Since the 25kV freight lines closed on April 20th a considerable amount fo work has taken place, all the catenary has been dismantled, the no. 1 track has been lifted between Caledonian Road and Highbury. This is looking west from Caledonian Road.

66956 dragging 90041 on the 4L97 at Highbury & Islington.

At Putney a Hounslow Loop train passing underneath the District Line

A train of C69/77 stock slows down for the East Putney stop, no doubt subjecting patrons to sundry creaks and lurches whilst doing so.

A Waterloo bound train leaving Putney and passing under the District Line.

An A380 heads towards Heathrow

60059 on the 6M34 from Crawley to Peak Forest framed by the abutments of the dismantled flying junction between Wandsworth Town and Putney. It connected the LSWR 'mainline' with what is now the District Line at East Putney. There is still a single track connection on the down side with a flat crossing which enables Clapham bound trains to gain the up lines.

A cloudburst was imminent as the 4L93 nosed through Camden Road

It is noticeable that when diverted over the fens both this train and the 4L97 are very lightly loaded, clearly because the large 9' containers, which make up the bulk of the train, are not permitted on the cross country route.

Not on the menu. 66545 was at West Thurrock earlier in the day so this must be cement empties returning to Earles. Routed I imagine via Willesden, Clapham Junction, Kew East, Harlesden and the MML as the GOBLIN was shut east of South Tottenham all weekend.

92005 on the 4E32 from Ebange in Eastern France crossing Gospel Oak Junction en-route to Camden Road and the King's Cross incline.

On Sunday the Rickmansworth Canal Festival was enhanced by London Underground giving Sarah Siddons an outing on her old stampng ground, the Metropolitan mainline, in the company of a pair of 20s and hauling the ex-BR(S) TC set, now repainted in an imitation teak scheme, presumably to replicate the livery of the Dreadnought passenger cars Siddons used to haul. But before the star turn here's an A stock train leaving Moor Park made up of two four car sets, on a Watford to Baker Street stopping service.

And here, a few minutes later, just as the heavens opened, came the special train (14:57 ex-Amersham) topped by the two 20s...

...and tailed by No.12 Sarah Siddons. For those who don't know SS is one of a class of 20 locomotives built by Metropolitan Vickers for the Metropolitan Railway in 1923 to haul the increasingly heavy residential expresses over their mainline to Rickmansworth, where steam took over for the remainder of the journey through the Chiltern Hills. Rickmansworth was the limit of electrification from 1925 to 1961 when the Metropolitan modernisation was completed, and the MV locos were withdrawn. John Hampden is in the LT Museum whilst Sarah Siddons is maintained in working order. She used to be classified as the 'brake test locomotive' but in reality she is simply a museum piece lovingly looked after by London Underground. :-)

At Northwood an Amersham Fast passes the station. The four tracking north of Harrow was completed in 1961, only Moor Park has four platform faces, the fast lines avoid the other four stations entirely.

Just behind the Amersham train came no.12, now doing all the donkey work, whilst te 20s burbled at the back.

Between Northwood and Pinner lies Northwood Hills, a misnomer as it's pretty flat but it was a made up name for a new suburb, something the Metropolitan Railway was rather good at - Ruislip Manor is another example. Atractive suburbs for aspiring middle class families who wanted to get away from the grime and smoke of the city. Here a Chiltern Turbo is sandwiched by an Amersham fast (left) and a Watford slow (right). The Turbo is bound for Marylebone and will leave the joint trackage at Harrow North Junction.

When the Metropolitan opened their new station on Joel Street in the early 1930s it was still a muddy Middlesex lane lined with hedges and fields on either side. In a few short years all that changed and the suburb we know today as Northwood Hills grew and grew. The station is the last designed by the Met's architect, C W Clark. He was not as adventurous as the architects who worked for the Underground Group and when the LPTB was formed Clark took early retirement. But this 'garden city' style of architecture is still very pleasing, and right at home in Metroland.

The final trip back to Harrow-on-the-Hill was on the local lines, on the heels of a Watford to Baker Street stopping train.

The 20s were having a fairly easy time of it, coasting downhill...

...whilst Sarah Siddons was bathed in some unexpected sunshine. A nice way to end the day.