Lewisham

A considerable amount of cross-London freight traffic existed at the time of electrification, much of which worked to and from Hither Green via New Cross, London Bridge, and Blackfriars. However, as a result of electrification, it became increasingly difficult to accommodate these trains on the same tracks as an intensive suburban passenger service. The solution lied with the disused double-track branch line between Nunhead and Greenwich Park; or, at least part of. Originally opened between Nunhead and Blackheath Hill on 18th September 1871, the branch was not completed through to Greenwich until 1888, a form in which it lasted under three decades in operation. Closed to passenger traffic as a wartime economy measure from 1st January 1917, the Greenwich Park branch remained operational thereafter as far as Brockley to serve a coal depot belonging to the Great Northern Railway. In 1927, the SR announced the partial revival of this branch to freight traffic only; the formation of a new loop and flyover at Lewisham would divert the line from its original north easterly course into the Junction station to the south east, where direct connections with North Kent and Mid-Kent Lines would be made. The Lewisham to Greenwich part of the branch would be abandoned and, at least initially, no passenger traffic was planned for the reopened route:

Derelict Railway Line. – It was stated yesterday that the Southern Railway have no intention of reopening the derelict line between Nunhead and Greenwich Park for passenger traffic. The Lewisham Road to Greenwich Park section will be demolished, as the company have applied for Parliamentary powers to construct a new “flyover” loop for goods traffic. [Reynolds’s Illustrated News, 10th April 1927]

The flyover was in the form of an asymmetrical lattice girder bridge, 850 tons of iron and steel construction, which crossed the four curving tracks of the main line between Hither Green and St John’s at an angle. On either side it was supported by brick abutments, and its construction was not without incident:

Rail Crane Collapse

Mass of Metal Tumbles into Boys’ School

A travelling crane of 35 tons collapsed while moving girders at Lewisham Junction for the bridge to carry the new Nunhead-Lewisham loop line. The crane, with assistance from another, had lowered a 45-ton girder into place, and was swinging round when the arm suddenly sagged, broke and fell, carrying the whole framework into the garden of a boys’ school.

An official statement by the Southern Railway states: “The mishap to a travelling crane during the bridging work yesterday caused an obstruction of the up and down main lines between St John’s and Parksbridge Junction. Arrangements are being made to work most of the traffic over the up and down local lines.”

With the aid of acetylene flares a large gang of men worked throughout the night to remove the huge mass of iron. [The Western Morning News and Mercury (Devon), Tuesday, 12th February 1929]

In combination with these works, four-aspect colour lights replaced semaphore signals between New Cross and Blackheath, Hither Green, and Ladywell, all under track circuit control. G. T. Moody noted in his book “Southern Electric 1909 - 1979” that the new signalling came into use on 30th June 1929 (presumably coinciding with the commissioning of the flyover), controlled by then new brick-built mechanical-frame signal boxes at St Johns and Parks Bridge Junction. Colour lights were brought into use between New Cross and Spa Road on 1st December of the same year. Between London Bridge and Parks Bridge Junction, cabins at North Kent East Junction (where North Kent and Greenwich lines diverged) and St Johns were the only intermediate signal boxes after the 1929 scheme.

As part of the 1929 works, the suffix “Junction” was dropped from the station name boards, the site thereafter being known as plain “Lewisham”. Based on your author’s own observations, the ornate timber canopies on platform Nos. 1 and 2 were replaced by plain riveted metal types, similar in style to those the SR commissioned at Herne Bay and Ramsgate in 1926. To add to an already eventful 1929, the electricity substation at Lewisham caught alight:

Lewisham Station Blaze

An electrical rotary converter at the English Southern Railway’s sub-power station at Jerrard Street, Lewisham, exploded with considerable force late on Friday night. The converter, which is used for supplying power to the railway, was completely burnt out and some damage was done to the building, while trains through Lewisham Junction were delayed for about half-an-hour. No one was injured. [Belfast Telegraph, Saturday, 28th September 1929]

When the Nunhead to Lewisham connection was originally put forward by the SR in 1927, the company stated that there was no intention to run a passenger service over the route, hence the lack of third rail when it opened in 1929. By the mid-1930s, the mood had changed; electrification had put increased pressure on terminals at Charing Cross and Cannon Street, and the Nunhead line was seen as the answer to divert some peak hour suburban services from Sidcup and Bexleyheath lines to St Paul’s ("Blackfriars" from 1st February 1937). The newly-electrified stretch was deemed operational from 30th September 1935:

More Southern Electrification

Two more sections of the Southern Railway which have been electrified at a cost of £233,000 [£14,510,000 at 2019 prices] were brought into use on Monday. These are a loop at Lewisham Junction connecting the Charing Cross-Dartford line with that from Victoria and St Paul’s to Nunhead and Catford, and the line from Woodside to Sanderstead via Addiscombe and Selsdon.

The length of line electrified in these two areas is only 1½ route miles for the Lewisham Loop and 3 route miles for the Woodside to Sanderstead line (three and six track miles respectively), but the importance of the electrification and the effect on traffic will be out of all proportion to the length of the lines, and this particularly applies in the case of the electrification of the Lewisham loop line.

It will now be possible to run electric trains from Bexley Heath and Dartford loop lines into St Paul’s Station, this relieving the pressure of the services to and from Charing Cross and Cannon Street. [Worthing Gazette, Wednesday, 2nd October 1935]

From 16th October 1939, rush-hour passenger services from Holborn Viaduct and Blackfriars to Dartford via Nunhead were withdrawn as a result of an emergency timetable coming into use after the outbreak of war. These services were not restarted until 12th August 1946.

March 1981

BR-designed 4 EPB No. 5347 trundles into Platform 3 with a semi-fast Charing Cross service from Gillingham, via Woolwich. It is evident that canopy valances on both platform Nos. 3 and 4 have been cut back. © David Glasspool Collection

1992

"Amey Roadstone Corporation" (ARC) Class 59 No. 59102 rounds the curve beside platform 1, hauling empty aggregate hoppers from Allington Siding, near Maidstone, to Acton Yard, West London. The sides of the huge waiting shelter on platform 1 are of tongue-and-groove timber construction, but its canopy valance is fabricated from riveted metal. © David Glasspool Collection

27th January 2007

The main building was constructed for the opening of the Mid-Kent Line on 1st January 1857. Typical SER features include the arched window frames, yellow brickwork, and stone lining. The canopy has indeed been simplified; formerly, a valance identical to that still in evidence at Blackheath was present. © David Glasspool

<< Previous Next >>