Editing Tattenham Corner line (section)

==History==
===Proposals and authorisations===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Epsom Downs Extension Railway Act 1892
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = 
| year                  = 1892
| citation              = [[55 & 56 Vict.]] c. cxlv
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 27 June 1892
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
The first proposals for a railway serving Tattenham Corner and Tadworth were drawn up in 1891 and a private bill was presented to [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] in December 1891.<ref>{{cite newspaper The Times |title= Private bill legislation |date= 22 December 1891 |issue= 33514 |page= 5 }}</ref> The line, called the Epsom Downs Extension Railway (EDER), was to run from a station near [[Walton-on-the-Hill]] northwards to a junction with the [[Epsom Downs Branch]] near the Drift Bridge. The driving force behind the scheme was a group of local landowners, including [[Cosmo Bonsor]], later the chairman of the [[South Eastern Railway (England)|South Eastern Railway]] (SER).{{efn|Construction of the Epsom Downs Extension Railway was to cost £65,000, the majority of which was offered by [[Cosmo Bonsor]].{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=93}}}} Although the '''{{visible anchor|Epsom Downs Extension Railway Act 1892}}''' ([[55 & 56 Vict.]] c. cxlv) was passed, there were several objectors including the Epsom Grand Stand Association, who feared that their plans to extend the racecourse would be jeopardised by the construction of the line.{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=93}} The ''Surrey Advertiser and County Times'' reported a formal ceremony on 6 June 1892 marking the start of construction,<ref>{{cite news |title= Cutting the first sod of the Epsom Downs Extension Railway |date= 11 June 1892 |work= Surrey Advertiser and County Times |volume= XXXVI |issue= 3630 |page= 3 }}</ref> although royal assent was not granted until 27 June.<ref>{{cite news |title= Railway and tramway bills in parliament |date= 1 July 1892 |work= Iron |volume= XL |issue= 1016 |page= 11}}</ref>

[[File:Purley, Red Hill & Stoats Next RJD 130.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1905 [[Railway Clearing House]] map showing the eastern end of the Tattenham Corner line and its connection to the [[Caterham line]] and [[Brighton Main Line]]]]

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Chipstead Valley Railway Act 1893
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = 
| year                  = 1893
| citation              = [[56 & 57 Vict.]] c. cliii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 27 July 1893
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Epsom Downs Extension Railway Act 1897
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = 
| year                  = 1897
| citation              = [[60 & 61 Vict.]] c. xlii
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 3 June 1897
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = 
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/60-61/42/pdfs/ukla_18970042_en.pdf
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
A second line, the Chipstead Valley Railway (CVR), running from the southern terminus of the EDER to a junction with the SER Caterham line south of Purley, was proposed in 1893. Authorisation was granted by an act of Parliament, the '''{{visible anchor|Chipstead Valley Railway Act 1893}}''' ([[56 & 57 Vict.]] c. cliii), on 27 July of that year.{{sfn|Gray|1990|p= 68}} In proposing this second scheme, Bonsor had intended that the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] (LBSCR) would take over both the CVR and the EDER, and combine them into a single railway that it would then operate. The LBSCR refused and the CVR began to purchase the necessary land to construct their line.{{sfn|Jackson|1978|p=142}} In October 1896, the SER agreed to seek parliamentary approval to take over both lines, which were by then under construction.{{sfn|Gray|1990|p= 69}} The following year, the EDER was given approval in the '''{{visible anchor|Epsom Downs Extension Railway Act 1897}}''' ([[60 & 61 Vict.]] c. xlii) to abandon its plans to build the section of its line north of Tattenham Corner.{{sfn|Jackson|1978|p=142}} The SER formally absorbed the CVR and EDER in 1899.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=79}}

===Construction and openings===
[[File:Tadworth Station 09.jpg|thumb|right|{{rws|Tadworth}} station. The line is in a deep cutting at this point and the main station building is on a bridge above the tracks]]
As initially surveyed, the CVR was to have been a single-track railway costing £11,000 per mile to build. The SER was unhappy with the proposals and provided an additional £3000 per mile to widen the formation for two tracks and to reduce the maximum gradient from 1 in 60 to 1 in 80.{{sfn|Gray|1990|p=69}} On 2 November 1897, the section between Purley Junction and Kingswood opened as a single-track line with a [[passing loop]] at Chipstead, the only intermediate station.{{sfn|Gray|1990|p=69}}{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=79}}{{efn|The railway historian, Adrian Gray, writes that regular, timetabled services between Purley and Kingswood probably began around a week after the formal opening on 2 November 1897.{{sfn|Gray|1990|p=69}}}} From the outset, the line was worked by the SER. The section to Tadworth was opened as a single line on 1 July 1900.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=79}}<ref>{{cite news |title= Chipstead Valley Railway : Another station opened |date= 17 July 1900 |work= Surrey Mirror and County Post |volume= 4 |issue= 203 |page= 3 }}</ref> Double track was commissioned between Purley and Kingswood the following day{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=79}} and to Tadworth in November of the same year.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=79}} All three CVR stations were provided with goods yards.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=80}}

[[File:Tattenham Corner railway station.jpg|thumb|right|{{rws|Tattenham Corner}} station in 1901]]
The final section of the line, between Tadworth and Tattenham Corner stations, opened on 4 June 1901, the day of the [[Epsom Derby]].{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=79}}<ref>{{cite news |title= The Derby |date= 5 June 1901 |work= Evening Standard |issue= 24007 |page= 5 }}</ref> The terminus was laid out to cope with the volume of passengers travelling to the racecourse{{sfn|Nock|1961|pp=136-137}} and had six operational platforms.{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=92}} Between 1902 and 1928, it saw no regular timetabled services and only opened for race day and summer excursion specials.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=80}} Trains taking horses to the racecourse also used the station and the Epsom Grand Stand Association erected stables for 100 horses nearby.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=80}}{{sfn|Nock|1961|pp=136-137}}

===Later 20th century developments===
Detailed plans for Smitham station (now Coulsdon Town) had been drawn up in 1898 and 1899, but it was not opened until 1 January 1904.{{sfn|Gray|1990|p=69}} It was very close to {{rws|Coulsdon North}} station on the [[Brighton Main Line]], which had opened on 5 November 1899 and closed on 1 October 1983.{{sfn|Quick|2023|p=145}}{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1993|loc=Figs 62, 64}} Reedham station opened on 1 March 1911 as a halt. It closed for two years between 1 January 1917 and 1 January 1919, and became a staffed station on 5 July 1936.{{sfn|Quick|2023|p=386}}{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1993|loc= Figs 56, 59}}

During the First World War, racing at Epsom Downs was suspended and the area was used for military training camps. The line was used extensively for transport of troops and supplies.{{sfn|Jackson|1978|p=146}} Following the end of the war, sidings at Tattenham Corner station were used to store surplus [[War Department (United Kingdom)|War Department]] locomotives.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=162}} During the Second World War, casualties from the [[liberation of France]] were transported to a field hospital at Epsom Downs Racecourse via the line.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=169}}

Electrification was first proposed in 1913 by the LBSCR. The company offered to install its overhead 6,700 V system, on the condition that it could lease the line from the [[South Eastern and Chatham Railway]] (SECR, the successor to the SER) and operate all services. Following the end of the First World War, the SECR engineer, [[Alfred Raworth]], recommended that the LBSCR scheme should be adopted.{{sfn|Brown|2009|pp=29-30}} The plans were not pursued and under the [[Railways Act 1921]], the Tattenham Corner line became part of the London Central Division of the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]] in 1923.{{sfn|White|1961|p=91}} A new proposal to electrify the line using the 750 V DC third-rail system was authorised in August 1926.<ref name=ES_electric>{{cite news |title= To Tattenham Corner by electric |date= 9 August 1926 |work= Evening Standard |issue=32187 |page= 4 }}</ref>{{efn|The 1926-1928 electrification scheme was part of a wider £3.75M programme to electrify lines leading to {{rws|London Victoria}}. As part of the same initiative, lines with overhead wires were converted to third rail electrification.<ref name=ES_electric/>}} Electric services started running between Purley and Tadworth on 25 March 1928 and the platforms at Reedham, Chipstead and Kingswood were lengthened to accommodate the new rolling stock.{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=95}} Initially the new trains used the same timings as their steam-hauled predecessors, but on 17 June 1928 a new, accelerated timetable was introduced, which also restored regular services to Tattenham Corner.{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=53}}

Woodmansterne station opened on 17 July 1932. Taking the form of an island platform, linked by a concrete bridge to both sides of the line, it served a new area of [[semi-detached]] and [[terraced house|terraced]] housing. The necessary land was donated by the developers, who also contributed around a fifth of the cost of construction.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1993|loc=Fig. 66}}{{sfn|Brown|2009|p=73}} Woodmansterne signal box opened on 13 April 1932 and closed on 12 May 1963.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1993|loc=Woodmansterne}} Kingswood signal box closed on 2 December 1962.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1993|loc=Fig. 81}}

A major resignalling project, in which colour light signals were installed, was commissioned on in the second half of 1970.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p= 230}} Smitham signal box closed on 16 August,{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1993|loc=Fig. 63}} followed by the box at Tadworth on 29 November that year.{{sfn|Jackson|1978|p=149}} 

[[File:Tattenham Corner station building - geograph.org.uk - 927728.jpg|thumb|right|{{rws|Tattenham Corner}} station building, opened in August 1994<ref name=Johnston_1994>{{cite magazine |last= Johnston |first= Howard |date= 17 August 1994 |title= Around the regions |magazine= RAIL |issue= 233 |page= 43 }}</ref>]]
The track layout at Tattenham Corner was altered in 1971, reducing the number of operational platforms to three.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1993|loc=Fig. 113}} The redundant  land no longer required for the terminus was sold in 1979 and 1980 for housebuilding.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=174}} The original wooden station building was damaged beyond economic repair on 1 December 1993, when a train crashed through the buffer stops.<ref>{{cite news |title= Sacking upheld of rail driver gaoled after crash |date= 2 June 1995 |work= Croydon Advertiser |issue= 6600 |page= 2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title= Crash caused by 'drink driving' |date= December 2013 |magazine= Rail Express |issue= 211 |page= 32 |url= https://issuu.com/mortons-digital/docs/redec_001 |access-date= 7 February 2024 }}</ref> The current single-storey ticket office was opened the following August.<ref name=Johnston_1994/>{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=174}}

===21st century===
[[File:Coulsdon Town Railway Station (May 2011) (4).JPG|thumb|right|The new station building at {{rws|Coulsdon Town}} in May 2011]]
Smitham station was renamed "Coulsdon Town" in May 2011, following a consultation with local residents.<ref>{{cite news |last= Whalley |first= Kirsty |date= 29 September 2010 |title= Refurbished Smitham Station to be renamed Coulsdon Town |work= Your Local Guardian |url= https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/8417792.refurbished-smitham-station-to-be-renamed-coulsdon-town/ |access-date= 6 February 2024 }}</ref> A new building had been constructed at the station the previous year.<ref>{{cite web |title= Green light for new station at Smitham |date= 24 June 2009 |publisher= Network Rail |url= https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/green-light-for-new-station-at-smitham |access-date= 7 January 2024 }}</ref>

Under the [[Thameslink Programme]], the Tattenham Corner line was to have been served by 8-car [[British Rail Class 700|Class 700]] trains to destinations north of the [[River Thames]] via {{rws|London Blackfriars}}.{{sfn|"Route Specifications"|2016|pp=105-108}}<ref>{{cite news |last= Stacy |first= Mungo |date= 6 May 2015 |title= Thameslink testing and stabling |work= Rail Engineer |url= https://www.railengineer.co.uk/thameslink-testing-and-stabling/ |access-date= 8 February 2024 }}</ref> However, in late 2017, these plans were altered and the line was dropped from the programme in favour of running Thameslink trains to [[Rainham railway station (Kent)|Rainham]], Kent.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Southeastern a major beneficiary |date= 23 November 2017 |magazine= Modern Railways |url= https://www.modernrailways.com/article/southeastern-major-beneficiary |access-date= 7 February 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last= Hutchinson |first= Phil |date= 22 February 2018 |title= Building the Thameslink timetable |magazine= Modern Railways |url= https://www.modernrailways.com/article/building-thameslink-timetable |access-date= 7 February 2024 }}</ref> The following May, Southern introduced 10-car trains to the Tattenham Corner line and reduced journey times to London.<ref>{{cite news |last= Johnson |first= Thomas |date= 25 April 2018 |title= The timetable for every single Southern Rail and Thameslink train in Surrey is to change |work= Surrey Live |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/timetable-every-single-southern-rail-14571547  |access-date= 7 February 2024 }}</ref> In 2022, the Sunday service on the route was reduced to a shuttle between Tattenham Corner and Purley, requiring passengers to change trains to continue their journeys to London.<ref>{{cite news |title= More rail cuts coming down the line thanks to Tory Treasury |date= 29 August 2022 |work= Inside Croydon |url= https://insidecroydon.com/2022/08/29/more-rail-cuts-coming-down-the-line-thanks-to-tory-treasury/ |access-date= 7 February 2024  }}</ref>