Forgive my ignorance of the South but with these stations being so tantalisingly close, you'd think at some time in the past, they would have been connected to form a loop in South-West London. Can someone explain why this didn't occur?
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Tattenham Corner to Epsom Downs link
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tsr
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The simple answer on the face of it seems to be "the racecourse". A suitably-detailed OS map clearly shows that this is the only divider to the neat line of back gardens and other manmade features which can be seen to have been curtailed to allow line development.
At present, the "dominant" station in terms of passenger numbers is Tattenham Corner, though this has not always been so - Epsom Downs used to account for much more local traffic. I would say that, despite the potential disruption to racing, the "evening-out" of demand and also the potential socio-economic links for two separately-served sections of North Surrey would be worth considering.
Whether or not more loops are needed in South London, and whether or not the line to Epsom Downs could be redoubled, are also both points worth considering. I also sometimes wonder how diagramming would be affected, and whether or not major station enhancements on the Epsom Downs branch would need to be thought about.
At present, the "dominant" station in terms of passenger numbers is Tattenham Corner, though this has not always been so - Epsom Downs used to account for much more local traffic. I would say that, despite the potential disruption to racing, the "evening-out" of demand and also the potential socio-economic links for two separately-served sections of North Surrey would be worth considering.
Whether or not more loops are needed in South London, and whether or not the line to Epsom Downs could be redoubled, are also both points worth considering. I also sometimes wonder how diagramming would be affected, and whether or not major station enhancements on the Epsom Downs branch would need to be thought about.
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MidnightFlyer
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Unlike most (current) lines in the UK, the Tattenham Corner branch was a very late arrival, with the Croydon end of the line opening in stages from 1897 and not reaching Tattenham Corner until 1901. Perhaps by this time the population growth from the Epsom Downs branch had taken effect, meaning a lack of land to connect the two, as I would assume had they both been built when the land would still have been rural in the 1870s they would have had free reign over the area. Another factor perhaps could be that they were built by different companies, Epsom Downs was the London, Brighton & South Coast Rly; Tattenham Corner started out as the Chipstead Valley which by completion had been absorbed by the South Eastern & Chatham Rly. I'm not sure of pre-nationalisation relations, but maybe they didn't want to connect with each other?
Any chance of it occurring died one final death however when the old Epson Downs station was resited northwards in 1989 (the branch was singled in 1984 IIRC) and the end of the line truncated by 1/5 of a mile or so (300m). A housing estate was built on that abandoned land and as such that would now mean any join between the two would need near a hundred buildings and numerous 30 year old streets knocking down!
(Extra pointless info, pre-1972 Downs had 9 platforms, reduced to just two (the old 4 and 5) for its final 17 years.)
Any chance of it occurring died one final death however when the old Epson Downs station was resited northwards in 1989 (the branch was singled in 1984 IIRC) and the end of the line truncated by 1/5 of a mile or so (300m). A housing estate was built on that abandoned land and as such that would now mean any join between the two would need near a hundred buildings and numerous 30 year old streets knocking down!
(Extra pointless info, pre-1972 Downs had 9 platforms, reduced to just two (the old 4 and 5) for its final 17 years.)
Indeed. They were built by separate companies to compete for the same racecourse traffic.
On non race days, passengers are fairly thin on the ground by the time you get to the end of the branches, so I guess there's never been the justification for more construction there.
On non race days, passengers are fairly thin on the ground by the time you get to the end of the branches, so I guess there's never been the justification for more construction there.
There's some more information and photos on the original Epsom Downs here.
Having walked between the present day stations, Epsom Downs is very well hidden at the back of the estate built on its former trackbed - despite having Google Maps open on my phone, I still stopped a few times to check directions. One person telling me "Oh, I've lived here 30 years but never used it - I always go from Tattenham Corner".
Having walked between the present day stations, Epsom Downs is very well hidden at the back of the estate built on its former trackbed - despite having Google Maps open on my phone, I still stopped a few times to check directions. One person telling me "Oh, I've lived here 30 years but never used it - I always go from Tattenham Corner".
steamybrian
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As a South Londoner I fully support all the replies given...
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