Coulsdon North railway station

The station was opened as "Stoats Nest and Cane Hill" on 5 September 1899 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR). It took its name partly from the nearby Cane Hill asylum and partly from the nearby Stoats Nest village. There had been a previous Stoats Nest station in the area which was opened by the Croydon, Merstham, and Godstone Railway in 1841, but this had closed in 1856. The station kept its name until 1911 when, following a serious accident, it became known as "Coulsdon and Smitham Downs".

The Coulsdon North station was built by the LBSCR after it had laid the Quarry Line, a "fast track" route which enabled the LBSCR's South Coast expresses to bypass the line through Redhill operated by its bitter rival, the South Eastern Railway (SER). The SER gave preference to its own local services over those of the LBSCR. At the time of the new Stoats Nests' opening, it was the second station operating in the area, Coulsdon South (then named "Coulsdon") having been opened by the SER on 1 October 1889.

The LBSCR equipped the new Stoats Nest station with 4 platforms: two on the Quarry Line and two on the Brighton Main Line. It served as a through station for services from London Victoria to Sutton, as well as a terminus for services from Victoria via Streatham Common or Crystal Palace. The station also had a six-road carriage storage area just to its south.

[edit] 1910 Accident

On 29 January 1910 the Brighton to London express split in two when passing points at the station and the rear part of the train, consisting of two third-class carriages and a Pullman, de-railed and crashed into the platform at a speed of 40mph. Seven people were killed and thirty injured. The US Consul General, Robert Wynne, was travelling in the Pullman but was unhurt. The station was renamed one year later.

[edit] Grouping

Following the grouping ordered by the Railways Act 1921, the new operator, the Southern Railway, changed the name of the station to "Coulsdon West" with effect from 9 July 1923. However, this name only lasted 22 days before being changed to "Coulsdon North" on 1 August 1923.

The effect of the grouping - entailing the merger of the SER and LBSCR - was that Coulsdon North lost its services on the Brighton Main Line to Coulsdon South. Nevertheless, the Southern Railway extended the LBSCR's AC overhead electric system powered at 6700V to the station in 1925, only to announce a year later that all AC lines were to be converted to the 660V DC used by the neighbouring London and South Western Railway. This entailed the conversion of Coulsdon North to third rail in September 1929. It was one of the last to move across from the old overhead electric system.

[edit] Decline and closure

View south from the footbridge in 1968

The situation of Coulsdon North on the so-called "fast lane" of the Quarry Line posed pathing problems as the route had to give priority to services heading for the South Coast. Furthermore, the opening of Smitham in 1904 had created 3 stations in the same area and, by the 1960s, the decline had begun to set in at Coulsdon North which began to see fewer stopping trains. Weekend passenger services were withdrawn in 1965, the goods yard was closed in 1968 and from May 1970, passenger services only operated at peak hours on weekdays. The station finally closed in 1983 as part of the upgrade of the Brighton main line to accommodate a dedicated 15 minute interval Gatwick Express.

Last day at Coulsdon North

The last passenger train ran on Friday 30 September 1983, a special to East Croydon. The station and its sidings were officially closed as of Monday 3 October 1983.

The site of the station has since been redeveloped with small industrial units and in 2006 the A23 Coulsdon bypass was constructed nearby. During an archaeological excavation in March 1994, the arched foundation brickwork of the station was found.

List of closed railway stations in London