East Brixton station (formerly Lougborough Park): abandoned station off Coldharbour Lane
- Thread starter editor
- Start date
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
It's definitely meant to be Medusa, but the signwriter did Medussa. I know a couple of people who have worked there, including a guy who did a lot of the woodwork.
Is it still open? I haven't seen anything advertised there for ages, and I know that they had an ongoing battle with the council over licencing and noise issues.
I always got the impression that they didn't quite have all the proper legalities in place to be a public nightclub, and were trying to get around the rules by claiming that events were "private parties" etc.
Giles..
I always got the impression that they didn't quite have all the proper legalities in place to be a public nightclub, and were trying to get around the rules by claiming that events were "private parties" etc.
Giles..
PacificOcean
Unhinged User
Why did the close it in the first place? Something to do with the Victoria Line opening I assume?
oryx
Sitting on the bok of the day
Donna Ferentes said:
They've still got wooden platforms at Queenstown Road & Battersea Park stations (though I'm not sure if they are still in use). I think they date from the same era as East Brixton.
Interesting pictures & article, editor.
It's a shame it's not re-opened, as it would be a useful link & would take pressure off the buses & Victoria Line - although maybe the site has changed, structurally, too much.
davesgcr
Reading books
Note the signals in the before and after shots have gone from 3 aspect to 4 aspect - ie greater capacity reinstalled when the route was resignalled in 1984. Technical detail I know.
I think it closed due to collapsing traffic levels and the cost of repair to the platforms etc - remember in 1975 - BR was on a tight budget and the priorities given to the Southern Region were to spend virtually nothing on inner suburban areas as overall traffic was falling and what little growth (then) was in the outer stretches.Come the evil day when the bridge examiner said it needed expenditure - then the case was made for closure.To be fair - the attractiveness of a 30 min service in an urban area was pretty low - I wold not think there is any hope of it repeoning due to cost and the huge pressure on the routes through Brixton into Victoria.
The whole timetable incidentally is "fixed" on the junctions near Canterbury Road - (as well as Herne Hill) and such is the pressure - even a 20 second saving on the "Atlantic and South London lines" - would be very welcome.
I think it closed due to collapsing traffic levels and the cost of repair to the platforms etc - remember in 1975 - BR was on a tight budget and the priorities given to the Southern Region were to spend virtually nothing on inner suburban areas as overall traffic was falling and what little growth (then) was in the outer stretches.Come the evil day when the bridge examiner said it needed expenditure - then the case was made for closure.To be fair - the attractiveness of a 30 min service in an urban area was pretty low - I wold not think there is any hope of it repeoning due to cost and the huge pressure on the routes through Brixton into Victoria.
The whole timetable incidentally is "fixed" on the junctions near Canterbury Road - (as well as Herne Hill) and such is the pressure - even a 20 second saving on the "Atlantic and South London lines" - would be very welcome.
davesgcr
Reading books
You have made me get my Southern Region Track Plan book out now !
Camberwell Station was at Milepost 3.06 (from Blackfriars) - the Elephant Stn is 1.47m and Loughborough Jct is 3.48.There are 2 viaducts called Station Rd viaduct and Camberwell St viaduct - I think it closed in 1926 when the first colour light resignalling took place into Cannon St / Holborn Viaduct - even then - tram and bus competition slaughtered inner London stations. The railways were trying to be comptetive by quicker journeys into the City. "Southern Electric - fast , frequent trains to all parts"
Lost in the same cull were Blue Anchor (3.31m from Charing Cross) and Spa Road (2.71) - between London Bridge and Deptford via Greenwich.Tram and bus competition on the Old Kent Rd in this case.
East Brixton was on the up and down Catford loop lines between Canterbury Rd Jct and Cambria Jct - Canterbury Rd takes you from Victoria - via Brixton to Blackfriars - whilst Cambria faces west and takes you from Denmark Hill to Blackfriars etc.
A very complicated piece of railway to plan and operate - one that takes years of experience to understand - the interactions are complex with flat junctions all over the place.
Camberwell Station was at Milepost 3.06 (from Blackfriars) - the Elephant Stn is 1.47m and Loughborough Jct is 3.48.There are 2 viaducts called Station Rd viaduct and Camberwell St viaduct - I think it closed in 1926 when the first colour light resignalling took place into Cannon St / Holborn Viaduct - even then - tram and bus competition slaughtered inner London stations. The railways were trying to be comptetive by quicker journeys into the City. "Southern Electric - fast , frequent trains to all parts"
Lost in the same cull were Blue Anchor (3.31m from Charing Cross) and Spa Road (2.71) - between London Bridge and Deptford via Greenwich.Tram and bus competition on the Old Kent Rd in this case.
East Brixton was on the up and down Catford loop lines between Canterbury Rd Jct and Cambria Jct - Canterbury Rd takes you from Victoria - via Brixton to Blackfriars - whilst Cambria faces west and takes you from Denmark Hill to Blackfriars etc.
A very complicated piece of railway to plan and operate - one that takes years of experience to understand - the interactions are complex with flat junctions all over the place.
Very interesting.
I really hope that once the Eurostars start running into St Pancras, we get a more frequent service on the Victoria to Orpington line. Our part of South London has been neglected in the recent increase in services into and out of Victoria and London Bridge.
In addition, Camberwell could desperately do with a station on the Blackfriars to Herne Hill line .... might reduce the traffic along Walworth Road as well. Interesting to hear that there used to be one.
I really hope that once the Eurostars start running into St Pancras, we get a more frequent service on the Victoria to Orpington line. Our part of South London has been neglected in the recent increase in services into and out of Victoria and London Bridge.
In addition, Camberwell could desperately do with a station on the Blackfriars to Herne Hill line .... might reduce the traffic along Walworth Road as well. Interesting to hear that there used to be one.
prunus
Tick tock.
aylee said:
It was here:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.s...=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf
You can see where it was on the aerial photo - where the track separates and there is now greenery in the middle where the platforms were.
There was also another station between Loughborough Junction and Elephant at Walworth, here:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.s...=4&ar=Y&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf
- again you can see the space where it was, although it's much harder to see from the train - you can just make out where the stairs were (are?) although they are all blocked up now.
I see them most days!
prunus said:
Must check this out!!!
I'd like to see if there's any external traces just off John Ruskin St. Would be only a minor diversion en route to the Beehive (SE17) from my flat ...
prunus
Tick tock.
This thread piqued my interest again enough to go googling about, and I found this:
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/l/loughborough_junction/index.shtml
- Look at the cool photo of Loughborough Junction in its heyday (first photo on page)! 'To The West End'!, 'To The City'!
Can anyone work out the modern angle equivalent for the photo? It's not clear enough for me. Like the bonnets though.
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/l/loughborough_junction/index.shtml
- Look at the cool photo of Loughborough Junction in its heyday (first photo on page)! 'To The West End'!, 'To The City'!
Can anyone work out the modern angle equivalent for the photo? It's not clear enough for me. Like the bonnets though.
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
Walworth station
Before the arrival of electric trams it was a very busy station
1876 cartoon
William of Walworth said:Must check this out!!!
I'd like to see if there's any external traces just off John Ruskin St. Would be only a minor diversion en route to the Beehive (SE17) from my flat ...
Before the arrival of electric trams it was a very busy station
1876 cartoon
PacificOcean
Unhinged User
prunus said:
It's looking up Loughborough Road from Hinton Road on the junction with Coldharbour Lane. Looking at that old photo that little newsagents would be on the right. Don't forget that it's all estates up that road now so the photo looks nothing like what it does now.
davesgcr
Reading books
When the Eurostars come off (April 07) - then there will be something like 4 slots an hour released on the Brixton - Orpington section (much of which is 2 track of course) - plus a lot more flexibilty in timetabling over the junctions at Herne Hill (from Blackfriars and towards Tulse Hill & Streatham)
My best guess is that the first call for extra trains will be on the Thameslink routes which have bad crowding in the peaks - though outer suburban off Kent will also be recast with the inveitable chance for a better service pattern further in .
South London suburban generally is growing fast and there are some cunning plans being worked on now to (a) reduce overcrowding (b) get a better overall plan as there are bits which have less peak services than off peak because of the junction bottlenecks at Herne Hill / Tulse Hill and the Thameslink conundrums.
Trust me - there are some good folk out there using their train planning skills !l
My best guess is that the first call for extra trains will be on the Thameslink routes which have bad crowding in the peaks - though outer suburban off Kent will also be recast with the inveitable chance for a better service pattern further in .
South London suburban generally is growing fast and there are some cunning plans being worked on now to (a) reduce overcrowding (b) get a better overall plan as there are bits which have less peak services than off peak because of the junction bottlenecks at Herne Hill / Tulse Hill and the Thameslink conundrums.
Trust me - there are some good folk out there using their train planning skills !l
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
[anorak mode]Part of a housing development on Flaxman Road had to be demolished to make way for the railway viaduct at Loughborough Junction about 4 years after it was built. Also that viaduct is the longest in the world AND the bit where it branches off towards Denmark Hill is the tightest curve on a railway in the UK [/anorak mode]
oryx
Sitting on the bok of the day
Mrs Magpie said:
Over the last few years I have started to get really interested in this sort of thing. I have got to the stage where I want to take a camera down to Queenstown Road station to record the wooden platform & also the ancient booking hall complete with 50s British Rail signs (the sort of three stretched ovals on top of each other, which was superseded by the parallel lines with zigzags 
). When I pull into a station I look for really old trains in the sidings.Maybe I misspent my teen years NOT trainspotting!
(My brother's best mate was an inveterate trainspotter & went on to become head archivist at the Railway Museum, always said they should film his life & call it "Smack". <coat got & everything>)
supercity
Back, and readjusting
Cor, this discussion's getting intriguingly technical.
I've got a more basic question: why is it that the trains from Brixton overground terminate at Victoria? I've always thought that if Waterloo-bound trains made a stop at Brixton, more people would use the overground. Never understood why it replicates the underground route. Be handy for the West End, too.
I've got a more basic question: why is it that the trains from Brixton overground terminate at Victoria? I've always thought that if Waterloo-bound trains made a stop at Brixton, more people would use the overground. Never understood why it replicates the underground route. Be handy for the West End, too.
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
Mrs Magpie said:
World
Possibly the longest brick viaduct in Europe?
According to Wikipedia (no source cited) The London Chatham & Dover Railway's main civil engineering achievements included:
BUT I thought the original 1836 London to Greenwich railway (now the track from London Bridge to just beyond Deptford Creek) still held the record for longest single viaduct with 978 arches covering something approaching four miles.
I know the Thameslinks are slow but is it really that far from Blackfriars to LJ.
[rustles anorak and awaits arrival of Isambard]
editor
hiraethified
I thought Stockport's viaduct was the largest brick viaduct in Europe:lang rabbie said:
http://www.stockport.gov.uk/content.../buildingsandstructures/railwayviaduct?a=5441
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/ic7/49text.html
Facts!
At 111 feet or 33.85 metres high, Stockport's railway viaduct is Western Europe's biggest brick structure and represents a major feat of Victorian engineering.
Eleven million bricks were used in its construction - if laid end to end they would stretch 1,500 miles! At one stage, 600 workers were employed in shifts, day and night, to the complete the massive structure.
PacificOcean
Unhinged User
editor said:
It really is incredible in the flesh too. It's very high and very long. I was there at the weekend. It's amazing to think they built that in the 19th Century.
