Chessington Branch Questions

[03_179]

Hi all,

I have a few questions regarding the Chessington South branch Line that I hope you guys may know.

1. I seem to remember (long time ago) that Chessington South had a second platform? If it did when was it removed from use and the track taken up?
2. At the End of Chessington South station is a bridge over the tracks, was there track beyond the bridge and where did it go? According to Wikipedia it was only to a coal depot.
3. Also when did it get removed?
4. Currently there is a half hourly service along the line, where there ever more than just the 2tph? If so when did that cease?
5. Anyone got any other info about the line (crashes, incidents, memories etc.)?

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[RUFJAN15]

Try http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/swanley_junction/index7.shtml

 

[03_179]

Try http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/swanley_junction/index7.shtml

Thanks for that one

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The coal depot was at Tolworth - where the aggregates now run to - and for many years was home to class 04 shunter D2310.

 

[03_179]

Thanks Peter. Those are good photos

 

[swt_passenger]

Hi all,

I have a few questions regarding the Chessington South branch Line that I hope you guys may know.

1. I seem to remember (long time ago) that Chessington South had a second platform? If it did when was it removed from use and the track taken up?

Track was still in situ when Google last drove past in 2016...

 

[3973EXL]

There was a coal depot at Chessington South. Survived into the Network Coal days.
Working from Didcot (6O66 if my memory is right)with HEA wagons. Discharge hopper/sidings were on the down side beyond the station. Empties returned to Didcot.
Didcot men throughout.

 

[John Webb]

Two photos taken in January 2016 - click on the pictures to go to the larger originals:
Chessington South railway station

© Copyright Mike Pennington and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

End of the line at South Chessington

© Copyright Mike Pennington and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

 

[Spankthemonkey]

Lived down that way for years, alot of Chessington folk actually avoid the branch as it's quicker to get into central London via the 71 bus to Surbiton and a fast train from there!

Not sure how true it is, but even if there was a viable economic reason to connect the line to Leatherhead it wouldn't be allowed due to the area south of chessington south now being home to a protected animal species of some kind or another.

There would perhaps be a case to extend a few hundred yards to make the World of Adventures walkable as it is a bit of a treck from Chessington South with kids and bags etc.

 

[Dr_Paul]

I understand that the land to the south of Chessington South is in the Green Belt and therefore will not be built on.

 

[Bald Rick]

I understand that the land to the south of Chessington South is in the Green Belt and therefore will not be built on.

Green belt can be unbelted...

 

[Ianno87]

The second platform at Chessington South has (to my knowledge) never seen a passenger train call at it.

It was built in the early 1930s ready for the extension of the route through to Leatherhead, but WWII rather got in the way...

The track alongside the platform is signalled and electrified, but sees extremely rare use...

 

[NorthernSpirit]

I did read somewhere that the line was suppose to carry on but work was stopped and never resumed, hence why the line beyond the station is a glorified siding.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Green belt can be unbelted...

I think that this would be a suitable candidate for 'unbelting', it's pretty much scratchy farmland south of Chessington, and some more attractive non-Green Belt land could be exchanged for it. A new development of houses with some sort of centre (shops, etc) east of the A243 would not go amiss. Were this built, there would be good grounds for extending the line southwards to a new station serving both this new development and the adventure park.

 

[Bald Rick]

I did read somewhere that the line was suppose to carry on but work was stopped and never resumed, hence why the line beyond the station is a glorified siding.

The earthworks were built to as far south as Chalky Lane, and indeed that land is still in railway ownership.

 

[TheSeeker]

The coal depot was at Tolworth - where the aggregates now run to - and for many years was home to class 04 shunter D2310. View attachment 39400 View attachment 39401

Amazing!

I once worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at their large site in Tolworth, just next to the tracks. It had been built in the war as a hospital outside central London. The chief vet was based there, along with meat hygiene, import/export and rabies control. Interestingly there was an MoD mapping office in the centre of the site, completely separate from us and not marked from the outside. We weren't allowed to even talk to them. I miss the civil service, there was a social club with a bar, badminton court, we practised for the annual sports day in the playing fields you can see in the pictures. The site is now demolished along with the famous "Toby Jug" pub which was our local.

Had no idea the sidings were there.

I happened to pass on the way to a wedding in the summer. Just as grotty as I remember.

 

[TheSeeker]

I see in realtime trains there is an aggregate train leaving Tolworth today on a very interesting route (at least to me), all those names so familiar as far as Clapham.

"618E 1130 Tolworth Sdgs to Cliffe Brett Marine"

 

[John Webb]

Amazing!

I once worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at their large site in Tolworth, just next to the tracks. It had been built in the war as a hospital outside central London. The chief vet was based there, along with meat hygiene, import/export and rabies control. Interestingly there was an MoD mapping office in the centre of the site, completely separate from us and not marked from the outside. We weren't allowed to even talk to them.......

Does this bring back any memories?:
Min of Ag & Fish

© Copyright Dennis Turner and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Curiously no one seems to have photographed the sidings at any time.

 

[TheSeeker]

Does this bring back any memories?

It does yes. Many thanks for posting. Taken from the London platform at Tolworth station I would guess. The sports hall/bar is the building on the right in the foreground. The mysterious MoD building is at the rear centre. The rest of the low structures were all offices. A very strange mix of people from retired merchant navy captains in import/export, jolly hockey sticks type secretaries, to Trotskyites with soviet posters on their office walls. They closed the site not long after I left, changed much of it into the Food Standards Agency and moved up into town at Holborn. Tesco bought it and the Toby Jug pub with plans for a super store that never got beyond knocking it all down.

I wish I'd known the sidings were there at the time.