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Dollis Avenue, LONDON, N3 1BH

Originally part of the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway, the Northern Line routes through to Mill Hill East from Finchley Central. The line, which originally routed through to Edgware, was always single track but the bridges, as clearly visible from the extended piers here, were constructed wide enough to permit double tracks for future expansion. Unfortunately, the Edgware line fell upon bad times as road transport grew and Underground services were proposed for Edgware in the 1930's. The branch, beyond Mill Hill East, saw limited traffic and was closed to passengers in 1961, but freight services continued until 1964. A current 1995 stock Northern Line train crosses the bridge en-route to Mill Hill East.

A Northern Line Mill Hill East to Morden via Charing Cross train approaches Finchley Central with car 51665 leading. The train is crossing Crescent Road, one of three bridges in the photo. Further back is Dollis Brook Viaduct and beyond that is the bridge over Frith Lane, just before the line turns left on the approach to its terminus at Mill Hill East. The undulating nature of the track is evident in this telephoto shot - in fact it almost seems like the line sags between the bridges!

This bridge is between Finchley Central and Mill Hill East on the High Barnet Branch of the Northern Line where Crescent Rd passes under the line.

View along the Northern Line Mill Hill East branch. The line becomes single track beyond the siding, although all the structures were built to allow double track should traffic have warranted it. Just beyond the points is the bridge over Crescent Road - the railings are there to stop staff falling from the unused section of the double width bridge piers. A train can be seen disappearing into the distance.

How do you deal with graffiti? Take any colour external paint you've got handy and paint over it. The result is this patchwork quilt of a fence. This is the Lyndhurst Avenue to Dollis Avenue part of the footpath that leads from Dollis Road. Finchley Manor Club is out of shot on the right.

Viewed from the junction with Church Crescent.

It seems that the local authority have recently undertaken a regular severe pollarding of the roadside London Plane trees in this area of Finchley, and Dollis Park is no exception. Only open fields were shown in this area on the 1896 Ordnance Survey map, but by the time that the 1913 edition was printed, the current road and house layout was almost completely in place.

The railway was originally built by the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway, but was taken over by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) before it was opened in 1867. This section was on the line between the original Finchley and Hendon station, now the Finchley Central tube station, and Edgware. A branch line from Finchley and Hendon station to High Barnet was opened by the GNR in 1872. Today the main GNR line here forms the stub end of the Northern Line's branch to Mill Hill East, while the former branch line to High Barnet is now the main route of the Northern Line. This is the view from the footbridge joining Dollis Park and Nether Street. Of the three tracks in view here the central one is a headshunt siding that ends at a set of buffers, while the two outer tracks join beyond the end of the siding to create the single track line to Mill Hill East. Please see Image in Image for the view from the footbridge in the opposite direction.