West Croydon to Wimbledon Line

Wimbledon–West Croydon
mi+ch South West Main Line to Waterloo Carriage sidings District line to Earl's Court Sutton Loop Line to Streatham Wimbledon South West Main Line to Weymouth 0+00 Sutton Loop Line to Sutton Dundonald Road 0+43 Merton Park Junction 0+51 Merton Park Tooting, Merton & Wimbledon Railway to Tooting Northern line to Morden│to Kennington 1+08 Morden Road Phipps Bridge Belgrave Walk 2+24 Mitcham Portsmouth line to Peckham Rye 2+78 10+25 Mitcham North Junction 10+30 Mitcham Junction 10+34 3+08 Mitcham South Junction Portsmouth line to Horsham 3+57 Beddington Lane Therapia Lane Ampere Way 4+79 Waddon Marsh London and Croydon Railway to Sutton Croydon Tramlink 5+65 6+12 West Croydon London and Croydon Railway to London Bridge

A 1912 Railway Clearing House map of the western end of the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line.

Connex South Central Class 456 train at Wimbledon, on the final day of rail service on the line before its conversion to Tramlink.

The West Croydon to Wimbledon Line was a railway line in south London. It was constructed by the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway (W&CR) over part of the trackbed of the Surrey Iron Railway. It opened on 22 October 1855 connecting the South West Main Line of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). National Rail services ended and the line officially closed in 1997 for it to be converted into a new route for the Tramlink network, which eventually opened in May 2000.

Operation

Initially, it was operated under contract by its engineer George Parker Bidder, but in 1856 it was leased to the LB&SCR, which purchased it outright in 1858. After construction of the branch from Merton Park to Tooting in 1868 the section from Wimbledon to Merton Park became joint LSWR/LB&SCR. On 1 January 1923 under the 1921 grouping it became part of the Southern Railway.

Electrification

The line was electrified using the 750 V third rail direct current power supply on 6 July 1930.

Closure and re-use

The last train ran on 31 May 1997 and the line closed on 2 June 1997 for most of it to be converted into the Tramlink network.