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The Arnos Park Viaduct is a
railway viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...
of 34 brick arches that was built as part of the extension of
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...
's Piccadilly line from
Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
in the south to
Cockfosters Cockfosters is a suburb of north London to the east of Chipping Barnet, lying partly in the London Borough of Enfield and partly in the London Borough of Barnet. Before 1965, it was in the counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. Origins ...
in the north. It was built in 1932 and opened in 1933. It starts on the southern edge of
Arnos Park Arnos Grove () is an List of areas of London, area of north London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is centred north of Charing Cross. It is adjacent to New Southgate. The natural grove (nature), grove, larger than today, ...
soon after Arnos Grove station and ends on the northern side of the park, where the line enters a tunnel that continues to Southgate.


Background

The viaduct was built as part of London Underground's project to extend the Piccadilly line from Finsbury Park in the south to Cockfosters in the north which started in 1930."Underground Railways: Big Extension Scheme in London"
''The Press'', Vol. LXVI, Issue 20029, 10 September 1930, p. 11.
The extension was built in stages, first to Arnos Grove station (opened 1932), then to Oakwood (then known as Enfield West), during which phase the viaduct was constructed, and finally to Cockfosters. The entire project cost more than £5 million.


The viaduct

The viaduct starts at the southern edge of Arnos Park and ends on the northern side of Hampden Way, opposite Morton Way. The
Pymmes Brook Pymmes Brook is located in North London and named after William Pymme, a local land owner. It is a minor tributary of the River Lea. The brook mostly flows through urban areas and is particularly prone to flooding in its lower reaches. To ...
runs parallel to the viaduct in the north and then under it before continuing eastward. The viaduct is made of brick and consists of 34 Dumayne, Alan. (1998) ''Southgate in old photographs''. Sutton Publishing. p. 41. . numbered arches, broken only by two bridges where it passes over Waterfall Road and Hampden Way. The railway line then enters a tunnel half a mile long in which Southgate station is located before continuing north to Oakwood and Cockfosters.''The Tramway and Railway World''.
Vol. 73, 1933.
The combination of a viaduct followed fairly soon after by a long tunnel was made necessary by the need to keep the line as level as possible as it crossed the Pymmes Brook valley, then went under high ground at Southgate before continuing above ground to Oakwood and Cockfosters. The viaduct opened in 1933.


Gallery

File:Arnos Park viaduct 06.JPG, The bridge over Waterfall Road from the west File:Arnos Park viaduct 05.JPG, The viaduct viewed from Waterfall Road, with the
Pymmes Brook Pymmes Brook is located in North London and named after William Pymme, a local land owner. It is a minor tributary of the River Lea. The brook mostly flows through urban areas and is particularly prone to flooding in its lower reaches. To ...
in the foreground File:Arnos Park viaduct 11.JPG,
Blind arch A blind arch is an arch found in the wall of a building that has been infilled with solid construction and so cannot serve as a passageway, door or window.''A Dictionary of Architecture''; Fleming, John; Honour, Hugh & Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966) T ...
es near Waterfall Road


References


External links


Arnos Park Viaduct pictures at Geograph.
{{coord, 51.6204, -0.1353, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title London Underground infrastructure Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Enfield Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Barnet Railway viaducts in London Railway bridges in London 1933 establishments in England Arnos Grove