The mystery of the railway bridge abutment at Barrington Road, Brixton

[editor]

This has always baffled me. There appears to be the remains of a bridge abutment by the junction of Brixton Station Road and Barrington Road.



The aerial view seems to confirm that there was a line heading to the bridge abutment, but it would have to then be elevated above the road as there's nowhere for it to go.

I can't see anything on the old 1870/1894 maps - the empty abutment looks much like today.

Might it be an extension that never got built ? Or maybe space for platforms for an extended Brixton East station scheme?

 

[editor]

Can I just add that 'abutment' is one of those words that always looks like it's spelt incorrectly.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

They only thing I can think of is that it might be connected with the pulling down of fairly new houses and rebuilding of part of Flaxman Road in Victorian times which was something to do with railway lines. Wrong direction, I know, but can't think of anything else in the area.

 

[Crispy]

Hmmm. It's on the wrong side of the tracks for Brixton East.
It may well just have been a siding.

 

[editor]

Hmmm. It's on the wrong side of the tracks for Brixton East.
It may well just have been a siding.

I meant that they may have considered extending Brixton East to cover other routes.

It may have been a siding, but it seems strange that they'd bother to build what clearly looks like a structure to support a bridge - and there's no track shown on the Victorian maps.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Dunno.

Most of the photos I can find show the station from the southern side (i.e. with the station structure visible.)

The 1875 map (found via Old Maps then co-ordinates 531500, 175500) seems to show what's now the eastern end of Brixton Station Road as empty space rather than road.

Pure speculation on my part, but this would suggest they had maybe thought about sidings / goods depot of some sort there, but never got as far as constructing it. The establishment of St Catherine's Church (shown on the 1895 map in place of 'temporary church' and the construction of tramway along Gresham Road may have buggered plans up.

As of course might the LCDR's usual state of being short of money.

 

[Balham]

Perhaps it was built not for railway lines but for arches, known as Orphans Yard. Shown on a map.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

I find it hard to imagine that a railway company (especially one as perpetually skint as the LCDR) would have bought additional land and built an additional structure just for a modest income from the arches.

Renting out arches was a way of getting a bit of money for use of space that had to be built anyway.

 

[Balham]

Have a look on Streetview, then turn 180° and you'll see arches in Brixton Station Road also.
There's this, though nothing new . . . Disused Stations .

 

[Crispy]

Have a look on Streetview, then turn 180° and you'll see arches in Brixton Station Road also.

But those ones are back under the active railway. The mystery arches have no tracks on top.

 

[Mumbles274]

My guess would be coal scythes on a siding to a now long gone coal yard?

 

[Balham]

I know Crispy, was there a plan once to build the railway across Barrington Road before someone said "no, let's build Brixton Station Road instead" or was it a plan to make use of spare land?
Perhaps these are the people to contact.

I think that it is just one of those things. The railway owned the land, they built on it, no intention of laying a railway line on it though. Not wide enough, where would it go? Think I'll knock off a note to Southeastern, would they have a history department?

 

[Crispy]

I think that it is just one of those things. The railway owned the land, they built on it, no intention of laying a railway line on it though.

That doesn't make sense. Railway arches are solid masonry. Expensive to build, and designed for carrying tracks.

My guess would be coal scythes on a siding to a now long gone coal yard?

That would make sense if the local coal yard wasn't 200m up the line, across Pope's Road from Brixton Station.

 

[19sixtysix]

There is nothing marked on the London Railway Atlas. There was a coal siding just before the junction to the west.

 

[Mumbles274]

That doesn't make sense. Railway arches are solid masonry. Expensive to build, and designed for carrying tracks.

That would make sense if the local coal yard wasn't 200m up the line, across Pope's Road from Brixton Station.

Fair enough, is it possible there was more than one coal yard in the local area? Seems possible to me that there could be several coal merchants taking delivery by rail in an urban location like that?

 

[ringo]

They only thing I can think of is that it might be connected with the pulling down of fairly new houses and rebuilding of part of Flaxman Road in Victorian times which was something to do with railway lines. Wrong direction, I know, but can't think of anything else in the area.

Aha, I always wondered why the estate I lived on was built when there must have been nice houses there before and no bombs landed on that spot

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Aha, I always wondered why the estate I lived on was built when there must have been nice houses there before and no bombs landed on that spot

No, the new Victorian houses were pulled down and a railway put there and then new Victorian houses built right next to the railway.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Pretty sure I read that in The London Encyclopedia.

 

[Balham]

I have written to Southeastern, goodness knows if they'll reply.

 

[editor]

Fair enough, is it possible there was more than one coal yard in the local area?

It could be but where would the coal staithes have gone in this instance?

 

[Mumbles274]

It could be but where would the coal staithes have gone in this instance?

Was thinking something like this, maybe staithes isntt the right term

 

[editor]

Was thinking something like this, maybe staithes isntt the right term

View attachment 29791

It would have seemed an necessary expense to build an entire bridge for it as well though. They could have located them further back along the embankment.

 

[Mumbles274]

Was there a bridge or is that just a retaining wall?

 

[editor]

Was there a bridge or is that just a retaining wall?

That's what I'm trying to find out, but it would seem quite an extravagance to build a retaining wall for a siding that appeared to have never existed!

 

[Mumbles274]

True. Nice thing to investigate, am not on any model rail forums anymore, if I was am sure some of those guys would know. Been trying to think of sites that might have answers.. Probably more likely to find the info in a book though

 

[Mrs Magpie]

Water tanks for the steam trains?

 

[editor]

Water tanks for the steam trains?

Where? Water tanks generally have to be built above track level.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

I've seen 'em on stilt type arrangements. I know they have to be higher than the track, I'm married to a blind steam buff and have spent decades describing railway features to him!

 

[editor]

I've seen 'em on stilt type arrangements. I know they have to be higher than the track, I'm married to a blind steam buff and have spent decades describing railway features to him!

There's no water tanks on the Victorian maps and I'm not sure why they'd build them on a siding leading to what looks like a bridge.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

I'm working on the assumption that the station is on the other side of the tracks and general stuff to keep trains going tends not to be on the station/platforms.