Northwood Hills station

Image: © Marathon Taken: 7 Mar 2018

The Metropolitan Railway reached Harrow-on-the-Hill station in 1880, and Pinner on 25th May 1885 which remained the terminus of the Metropolitan Railway until 1st September 1887 when the line was further extended to Rickmansworth. In 1915, the Metroland project was conceived in order to move people out of central London into rural Middlesex. Houses near the stations were built in haste and sold for as little as £400 each. The most ambitious Metropolitan suburb along the 'Extension Line' was between Pinner and Northwood. There were open fields here until 1930 when plans were produced for a completely new suburb. A competition was held through the local press to find a name. A lady from North Harrow won the £5 prize with the name 'Northwood Hills'. Ruislip-Northwood Council was not very impressed as they would have preferred 'Northwood Town'. Boards were erected on the muddy Joel Street announcing the impending new station which opened in December 1933. London Transport had come into existence by then as houses began to creep up the muddy Porridge Pot Hill which was renamed Potter Street to suit suburban tastes. A long parade of shops, including a cinema, was erected. However, the first few residents were not too enamoured of the pioneer life complaining about "the mud of the most adhesive quality outside the station". What is now the Chiltern Line began as the Great Central Railway on 15th March 1899. The Great Central Railway provided services from Marylebone to destinations such as Rugby, Leicester, Nottingham and Manchester before the Beeching Axe cut them back to Aylesbury. They used the same tracks as the Metropolitan until 1962 when a pair of fast lines was added from Harrow-on-the-Hill to north of Moor Park. These by-pass Northwood Hills station to the south and are used by Chiltern Line trains and fast Metropolitan Line trains. This is the up Metropolitan line platform. The next station in this direction is Pinner. A down train for Chesham waits on the opposite platform. The fast lines are out of sight to the right.

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