frodshamfella
Established Member
Does anyone on here have good memory of using Elmers End to Addiscombe or / and Selsdon and Sanderstead ?
There's an entry for Elmers End at http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/e/elmers_end/index.shtml which you may find of interest.
Regards,
John Webb
The other line I find interesting is Grove Park to Bromley North. I was brought up I Bexleyheath, so these branch lines were always a fascination to me. I never managed to try West Croydon to Wimbledon line.
Bromley North and Sundridge Park had a peak hour service to Charing Cross/Cannon street certainly into the 1980s, when I lived at Hither Green. I seem to remember an offpeak service as well before then, but not in the evenings or Sundays.
Charing X only, at least after the London Bridge resignalling in the 70s.
Can't remember when the off peak through service was withdrawn, but it will have been when the SR was under instruction to cut costs. ISTR one morning peak through train at 0808 (?) survived a few years longer than the rest. They were always the quietest SE services, and I regularly opted for that route home if I had a 1730 finish at Waterloo (1978-80).
One peculiar train - which I used once around 1970 - was the 0102 Blackfriars-Tonbridge which cross-connected at LBG with an 0059 CHX-Gillingham and went inot and out of Bromley N (skipping Sundridge Pk) en route, providing Bromley with a later service than the 0024 off Victoria.
I never knew about that 0102, although I was living in Beckenham rather than family home in Bromley by 1970. The 00.24 used to get pretty crowded, because it was the only train after about 23.12 (?) to Bromley from Victoria.
Think the last Orpington off Victoria was 23.32.
You're right, the 0102 wouldn't have been much use to you - I only had a 20 minute walk home from Bromley North
Checked the 71-72 WTT which happens to be to hand:
2242 - 2302 (not Suns) - 2332. The 0024/25 ran as ECS Monday mornings, presumably to save having to run RRBs regularly, then a.daily as a staff train to Faversham and Sheerness, back to Swanley for the first Up at 0400 (which never ever used!).
Still the same 10 years later but I do remember the late trains switching to 12 and 42.
I accept my memory is a bit hazy on this - so hazy that I realise now my sojourn in Beckenham was 1969 until May 1971, when I moved to Sittingbourne, so I wasn't actually there for the 1971/2 timetable!
They were for newspaper workers having "put the paper to bed" and heading home.
Meaning the 0102 off BFR? It was the last survivor - until the 60s there was almost an all-night service from Holborn to Orpington.
I just wondered if there were any Elmers End to Hayes workings ever, ie to changed from an Addiscombe service ?
The other line I find interesting is Grove Park to Bromley North. I was brought up I Bexleyheath, so these branch lines were always a fascination to me. I never managed to try West Croydon to Wimbledon line.
The Bromley North branch still has jointed track and generally feels frozen in time.