h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Station by Station Guide to the London Underground - Northern Line: Morden Branch - A3660608
Author: AlexAshman (Scout) - U566116


Here's the next installment - I've found out as much as I can about each station, and I'd be grateful for more information. What do you think?

Alex

And still they keep coming! Nice work

The only station on this branch I know is Balham. You say "The station is only a short walk west of Balham mainline station". I'd have said The mainline station is actually in the same building as the tube station: you go up the stairs to get to the trains, and down the escalator to get to the tubes. The other Balham tube building is, of course, a short walk to the west of the mainline station.

Ignore me if I'm being too picky!

On the practical side, I always found the northbound Charing Cross-branch trains on this branch to be less busy than the Bank-branch ones in the morning. It also seemed as if there were fewer Charing Cross trains (2 Bank trains for every 1 CC train), but that may just be my perception in the days when I got a CC train to Warren Street!

I've added the Balham bit.

I have absolutely no idea how the Northern line works, but the lack of CC trains is probably due to the fact that most southbound ones terminate at Kennington.

I think you're right - if you want to get a CC train from any station south of Kennington, it's probably adviseable to get a Bank train and change at Kennington, or for the Victoria line at Stockwell.

Anyway, I now live in in Oxford, so this has ceased to be much of a problem for me

>>I have absolutely no idea how the Northern line works,

I always thought it was whereever you didn't want to go, that would be the next train at the station. Unless of course there was already a train in the station, in which case, that would be the one you wanted and its doorswould close as you get onto the platform.



According to the most modern tube maps, the link from Oval to the Charring Cross branch is peak times only. However the ‘points to remember’ section says that during off-peak times most trains run to/from Morden via the Bank Branch.



Kennington



The Domesday book originally recorded the area as Chenintune which basically means the farm of Cena. The name gradually evolved to its present name.


Oval


southwest of a large junction in Kennington -> a large road junction

and the the original -> and the original

Oval station was opened 18 December 1890


Clapham North

Clapham comes from the Old English for ‘home on a hill’.

The station was opened as Clapham Road on 3 June 1900 and got its original name 1926



Clapham Common

The station was opened in 3 June 1900



Clapham South


Opened 13 September 1926



Balham

The area gets its name from the home of Bealga, a Saxon who once lived near here

Station was opened 6 December 1926


Tooting Bec

Tooting was recorded as Totinge in 675 CE. The name means the home of Tota’s people. From 1086 the land of one of the local manors was owned by the Abbey of St Mary of Bec so the name Tooting Bec came into existence.

The station opened 13 September 1926 as Trinity Road and renamed Tooting Bec 1 October 1950


Tooting Broadway

St George's hopsital, -> hospital

The Broadway is a small triangular area near the station.

Opened 13 September 1926



Colliers Wood

Name comes from Colliers, who were charcoal burners who worked nearby

Opened 13 September 1926


South Wimbledon

Name comes from the old English for ‘the hill where Winebeald lived’

Opened 13 September 1926


Morden

Area was originally recorded in the Domesday Book as Mordone. The name is best interpreted as hill in the fens.

Opened 13 September 1926

My old line for two years... the horror, the horror

Clapham N - it is virtually impossible to board a north bound train in rush hour. They are just too full by the time they get here.

Sometimes, you might be better off walking 10-15 minutes to get to Brixton.

Tooting Bec - handy for access to Tooting Common and its famous Lido.

sprout

All very useful contributions - cheers muchly

Much the same from Balham station - I starting getting in to work for 7.30 because I couldn't get on the train during rush hour

A sweatier place is hard to find on a hot day in summer, as a rush hour tube from Balham.

I've added a bit about that.

Yep. From Balham onwards you need to be rude and push. At Clapham North, even pushing didn't seem to work...

I used to get on in Tooting, so was being pushed rather than pushing.

sprout

Hi Alex!

Not much wrong with this other than phrasing and typos.

the 2:1 majority of trains on the Morden branch --> two out of every three trains on the Morden branch

in the 1920's --> in the 1920s

On the map, the Oval is shown as Surrey CC Ground but you have it as Surrey CCC's Ground. Why the extra C?

via an escalator and steps.. -- remove extra full stop.

The station is a 800m walk --> The station is an 800m walk

The link to Morden doesn't work. It just says "No Remote Linking".

G

Hi there

The extra C was for Club, but I've realised its not meant to be there. I've made the other changes and removed the link

Alex

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Congrats Alex

Yay - two in one go