Jonathan Morton

"Cats" <ramwater@uk2.net> wrote in message
news:3063ed18-f722-46ea-8507-49bcc0af922a@x41g2000hsb..com...
On Jul 17, 12:01 pm, "Clive D. W. Feather" <cl...@on-the-
train.> wrote:
<snip>
>
>> Finally, the Metropolitan Line from Finchley Road to Harrow-on-the-Hill
>> is arranged UF, US, DS, DF, UM, DM. The Marylebone pair are to one side
>> for obvious reasons, but I'm not clear why they put the slows inside the
>> fasts.

>Possibly the slows came first and the fasts were added later, but
>having the slows on the inside means just one island platform and one
>set of access stairs is needed. I can't remember, though, if that's
>what the arrangements are!

It certainly is at West Hampstead, Kilburn, Willesden Green and Dollis
Hill - all of which have single islands on (what is now) the Jubilee.
Neasden IIRC is slightly different - I think it has a platform on the Up
Met, though it's not often used as in theory the Met doesn't serve Neasden.
These are in very typical and rather attractive 1930s LU style presumably
dating from the quadrupling. Finchley Road of course has Met platforms, so
the layout here is up and down islands. Again, this dates from the new
construction in the '30s(??) when the Bakerloo was extended north from Baker
Street to Finchley Road via new stations at St John's Wood and Swiss Cottage
(taking over the slow tracks north of Finchley Road as far as Wembley Park,
plus the Stanmore branch), allowing the intermediate stations between Baker
Street and Finchley Road on the Met to be closed. Consequently the whole
line from Finchley Road to Harrow-on-the-Hill is very well laid out,
allowing some Met trains to run non-stop Harrow-FR. Coupled with a dive
across the platform into a Jubilee train, it's a good route to the West End.

North of Harrow it's not quite so good - as has been mentioned above.

Regards

Jonathan