Английская Википедия:Epsom Downs Branch
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Use British English Шаблон:Infobox rail line The Epsom Downs Branch is a Шаблон:Convert railway line in Greater London and Surrey, England. It runs from Sutton to its southern terminus at Шаблон:Rws, with intermediate stations at Belmont and Шаблон:Rws. With the exception of the northernmost Шаблон:Cvt, the branch is single track. All stations are managed by Southern, which operates all passenger trains. Most services run between Epsom Downs and Шаблон:Rws via Шаблон:Rws.
The line was primarily built for racegoers attending Epsom Downs Racecourse and was promoted by the Banstead and Epsom Downs Railway. Authorisation was granted by parliament in July 1862 and construction was completed by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. The branch opened as a double track line on 22 May 1865. It was electrified by the Southern Railway using the 750 V DC third-rail system in 1928 and the majority of the branch has operated as a single line since 1981.
Infrastructure and services
Шаблон:Epsom Downs Branch The Epsom Downs branch line is a railway line in Surrey and Greater London, England. It runs for Шаблон:Cvt from Sutton station to its southern terminus, Epsom Downs station, Шаблон:Cvt down the line from Шаблон:Rws via Шаблон:Rws.Шаблон:Sfn The northernmost Шаблон:Cvt is double track, including the platforms at Sutton, but the rest of the line was singled in the early 1980s.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The maximum speed permitted on the branch is Шаблон:Cvt and the line is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system. Signalling is controlled from Three Bridges and Track Circuit Block is in operation.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The steepest gradient on the line, on the approach to Belmont from the north, is 1 in 58.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
All four stations on the line are managed by Southern, which operates all services.[1] Sutton and Belmont stations are in Zone 5 of the London fare zones; Шаблон:Rws and Epsom Downs are in Zone 6.[2] Sutton has four operational platforms, of which only two are connected to the branch; the other three stations have one platform each.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn The off-peak service pattern is two trains per hour in each direction between Epsom Downs and Шаблон:Rws via Шаблон:Rws.[1] Off-peak trains from Epsom Downs typically reach Sutton on the Brighton Main Line in around nine minutesШаблон:Sfn and arrive at London Victoria in about an hour.[1]
| Station | Distance from London Bridge via West CroydonШаблон:Sfn |
Number of platforms |
Opening date | Original name | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sutton | Шаблон:Cvt | 4 (2 for branch) | Шаблон:Date table sorting | Шаблон:Sfn | |
| Belmont | Шаблон:Cvt | 1 | Шаблон:Date table sorting | California | Шаблон:Sfn |
| Шаблон:Rws | Шаблон:Cvt | 1 | Шаблон:Date table sorting | Шаблон:Sfn | |
| Шаблон:Rws | Шаблон:Cvt | 1 | Шаблон:Date table sorting | Шаблон:Sfn |
History
Proposal and authorisation
The earliest horse races on Epsom Downs are thought to have been held during the reign of James I, in the 17th century.Шаблон:Sfn The first formal races were run on an uphill course from Carshalton and were primarily a test of stamina rather than speed.Шаблон:Sfn The Oaks was established in 1779Шаблон:Sfn and The Derby was first run the following year.Шаблон:Sfn
The first railway to be used by racegoers was the London-Woking section of the South West Main Line, which opened in May 1838. The nearest station to Epsom was Kingston (now Шаблон:Rws), an Шаблон:Cvt walk from the racecourse. On Derby Day that year, Nine Elms station, the temporary London terminus, was overwhelmed with around 5,000 people intending to catch the train to Surbiton.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn In 1857, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) opened a line to Шаблон:Rws and, in 1859, the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened its own line from London to a separate station at Epsom.Шаблон:Sfn
Although Epsom was now served by two railway companies, each with its own station, racegoers were still required to walk around Шаблон:Cvt to the course. The Banstead and Epsom Downs Railway (BEDR) was formed to promote a Шаблон:Cvt branch from the existing LBSCR station at Sutton to a southern terminus close to the racecourse.Шаблон:Sfn The LBSCR indicated its provisional support and parliamentary authorisation for the new line was granted on 17 July 1862.Шаблон:Sfn[3]
The BEDR began to appoint contractors to build the line, but errors made by the inexperienced board resulted in contracts being drawn up improperly. The board expelled several directors, some of whom served writs on the company. Before agreeing terms to operate trains on the branch, the LBSCR insisted that the southern terminus should be built closer to the racecourse.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn However, attempts to relocate Epsom Downs station from its planned site were vigorously opposed by the Epsom Grand Stand Association and John Briscoe, the freeholder of the required land.Шаблон:Sfn By late 1863, the BEDR was in severe difficulties and the LBSCR offered to take over the company and to complete the line. The amalgamation was authorised by parliament on 29 July 1864.Шаблон:Sfn
Opening
The branch opened between Sutton and Epsom Downs on 22 May 1865. The line was double track from the outset, and the intermediate stations opened on the same day.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Two new platforms, on a tight curve with a radius of Шаблон:Cvt, were built at Sutton to serve the branch.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The southern terminus had nine platforms and was designed to handle large volumes of passengers and trains on racedays.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn During the 1865 Epsom Derby period, 70,000 people travelled on the branch,Шаблон:Sfn but outside of racedays, traffic was very light. In 1892, the site of the terminus was described as "an absolute wilderness and the most god-forsaken place in the world",and it was alleged that only 20–30 passengers passed through it on a normal day.[4] In the 1890s, the annual surplus over working expenses on the branch (taken over the year as a whole, including racedays) barely exceeded £200.Шаблон:Sfn
The initial passenger service was 14 trains each way between Sutton and Epsom Downs on weekdays and four each way on Saturdays, with a typical journey time of around 15 minutes. Trains were hauled by a locomotive based at West Croydon and the passenger carriages were berthed at Sutton.Шаблон:Sfn The first records of goods services on the line are from the 1872 timetables, and it is thought that the yards at Banstead and Belmont opened around 1880.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn No goods yard was provided at Epsom Downs.Шаблон:Sfn
It is unclear how the branch was originally signalled. Until 1874, with the exception of racedays, only one train was allowed on the line at any one time. A signal box was opened at Belmont around 1877, and a new box opened at Epsom Downs in May 1879, to increase the capacity of the branch for racedays.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn An intermediate signal box, between Banstead and Belmont, was opened in 1901, but was only used on racedays,Шаблон:Sfn and a box opened at Banstead in 1903.Шаблон:Sfn
When it opened in May 1865, Belmont station was called "California".Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The name was taken from a nearby public house that had been owned by a man who had returned from the gold rush with some money. Owing to confusion on the part of goods consignors, the station was given its current name on 1 October 1875.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The settlement that subsequently grew up in the surrounding area, took its name from the renamed station.Шаблон:Sfn
20th century
Railmotors were introduced to the Epsom Downs branch line in June 1906. These push-pull trains consisted of an A1 class tank engine coupled to a type of passenger carriage, known as a balloon trailer. The train would be driven from the locomotive in one direction; and in the other, from a driving position at the front of the carriage. Initially these services ran from West Croydon to Belmont, but from October 1909, they were used on the full length of the branch. By the end of that year, there were 37 return railmotor workings on weekdays on the line – around a third ran to Epsom Downs, but the majority terminated short at either Banstead or Belmont.Шаблон:Sfn D1 class tank engines started to operate push-pull trains on the branch from June 1914, when the number of weekday services was increased to 41.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Electrification of the line from West Croydon to Sutton, using a 6,600 V AC overhead line system, began in 1922 and was completed on 1 April 1925. Although services to Epsom Downs remained steam-hauled, a short section of the northern end of the branch was electrified, to allow terminating electric trains to shunt between platforms at Sutton.Шаблон:Sfn The majority of services between London and Sutton via West Croydon were operated by electric trains. As a result, the Epsom Downs branch was mostly run as a self-contained shuttle, with only a few services running through to the capital at peak times.Шаблон:Sfn
With the formation of the Southern Railway in 1923, a change in policy was announced, with the replacement of the LBSCR overhead AC system by third-rail DC electrification.[5] A conversion programme began in 1925, the first phase of which included the electrification of the Epsom Downs line. In preparation for the new timetable, the platforms at Belmont and Banstead were lengthened for 8-coach trains.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn Electric trains began running on the branch on 17 June 1928. Services operated to London Bridge via West Croydon and ran up to three times per hour at peak times, with two trains per hour on weekdays in the off-peak.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Electric services between Epsom Downs and London Victoria began on 4 May 1930.Шаблон:Sfn Electrification stimulated housebuilding in the local area and the Great Burgh and Nork Park estates were sold for development in the early 1930s. Annual passenger numbers more than doubled in eight years: from 329,779 in 1927 to 859,794 in 1935.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
During the World Wars, the area around Epsom Downs was used by the army and traffic on the branch increased as a result.Шаблон:Sfn During the Second World War, civilian passenger services were reduced to one per hour in each direction, to accommodate military trains.Шаблон:Sfn In 1940, the lineside south of Banstead was fortified with anti-tank obstacles and pillboxes.Шаблон:Sfn A bomb destroyed the buildings on the down platform at Belmont on 11 October 1940Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn and the track between Banstead and Epsom Downs was damaged on 28 May 1941.Шаблон:Sfn
There was a decline in traffic on the Epsom Downs branch between the 1960s and early 1990s.Шаблон:Sfn The goods yard at Belmont closed on 6 January 1969Шаблон:Sfn and the signal box at the station closed on 21 December the same year.Шаблон:Sfn On 1 May 1972, the terminus at Epsom Downs was reduced to two platforms.Шаблон:Sfn Stationmasters were removed from the southernmost three stations, which came under the control of a manager based at Sutton on 25 March 1973.Шаблон:Sfn
Epsom Downs signal box was damaged beyond economic repair in a fire on 16 November 1981. A system of emergency working was introduced, in which a shuttle service between Epsom Downs and Sutton was run with one train on the up (northbound) track.Шаблон:Sfn[6] Over the course of the next eleven months, the down line was prepared for permanent single-line working, and re-entered service on 4 October 1982. The majority of the up line was subsequently lifted and a new signalling system, controlled from London Victoria, was commissioned in June 1983.Шаблон:Sfn[7]
At the end of the 1980s, Epsom Downs station was sold for development. A single platform, around Шаблон:Cvt to the north of the original buffer stops, was opened on 14 February 1989 and a housing estate was built on the remainder of the site by the developer, Charles Church.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
21st century
In 2023, the Belmont Rail Frequency Improvement project was awarded £14.1M to double the number of scheduled services on the northern part of the branch line. A new turnback siding will be constructed, allowing two trains per hour from London Victoria to terminate at Belmont, in addition to the two per hour that currently continue south to Epsom Downs. The scheme will improve access to the London Cancer Hub at the southern campus of the Royal Marsden Hospital.[8][9] Infrastructure works are expected to be completed in March 2026 and the enhanced timetable will begin in May of that year.[10]
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite web
- Шаблон:Cite web
External links
Шаблон:Commons category Шаблон:GeoGroupTemplate
- The Epsom Downs Branch Website (unofficial)
Шаблон:Railway lines in London Шаблон:Transport in Surrey Шаблон:Railway lines in South East England
- ↑ 1,0 1,1 1,2 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ William Quartermain East, in evidence before the House of Commons Committee on the Epsom Downs Extension Railway Bill, 1892, quoted in Шаблон:Harvnb
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite magazine
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite magazine
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
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