Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway

Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway
Legend Hayes Line Elmers End Hayes LineTo Hayes WoodsideClosed 1997 Addiscombe Line diverged AddiscombeClosed 1997 Bingham Road haltClosed 13 May 1983 Park Hill tunnels Coombe RoadClosed 13 May 1983 Spencer Road haltClosed 15 March 1915 Oxted Linefrom Brighton Main Line SelsdonClosed 13 May 1983 Sanderstead Oxted LineTo East Grinstead and Uckfield

Part of a map of the suburban network of the LBSCR

A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around the Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway.

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

	OS Grid Ref and map link TQ …
Woodside station	347 671	Junction with the Addiscombe branch of the South Eastern Railway. Now Woodside tram stop. Tramlink follows most of the route of the W&SC from here to Coombe Road.
	343 669	Blackhorse Lane tram stop
Bingham Road halt	342 662	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 at grade. The halt was just south of Bingham Road; Addiscombe tram stop is between Lower Addiscombe Road and Bingham Road. (Addiscombe railway station was about 500 m to the west - East India Way has been built on its site.)
	341 657	About 200 m east of Sandilands tram stop the Tramlink route from central Croydon divides and both branches follow the route of the W&SC. The northern line takes a sharp turn under Addiscombe Road to join the route of the railway to Woodside (and from there to Elmers End and Beckenham Junction). The other line turns southward into the Park Hill tunnels towards Coombe Road (and from there to New Addington).
	339 652	Park Hill tunnels under Radcliffe Road and Deepdene Avenue
Coombe Road station, originally Coombe Lane	335 646	Just south of here Tramlink takes a sharp turn east to diverge from the W&SC route, and reaches Lloyd Park tram stop after about 200 m. (Coombe Lane tram stop is about 2 km further east.)
Spencer Road Halt	333 643	Hidden in an alleyway between Spencer Road and Birdhurst Rise.
	331 642	The railway crossed Croham Road on a bridge, still extant.
Selsdon station, originally Selsdon Road	329 637	Junction with the Oxted Line, the former Croydon, Oxted and East Grinstead Railway. The W&SC platforms are still intact, as is the spur that leads to the old goods yard and oil storage depot.

History

The line opened jointly by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) and the South Eastern Railway (SER). Although the intention had been to begin train services in 1882, completion was delayed until August 1885 for various reasons, including bad weather disrupting construction. Success was limited even at the beginning, and following a closure proposal as early as 1895 railmotors were introduced in 1905 in an attempt to improve efficiency and counteract competition from trams and buses. (See a picture of one of the railmotors here.) At this time the two halts were opened: although Spencer Road met with little success, Bingham Road attracted more custom with its main-road location and from passengers interchanging with trams and buses; it was rebuilt as a full station (see below).

The first official 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.

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 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 and either London Charing Cross or London Cannon Street.

The electric service commenced on 30 September 1935, but the decline towards final closure began soon afterwards:

• 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 the Beeching Report of 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 took place on 13 May 1983.

1980 timetable: an illustrative example

This table shows the up service three years before closure:

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 train paths on the section shared with the Oxted Line.

See also

• Addiscombe Line
• Coombe, Croydon
• South Croydon
• Sanderstead station
• List of closed railway stations in Britain

External links

• A page about the railway from Transport of Delight
• Bingham Road halt and other details from Subterranea Britannica
• A singularly unedifying photograph of the site of Spencer Road Halt
• A pictorial look at the railway from Disused Railways