IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Netherlands Road, BARNET, EN5 1BS

Showing position of Postbox No. EN5 99. See Image] for postbox.

Postbox No. EN5 99. See Image] for context.

A London bound GNER express approaches Oakleigh Park at speed, having just passed through New Barnet.

Looking northwards towards New Barnet, the two middle tracks carry high speed trains, whilst stopping trains use the tracks to the left (mostly hidden by a shrub) and the far right. The Great Northern Railway opened its line between Maiden Lane and Peterborough through what is now Oakleigh Park in 1850. In 1866 the Whetstone Park Company, promoters of the Whetstone Park Estate, reached an agreement with the Great Northern Railway to construct a new station to serve the development. The station, which was to be known as Whetstone, would open once 25 houses were complete, although the GNR built the two station platforms in anticipation straight away. By summer 1871, the development had been renamed the Oakleigh Park Estate, but not until January 1873 was the developer able to inform the GNR that the 25th house was complete. Accordingly, the GNR authorised the station, now to be known as Oakleigh Park, to be completed. It opened to passenger traffic on 1st December 1873. As part of works to increase the number of tracks from two to four, the station was completely rebuilt in 1891/2 with two island platforms, a new footbridge and booking office.

This is the forgotten lamppost north of the station that is referred to in my photo, Image It has no purpose now other than to remind us of what once was a site of industry.

Looking northwards towards New Barnet, the two middle tracks carry high speed trains, whilst stopping trains use the tracks to the left and the right. The Great Northern Railway opened its line between Maiden Lane and Peterborough through what is now Oakleigh Park in 1850. In 1866 the Whetstone Park Company, promoters of the Whetstone Park Estate, reached an agreement with the Great Northern Railway to construct a new station to serve the development. The station, which was to be known as Whetstone, would open once 25 houses were complete, although the GNR built the two station platforms in anticipation straight away. By summer 1871, the development had been renamed the Oakleigh Park Estate, but not until January 1873 was the developer able to inform the GNR that the 25th house was complete. Accordingly, the GNR authorised the station, now to be known as Oakleigh Park, to be completed. It opened to passenger traffic on 1st December 1873. As part of works to increase the number of tracks from two to four, the station was completely rebuilt in 1891/2 with two island platforms, a new footbridge and booking office.

A blue Lumo train heads south past the housing estate on Shurland Avenue to its east. Just above the nose of the train one can see an old concrete and steel lamppost just inside the railway fencing which is all that survives of the infrastructure of a railway marshalling yard that until the early 1960's occupied the land. Vauxhall cars in crates were once brought there by train from the Luton factory for onward transit to the London docks and export. Doubtless it was a costly and inefficient enterprise that is as long gone now as the London docks themselves. One can see the lamppost on photos of the time lighting the start of the sidings. It lingers on without purpose.