Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway
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The Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway (W&SC) was a short, relatively short-lived and unsuccessful railway in the London Borough of Croydon in London, England. Its site is now largely occupied by Tramlink.
Route
- Woodside station
Junction with the
- Bingham Road station
The railway was on an embankment here and crossed over Lower Addiscombe Road and Bingham Road on bridges. The embankment has been removed and Tramlink crosses both these roads
- Coombe Road, originally Coombe Lane
At the site of the station the Tramlink takes a sharp turn east to diverge from the W&SC route, and reaches Lloyd Park tram stop after about 200 m (660 ft). Coombe Lane tram stop is about 2 km (1.2 mi) further east.
- Spencer Road Halt
Hidden in an alleyway between Spencer Road and Birdhurst Rise. The railway crossed Croham Road on a bridge, still extant.
- Selsdon station, originally Selsdon Road
Junction with the
History
Opening
The line was built jointly by the
World War I
The first closure came in 1917, although services had been suspended for the most part since 1915, to save money and resources for the war effort. It was still possible for diverted trains and excursions or other special services to use the line.
Changes in 1935
Major changes came in 1935:
- The line was electrified on the third rail system;
- Bingham Road halt was rebuilt as a full station;
- Coombe Lane was rebuilt and renamed Coombe Road;
- Selsdon Road was renamed Selsdon, although the village of that name was approximately 2 miles (3 km) away;
- The remains of Spencer Road halt were cleared away;
- A new half-hourly service, seven days a week, augmented during weekday peak hours, was introduced - this compares with the previous best service level of 16 trains daily from 1906 until 1915;
- Services ran direct to London at all times, between Sanderstead station and either London Charing Cross or London Cannon Street.
The electric service commenced on 30 September 1935, in belated response to the Southern Heights Light Railway scheme which had received approval in 1928. This had been proposed from Sanderstead to Orpington, and on it would have run a loop service from Charing Cross to Lewisham and then Woodside-Sanderstead-Orpington and back, or vice versa. However, the scheme could not attract investment and was moribund even before the electrification to Sanderstead was completed.[1] So, the decline towards final closure of the Woodside line began soon afterwards.
Decline
Services were reduced during World War II, with the withdrawal of Saturday afternoon and Sunday trains. In the 1950s through trains to London ran at peak hours only, with a Sanderstead–Elmers End shuttle at other times, connecting with Hayes–London trains). A closure threat came in 1963, but local pressure (through, for example, the newly formed Croydon Transport Users' Association) brought about a reprieve. Saturday trains were withdrawn in 1967. In 1976 through trains to London were withdrawn, leaving a Sanderstead–Elmers End peak hours shuttle service;
Closure
Closure took place on 13 May 1983: by the time the line closed, estimated usage was less than 200 passengers a day. By 1983 the track was in very poor condition, the Selsdon/Sanderstead area was being planned for re-signalling and in view of the line's low patronage British Rail could not financially justify wholesale renewal. This was a factor in closure.
1980 timetable: an illustrative example
This table shows the up service three years before closure:[2]
Sanderstead | Selsdon | Coombe Road | Bingham Road | Woodside | Elmers End |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Morning Peak | |||||
06:45 | 06:47 | 06:49 | 06:51 | 06:53 | 06:56 |
07:15 | 07:17 | 07:19 | 07:21 | 07:23 | 07:26 |
07:32 | 07:37 | 07:39 | 07:41 | 07:43 | 07:46 |
07:53 | 07:57 | 07:59 | 08:01 | 08:03 | 08:06 |
08:14 | 08:17 | 08:19 | 08:21 | 08:23 | 08:26 |
08:32 | 08:37 | 08:39 | 08:41 | 08:43 | 08:46 |
— | 08:57 | 08:59 | 09:01 | 09:03 | 09:06 |
09:15 | 09:17 | 09:19 | 09:21 | 09:23 | 09:26 |
09:48 | 09:50 | 09:52 | 09:54 | 09:57 | 10:00 |
Evening Peak | |||||
16:15 | 16:17 | 16:19 | 16:21 | 16:23 | 16:26 |
16:31 | 16:37 | 16:39 | 16:41 | 16:43 | 16:46 |
16:52 | 16:57 | 16:59 | 17:01 | 17:03 | 17:06 |
17:12 | 17:17 | 17:19 | 17:21 | 17:23 | 17:26 |
— | 17:37 | 17:39 | 17:41 | 17:43 | 17:46 |
17:55 | 17:57 | 17:59 | 18:01 | 18:03 | 18:06 |
18:15 | 18:17 | 18:19 | 18:21 | 18:23 | 18:26 |
18:37 | 18:39 | 18:41 | 18:43 | 18:45 | 18:48 |
18:50 | 18:52 | — | — | — | 18:59 |
19:15 | 19:17 | 19:19 | 19:22 | 19:24 | 19:27 |
Two trains per day started from and terminated at Selsdon rather than Sanderstead because of the lack of paths on the section shared with the Oxted Line.
See also
- Addiscombe Line
- Coombe, Croydon
- South Croydon
- Sanderstead station
- Sandilands Tunnel
- List of closed railway stations in Britain
References
- ^ "The Colonel periodical No. 60, Winter 2002 p. 9" (PDF). Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ British Rail timetable leaflet 12 May 1980 to 10 May 1981; form number BR35065/137
External links
- A page about the railway from Transport of Delight
- Bingham Road halt and other details from Subterranea Britannica
- Photograph of the site of Spencer Road Halt[dead link]
- A pictorial look at the railway from Disused Railways
- Film of the last train over the line in 1983 on YouTube