London and Croydon Railway
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The London and Croydon Railway (L&C) was incorporated in 1835, and the line to West Croydon opened on 5 June 1839. Much of the route follows the alignment of the former Croydon Canal, which was closed by Act of Parliament in 1836. West Croydon railway and bus stations stand on the site of the old canal basin.
In 1844, the London and Croydon Railway was given parliamentary authority to test an experimental pneumatic propulsion system on the railway (referred to at the time as the atmospheric-propulsion system). Pumping stations were built at Portland Road, Croydon and Dartmouth Road; these created a vacuum in a pipe paralleling the railway tracks. A piston extended downwards from the trains into a slit in the pipe, meaning that trains were literally sucked towards the pumping station or blown away from it. The pumping stations were built in a Gothic style, with a very tall ornate tower which served both as a chimney and as an exhaust vent for air pumped from the propulsion pipe.
As part of the construction works for the atmospheric-propulsion system, the worlds first railway flyover (overpass) was constructed at the north end of Portland Road, to carry the new atmospheric-propulsion line over the conventional steam line below[2]. In 1847, the atmospheric propulsion experiment was abandoned. The stationary engine-house still remains at Forest Hill railway station and the West Croydon pumping station was relocated to form part of the Surrey Street waterworks building, which still exists.
On 27 July 1846 the L&C amalgamated with the London & Brighton Railway to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.
[edit] References
- ^ 1845, "Jolly-sailor Station", The Pictorial Times
- ^ Connor, J.E. (2006). London's Disused Stations: The London Brighton & South Coast Railway. Colchester: Connor & Butler, 70. ISBN 978 0 947699 39 2.
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