Coulsdon North railway station

Coulsdon North
Location
Place	Coulsdon
Area	Croydon
Coordinates
Grid reference	TQ301596
Operations
Original company	London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Pre-grouping	London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Platforms	4
History
5 November 1899 (1899-11-05)	Opened as Stoat's Nest and Cane Hill
1 June 1911	Renamed Coulsdon and Smitham Downs
9 July 1923	Renamed Coulsdon West
1 August 1923	Renamed Coulsdon North
3 October 1983 (1983-10-03)	Station closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
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UK Railways portal

A 1905 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Coulsdon North railway station.

Coulsdon North is a closed railway station that served Coulsdon, Croydon, England, on the Brighton Main Line.

Opening

The station was opened as "Stoats Nest and Cane Hill" on 5 November 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 London, Brighton & South Coast 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 and opened simultaneously with the widening to 4 tracks south of South Croydon and the opening of the Quarry Line, a "fast track" route which enabled the LBSCR's South Coast expresses to bypass the line through Redhill. 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 terminal platforms with through access only to sidings beyond the station. It served as a through station for services from London Victoria to Brighton, 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.

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 regular services on the Brighton Main Line . 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.

Decline and closure

The situation of Coulsdon North on the so-called "fast track" of the Quarry Line posed pathing problems, as the route had to give priority to express services heading for the South Coast. Accordingly, through services to the coast were withdrawn, and the fast platforms saw only occasional use for special trains. 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. Only the terminal platforms were regularly used, for stopping trains from Victoria or London Bridge. 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 resignalling of the Brighton main line.

Last day at Coulsdon North

The last passenger train ran on the evening of Friday 30 September 1983, a special to East Croydon. The station and its sidings were officially closed as of Monday 3 October 1983. The station was demolished shortly afterwards. During an archaeological excavation in March 1994, the arched foundation brickwork of the station subway was found. The site of the station buildings has since been redeveloped with small industrial units. In 2006 the A23 Coulsdon Relief Road was constructed through its site. Only the station approach road, alongside which are a few sections of railway fencing, indicate its former site.

1907 accident

Stoat's Nest filming accident

Date	17 April 1907
Time	12:26
Location	Coulsdon North railway station
Country	England
Rail line	Brighton Main Line
Operator	London Brighton and South Coast Railway
Cause	Poor communication
Statistics
Trains	1
Deaths	1
Injuries	0
List of UK rail accidents by year

On 17 April 1907, a locomotive, operated under the instructions of the Station Master, overran its intended stop point, mortally injuring a local resident who was being filmed, unknown to the train crew, lying in the path of the train.

1910 accident

Stoat's Nest rail accident

Date	29 January 1910
Time	16:30
Location	Coulsdon North railway station
Country	England
Rail line	Brighton Main Line
Operator	London Brighton and South Coast Railway
Cause	Rolling stock failure
Statistics
Trains	1
Deaths	7
Injuries	65 (8 serious)
List of UK rail accidents by year

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, derailed and crashed into the platform at 40 mph. Seven people were killed and eight seriously injured. The US Consul General, Robert Wynne, was travelling in the Pullman but was unhurt. The subsequent enquiry determined that one wheel of a carriage had become detached from its axle. The station was renamed a year later.

List of closed railway stations in London

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Purley		British Rail Southern Region Brighton Main Line		Terminus or Earlswood