alternatehistory.com

On top of existing plans for the London Overground to take over more services (see here), what if via a number of PODs the ATL Overground benefited from the following changes:

1) A realized North Western and Charing Cross Railway proposal, linking an ATL Watford DC line to services from Charing Cross. It is basically a Euston-Charing Cross analogue of the Snow Hill Tunnel (- a version of which today links Thameslink services between King's Cross St Pancras to Blackfriars via Farringdon), traveling from Euston, Euston Square (then called Gower Street), Goodge Street, Tottenham Court Road (then called Oxford Street), Leicester Square and Charing Cross.

It would have butterflied away the OTL Northern Line route between Euston to Waterloo (yet can still see an ATL branch of the Northern Line with different platforms at Euston traveling to Waterloo from Euston via Russell Square, Holborn and Aldwych).

Additionally it seems there were also plans to extend the tunnel from Euston Square to St Pancras, which would have not only allowed for the route to be connected to the City Widened Lines to Moorgate but also potentially allow for the Metropolitan line to be separated from the Circle line via new platforms at Baker Street roughly north of the Circle and south of the Bakerloo lines towards Moorgate onwards (albeit with the Metropolitan having to share Euston Square with the Overground along with an ATL Viking line on the 1946 railway proposals map).

2) A North London Line that from Custom House links up with the Goblin Line at Barking via stops at a still open Beckton railway station (as opposed to the OTL DLR stop), Creekmouth and Barking Riverside. Essentially the Overground equivalent of the DLR extension Dagenham Dock combined with the OTL Overground extension to Barking Riverside.

3) A version of the Finsmoor Line mentioned in the following alternate history map on the 1946 railway proposals by Alistair Carr, albeit with the following additional sub-branch:

- Minus the Alexandra Palace line (which is potentially replaced by an ATL Metropolitan or Jubilee route from Swiss Cottage towards Alexandra Palace via Hampstead and Highgate)
- Includes route to Cheshunt from Edmonton Green
- Extended from Highgate to High Barnet or even Elstree & Borehamwood (see here)
- Extended from Enfield Town to Gordon Hill
- Additionally extended from Moorgate to Lothbury and Lothbury to Cannon Street (albeit at Queen Street)
- With the rest of the route following a version of the 1902-1903 City & Crystal Palace Railway from Cannon Street to Penge West and beyond via Borough, New Kent Road, Trafalgar Avenue, Peckham High Street, Peckham Rye, Rye Common, Dulwich Park, Lordship Lane, Sydenham Hill and Penge West (then known as Penge) towards Croydon

4) The Chingford branch line is extended to High Beach to both Cheshunt (from Clapton - via Waltham Abbey) and Epping, a result of an ATL failure to pass the 1878 Epping Forest Act.

Interestingly there were a number of OTL proposals where the Chingford branch to Liverpool Street was potentially considered for expansion, one is the Wimbleching line on the 1946 railway proposals map by Alistair Carr linking Liverpool Street to Vauxhall. Another was a route from Liverpool Street to Waterloo via the Waterpool Line proposal in the 1988 London Rail study as a possible Crossrail option (see pages 36-38).

However on top of the existing Liverpool Street route with certain PODs it is theoretically possible to link the ATL Chingford branch to the South London Line to Clapham Junction at Peckham Rye (albeit within the context of an ATL Docklands regeneration), which would entail the following:

- Restoration of Hall Farm Curve linking the ATL Chingford branch once more to Stratford
- A stop at Stratford either via a northward extension from the OTL NLL stop at Stratford or a stop at Stratford International at the High Meads Loop.
- A southwards curve at Hackney Wick towards stops at ATL open stations at Old Ford and Bow up to OTL All Saints DLR station
- An Overground analogue of the proposed DLR Wood Wharf scheme (page 14 and 18, etc) between All Saints and Crossharbour towards Mudchute
- Either a bridge or Overground ELL (e.g. Wapping - Rotherhithe) style Thames Tunnel from Mudchute to Greenwich Park on the Greenwich Park branch line towards Nunhead and Peckham Rye (with a stop at Brockley).
- Within this scenario an ATL DLR would have probably traveled to Lewisham from Heron Quays either at or near Tiller Road (an OTL alternative stop) instead of Crossharbour and beyond.

Additionally another POD would have theoretically allowed the ATL Chingford line to link up with the Watford DC line at Euston via:

- Diverging from the above route at Bow towards Limehouse with the railway from Limehouse to Fenchurch Street being buried beneath a new road called Stepney Greeting.
- With the line now continuing from Fenchurch Street towards Bank onwards roughly following the Watborn line on the 1946 railway proposals map to Euston.

5) East London Line would continue from Highbury & Islington to Willesden Junction onwards, ideally with four tracks / 3 platforms between Highbury & Islington to Camden Road (since the route is also shared with the North London Line) towards South Hampstead via Primrose Hill.

6) Goblin Line at Barking not only links up with the North London Line at ATL Beckton (as well as terminates at Abbey Wood from Barking Riverside via Thamesmead) - see 2). but also ends up being extended from Junction Road to Old Oak Common via Cricklewood then on to the Dudding Hill Line towards Old Oak Common.

7) The Romford to Upminster likely ends up being closed in this ATL, either without replacement or as part of some ATL tube route.

Links:
- Carto Metro London Rail map
- OTL Prospective Overground Services map
- 1946 What Could have been rail map by Alistair Carr (derived from link here)
- The Crossrails that weren't built (only slightly relevant as this thread is focused more on the Overground)
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