also complain, as any such service wouldn't be useful unless it went south of Highgate High Level to Crouch End and/or Stroud Green, with full double tracking.

Isn't the Northern height's abandoned because the green teritory where is restricted building

The MHE to Edgware section would certainly not have paid. When I lived in Finchley in the 50s and 60s, one half-cab single-deck bus (not even an RF) could carry all the traffic offering along that route.

It would be pretty pointless to rebuild the line from East Finchley to Stroud Green, and it would be very expensive to extend to Finsbury Park. The area there that was to have been used for the Northern extensions is now occupied by the lines linking the main line to the Northern City line, so it would probably be necessary to go into tunnel south of Stroud Green and build a new underground station at Finsbury Park. I can't see that the likely traffic could justify the expense.

I've walked the Highgate to Finchley Park section and it's all pretty intact except for the last bit into Finsbury Park where I believe there used to be a bridge over the mainlines.
So Mill Hill East - Finchley Central - East Finchley - highgate - Crouch End - Stroud Green - Finsbury Park would be feasible but how expensive I have no idea.
Highgate - Cranley Gardens - Muswell Hill - Alexandra Palace has been partly built on.

And here's that 1949 diagram again:
img169.imageshack.us/my.php?image=map19490ly.jpg

Some serious obstacles (including a school) have been built on the trackbed between Highgate and Alexandra Palace.

Oh well Ally Pally is out then. As for the flyover, there are three tracks approaching FC northbound and I belive that there may be room there for it. (And possibly why ther over bridge is quite high)

Thanks for those photo's adw. I still think that if the ELL were to be connected underground with the Moorgate northern electrics and a connection made at Finsbury Park with the abandoned northern hieghts line a very useful service could be set up. Think of it. MHE or EF to Croydon. Very handy methinks.

Technically, no problem. In GNR/LNER/BR days, the track from Finsbury Park to E Finchley took mainline size trains. I can remember BR tanks batting coal trucks around Fin Cen yard.

I would suggest that the problem is the almost complete lack of any commercial point to this expensive exercise. All it would do would be to provide a link between E Fin and Finsbury Pk; and I would think that existing bus services provide for this limited demand.