London and Brighton Railway
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The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access from London Bridge, just south of the River Thames in central London. It ran from Norwood to the South Coast at Brighton, together with a branch to Shoreham-by-Sea.
Background
During the
Early schemes
A proposal by William James in 1823 to connect London "with the ports of Shoreham (Brighton), Rochester (Chatham) and Portsmouth by a line of Engine Railroad[2]" was largely ignored.[3] However, about 1825 a company called The Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Wilts & Somerset Railway employed John Rennie to survey a route to Brighton, but again the proposal came to nothing.[4]
In 1829 Rennie was commissioned to survey two possible railway routes to Brighton. The first of these, via Dorking and Horsham and Shoreham was undertaken for him by Charles Blacker Vignoles, the other more direct route, via Croydon Redhill and Haywards Heath, was by Rennie himself.[5] This latter route would have started at Kennington Park. However both of these schemes were abandoned due to lack of support in Parliament.
These schemes were revived in 1835, which generated further proposals so that by 1836 there were six possible routes under consideration.[6] These were:
- Rennie's direct route via Redhill and Haywards Heath but amended to make use of the London Bridge
- Henry Robinson Palmer's via Woldingham, Oxted and Lindfield (with a proposed link to Dover).
- Joseph Gibbs's from London Bridge via Croydon.
- Nicholas Wilcox Cundy's from Nine Elms, via Mitcham, Leatherhead, Dorking, Horsham and Shoreham.
- .
- , Dorking, Horsham and Shoreham.
- Rennie's direct route via Redhill and Haywards Heath but amended to make use of the
Eventually it became a battle between the supporters of Rennie's direct route (which was the most difficult and expensive to build), and Stephenson's (which was longer but involved less civil engineering work). After prolonged campaigns by the supporters of the different proposals, a bill for Stephenson's route was approved by the
The final agreed route therefore consisted of a new line from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (then under construction) at
Construction
The London and Croydon Railway line ran from London Bridge to West Croydon and was opened in 1839. The engineer for the Brighton extension was
The new main line included substantial earthworks and five tunnels through the North Downs at Merstham, the Wealden ridge near Balcombe and at Haywards Heath, and the South Downs at Patcham and Clayton. The railway also had a 1,475 ft (449.6 m) long, 96 ft (29.3 m) high viaduct over the River Ouse near Balcombe.
The
The main line was opened in two sections, since major earthworks delayed completion in one piece. The Norwood Junction – Haywards Heath section was opened on 12 July 1841 and the remainder of the line from Haywards Heath to Brighton on 21 September 1841.[14]
The branch line to
Architecture
The railway employed the architect
The L&BR built fully equipped locomotive depots and workshops at Brighton in 1840 and Horley in 1841. Horley was originally intended to serve as the principal workshop of the railway, but John Chester Craven decided in 1847 to develop Brighton railway works instead.[18]
Locomotives
The L&BR acquired 34 steam locomotives between January 1839 and March 1843, the first two of which were a
Following the dispersal of the pool in March 1845, the L&BR acquired 44 locomotives, some of which it had previously owned, and the remainder from the SER, L&CR, or else those purchased by the Joint Committee.
Amalgamation
On 27 July 1846, the L&B amalgamated with the L&C, the
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
- ^ Bradley, (1975)
- ^ James (1823) pp. 9–12
- ^ Gray. (1977) pp. 5–6
- ^ Marshall/ Kidner (1963) pp. 193–194
- ^ Gordon (1910). p. 142
- ^ Gordon (1910). p. 143
- ^ Turner (1977), pp. 113–114
- ^ Gordon (1910). p. 146
- ^ Whishaw (1842) p. 269
- ^ Whishaw (1842) p.270.
- ^ Templeton (1841) p. 96
- ^ Bradley (1975) p. 4
- ISBN 0-7134-0275X.
- ISBN 0-7134-0275X.
- ISBN 0-7134-0275X.
- ^ Turner (1977) p. 128
- ^ Ryall et al. (2000) p. 702
- ^ Griffiths (1999) p. 79
- ^ Bradley (1963) pp. 13–16
- ^ Turner (1977) pp. 253–271
Sources
- Bradley, D.L. (1963). Locomotives of the South Eastern Railway. Solihull: Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. OCLC 792763520.
- Bradley, D.L. (1975). Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. Vol. 1. ISBN 0-9011-1530-4.
- Cooper, B. K. (1981). Rail Centres: Brighton. Nottingham: Booklaw Publications. ISBN 1-901945-11-1.
- Dendy Marshall, C. F.; Kidner, R.W. (1963). A history of the Southern Railway. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 315039503.
- Gordon, William John (1910), Our home railways, vol. 1, London and New York: Frederick Warne & Co., OCLC 504411876
- Gray, Adrian (1977). The London Brighton Line 1841–1977. Blandford forum: Oakwood Press. OCLC 4570078.
- James, William (1823). Report, or essay, to illustrate the advantages of direct inland communication through Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Hants: to connect the metropolis with the ports of Shoreham, (Brighton), Rochester, (Chatham) and Portsmouth, by a line of engine rail-road. London: J. and A. Arch. OCLC 65253088. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- Ryall, M.J.; Parke, G. A. R.; Harding, J. E., eds. (2000). Bridge Management 4: Inspection, Maintenance, Assessment and Repair. London: Thomas Telford Publishing. ISBN 0-7277-2854-7.
- Searle, Muriel V. (1986). Down the line to Brighton. London: Baton Transport. ISBN 0-85936-239-6.
- Templeton, William (1841). The Locomotive Engine Popularly Explained. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co. OCLC 57296455. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- Turner, John Howard (1977). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway. Vol. 1 Origins and Formation. London: Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-0275-X.
- OCLC 833076248.