Railway line at Palmers Green

Image: © Marathon Taken: 11 Jan 2017

The Alexandra Palace-Hertford-Stevenage loop was built mainly as a by-pass for the approaches to King's Cross on the main line from Hatfield and was built to main line standards for much of its length. However, it has never carried regular long-distance passenger services and has always primarily been a suburban branch, apart from when there is engineering work or other disruption on the East Coast Main Line through Hatfield. The line was opened as far as Enfield, which was then the terminus, on 1st April 1871. The line was extended to Cuffley from 4th April 1910 and on to Stevenage for freight on 4th March 1918, but passenger trains only started beyond Cuffley on 2nd June 1924. This view is from Fox Lane bridge, a short distance down the line from Palmers Green station which was opened with that section of the line on 1st April 1871. At that time it was described as "a little gathering of houses on the road to Enfield" but the station was placed on the road to Southgate, a village just under a mile away to the north-west which was much favoured by wealthy businessmen for whose benefit a privately-operated horse-bus feeder service was started. Villa development at Palmers Green did not really take off until about 1900 when side streets sprouted out each side of the Enfield Road from Wood Green to Winchmore Hill. In 1905 the Evening News saw "Palmers Green and Southgate, 30 minutes journey from the City, as the places where the bank clerk or the man with a responsible position in a merchant's office could find the home he desired." The next station in this direction is Winchmore Hill.

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