Mid-Kent Railway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mid-Kent Line is the successor to railways built by the Mid Kent Railway between 1857 and 1882. The railway was originally planned to carry traffic through mid Kent, but because other railways were being built at the time (notably the line constructed by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway via Penge East), the scheme did not materialise. The South Eastern Railway worked the line.
Despite its name none of its stations lie within the current county of Kent. For this reason the name is nowadays considered misleading and is not used. It is generally referred to as the Hayes Line. The line was electrified (750v DC Third Rail) by Southern during the interwar years.
The line was opened on 1 January 1857 between Lewisham, now in the London borough of that name, and Beckenham Junction. Stations on that section are:
- Ladywell
- Catford Bridge
- Lower Sydenham - rebuilt on a new site in 1907
- New Beckenham - this became a junction when the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway opened its line between Norwood Junction and St Mary Cray
In 1864 the line was extended to Addiscombe, near Croydon (now closed).
In 1882 two extensions were constructed; one the Hayes branch went to Hayes, while the second went south as the Woodside and South Croydon Railway (a joint SER and LBSCR line) to Oxted Line. Today trains run only to Hayes: Tramlink now occupies the track of the former line south of Elmers End.
