Why was Coulsdon North closed?

[nw1]

I suspect the last in and first out may have been left in the platforms overnight.

In 1982, two separate 4EPBs were left in each platform overnight.

The 1843 arrival from Victoria on Platform 1 then formed the 05+45 to East Croydon the following morning.
The 00+02 arrival on Platform 1 formed the 0541 to Victoria the following morning.

The 23+25 arrival from East Croydon on Platform 2 then formed the 06+12 to Crystal Palace.
The 00+22 arrival from Norwood Junction on Platform 2 then formed the 0609 to Victoria.

During the evening, post peak, a few ECS workings arrived from elsewhere on the suburban network to be stored in the sidings overnight. Many of these formed in-service trains from Coulsdon North the following morning, though a couple went ECS to East Croydon.

 

[Rescars]

Turnback workings at Smitham covered any trade and it allowed an increase in linespeed by removing point work from the Quarry lines. I can't comment on any political pressure over the Coulsdon relief road, but I feel it was likely.

As an aside, what was remarkable was the ability of the highway engineers to tunnel through the embankment at Smitham and build the Coulsdon relief road without disturbing the Tattenham Corner line trains.

 

[yorksrob]

Memories from 40+ years of Central Division performance monitoring ....
Part of the closure of Coulsdon North was to save money (fewer points and signals) in the Brighton Main Line resignalling which took much of the 1980's.
Turnback workings at Smitham covered any trade and it allowed an increase in linespeed by removing point work from the Quarry lines. I can't comment on any political pressure over the Coulsdon relief road, but I feel it was likely.

Thanks for the on the ground info

 

[izvor]

At a slight tangent, in the 1960s I knew an old SR signalman who had retired to live in one of the railway houses in Railway Approach, Coulsdon North. The street was still gas lit, and I believe it remained so for some time after, possibly up until it was demolished to make way for the Coulsdon Relief Road.

Also around that time I remember catching a train from the Quarry line platforms at Coulsdon North to (I think) Earlswood, almost certainly on a Sunday as they only called there when the slow lines through Coulsdon South were closed for works. The platforms at Earlswood are also long since abandoned/demolished.

 

[Smitham]

Those houses

At a slight tangent, in the 1960s I knew an old SR signalman who had retired to live in one of the railway houses in Railway Approach, Coulsdon North. The street was still gas lit, and I believe it remained so for some time after, possibly up until it was demolished to make way for the Coulsdon Relief Road.

Also around that time I remember catching a train from the Quarry line platforms at Coulsdon North to (I think) Earlswood, almost certainly on a Sunday as they only called there when the slow lines through Coulsdon South were closed for works. The platforms at Earlswood are also long since abandoned/demolished.

Those houses on Station Approach are still there. The only houses demolished for the bypass, were on Windermere Rd and a couple on Brighton Road too.

 

[Rescars]

On the related subject of Coulsdon stations more generally, it strikes me as unusual that there is no real place called Stoats Nest (the original name for Coulsdon North) nor is there a real place called Smitham. There can't be many locations where there are two stations close together, both of which have names of non-existent places and don't mention the name of the place where they are actually located. If there are others, perhaps we need a separate thread......

 

[izvor]

Those houses on Station Approach are still there. The only houses demolished for the bypass, were on Windermere Rd and a couple on Brighton Road too.

Thanks for the correction. I really thought they, and the road, had gone when I last looked.

On the related subject of Coulsdon stations more generally, it strikes me as unusual that there is no real place called Stoats Nest (the original name for Coulsdon North) nor is there a real place called Smitham. There can't be many locations where there are two stations close together, both of which have names of non-existent places and don't mention the name of the place where they are actually located. If there are others, perhaps we need a separate thread......

Well... Stoats Nest was named after a large, adjacent farm, which lay in the long valley then known as Smitham Bottom. There is a post-war housing estate there called Stoats Nest Village so the name survives. I believe there were some objections to this name as it was considered rather sinister, but with little else in the way of settlement there in the 1840s they had to call it something! As you say above, it was intended to serve Epsom racecourse all those miles away though over time, in its later location, it attracted development in its own right and the "town" we now call Coulsdon. The name Smitham for the station remained an anachronism for many years before it was eventually renamed Coulsdon Town. Perhaps @Smitham can elaborate more...

 

[Smitham]

@izvor I don't really have anything to add. Your history and timeline are comprehensive.

Regarding the additional services at Smitham after Coulsdon N, there was additional signalling and point work installed to enable trains to return north from the station.