London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

1920 map of the railway
The LB&SCR armorial device[note 1]
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length	457 miles 20 chains (735.9 km) (1919)[1]
Track length	1,264 miles 32 chains (2,034.9 km) (1919)[1]

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton)) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey. It was bounded on its western side by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR), which provided an alternative route to Portsmouth. On its eastern side the LB&SCR was bounded by the South Eastern Railway (SER)—later one component of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR)—which provided an alternative route to Bexhill, St Leonards-on-Sea, and Hastings. The LB&SCR had the most direct routes from London to the south coast seaside resorts of Brighton, Eastbourne, Worthing, Littlehampton and Bognor Regis, and to the ports of Newhaven and Shoreham-by-Sea. It served the inland towns and cities of Chichester, Horsham, East Grinstead and Lewes, and jointly served Croydon, Tunbridge Wells (preserved as the Spa Valley Railway), Dorking and Guildford. At the London end was a complicated suburban and outer-suburban network of lines emanating from London Bridge and Victoria, and shared interests in two cross-London lines.

The LB&SCR was formed by a merger of five companies in 1846, and merged with the L&SWR, the SE&CR and several minor railway companies in southern England under the Railways Act 1921 to form the Southern Railway from 1 January 1923.

Origins of the company

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) was formed by an act of Parliament, the London and Brighton Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cclxxxii),on 27 July, through the amalgamation of a number of railway companies:

• The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR), created in 1836 and opened in 1839.
• The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR), created in 1837 and opened in 1841.
• The Brighton and Chichester Railway, created in 1844 and opened in stages between November 1845 and June 1846, with an extension to Havant under construction at the time of amalgamation.
• The Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway, created in February 1844, opened in June 1846.
• The Croydon and Epsom Railway, created in July 1844, under construction at the time of amalgamation.

Only the first two were independent operating railways: the Brighton and Chichester and the Brighton, Lewes and Hastings had been purchased by the L&BR in 1845,^[2] and the Croydon and Epsom was largely owned by the L&CR.)

The amalgamation was brought about, against the wishes of the boards of directors of the companies, by shareholders in the L&CR and L&BR who were dissatisfied with the early returns from their investments.^[3]

The LB&SCR existed for 76 years until 31 December 1922, when it was wound up as a result of the Railways Act 1921 and merged with the London and South Western Railway and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway to form the Southern Railway.

Original routes

(Dates of opening from F. Burtt The Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1839–1903.^[4])

At the time of its creation the LB&SCR had around 170 route miles (274 km) in existence or under construction, consisting of three main routes and a number of branches.

The main line to Brighton from London Bridge opened in 1841. The sections between Corbett's Lane (New Cross) and London Bridge and between Croydon and Redhill were shared with the South Eastern Railway (SER). There were two branch lines under construction at the time of the amalgamation: the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines from Croydon to Epsom (opened 10 May 1847), and the Arun Valley Line from Three Bridges to Horsham (opened 14 February 1848).

The West Sussex coast line originated with a branch line from Brighton to Shoreham, opened 12 May 1840. This had been extended to Chichester by the time of the amalgamation, and a further extension to Havant was under construction (opened 15 March 1847), with the ultimate aim of extending the line to Portsmouth.

The East Sussex coast line from Brighton to Lewes and St Leonards-on-Sea, with running powers over the SER to Hastings, opened 27 June 1846, one month before the amalgamation, with branches to Newhaven (opened 8 December 1847), Eastbourne and Hailsham (opened 14 May 1849). A connecting spur from the Brighton main line at Keymer Junction near Haywards Heath to the Brighton–Lewes line was under construction at the time of amalgamation, opening in October 1847.

A short line from New Cross to Deptford Wharf, proposed by the L&CR, was approved in July 1846, shortly before amalgamation, but was not opened until 2 July 1849. The use of this line for passengers would have contravened the recently negotiated agreement with the SER that the LB&SCR would not operate lines to the east of its main line, and it was restricted to goods.^[5] A short branch from this line to the nearby Surrey Commercial Docks in Rotherhithe opened in July 1855.^[6]

London stations

The main London terminus was the L&CR station at London Bridge, built by the London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) in 1836, and exchanged for the original L&CR station in 1842. For the first few years of its existence, LB&SCR trains used the L&GR lines from Corbett's Lane into London, but by 1849 the viaducts had been widened sufficiently for its own tracks.^[7]

The LB&SCR inherited from the L&CR running powers to the smaller SER passenger terminus at Bricklayers Arms. Poorly sited for passengers, it closed in 1852 and was converted into a goods station.

The LB&SCR owned three stations at Croydon, later East Croydon (former L&BR) Central Croydon and West Croydon (former L&CR).

Atmospheric lines

The L&CR had been partially operated by the atmospheric principle between Croydon and Forest Hill, as the first phase of a scheme to use this mode of operation between London and Epsom. However, following a number of technical problems, the LB&SCR abandoned atmospheric operation in May 1847. This enabled it to build its own lines into London Bridge, and have its own independent station there, by 1849.

The history of the LB&SCR can be studied in five distinct periods.

Relations with neighbouring railways, and the beginnings of expansion 1846–1859

The LB&SCR was formed at the same time as the bursting of the railway mania investment bubble, and so it found raising capital for expansion extremely difficult during the first years of its operation, other than to complete those projects that were already in hand. The L&BR had experienced difficult relations with the SER where the companies shared facilities, notably at Redhill and Hastings and on the approaches to London Bridge). In October 1849 the SER acquired the new Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR) line, which the LB&SCR regarded as a major incursion into its territory. However, the LB&SCR had one important playing card not available to the L&BR—control of the SER main line between New Cross and Croydon. In 1849 the LB&SCR appointed a new and capable chairman, Samuel Laing, who negotiated a formal agreement with the SER that would resolve their difficulties for the time being and would define the territories of the two railways. Under this agreement the LB&SCR would have free access to London Bridge, Bricklayers Arms station and goods yard, and Hastings. The SER would have free use of the New Cross to Croydon line, and receive revenues from passengers at intermediate stations, but would not make or work competing lines to Brighton, Horsham, Chichester or Portsmouth.^[8]

In 1847 the naval dockyard of Portsmouth was being approached by two equally indirect routes from London, both under construction: a L&SWR route via Fareham and the former Brighton and Chichester Railway route from Havant. The two companies entered into an agreement in that year to share a line from Cosham on the mainland to Portsea Island, ending at the centre of Portsmouth town. Further progress towards the dockyard was prevented by Admiralty objections.^[9] The LB&SCR began its services between Chichester and Portsmouth, on 14 June 1847, and the L&SWR from Fareham in October 1848.

In 1853 the Direct Portsmouth Railway gained parliamentary authority to build a line from Godalming to Havant with the intention of the company selling itself either to the L&SWR or the LB&SCR. This scheme would provide a far more direct route to Portsmouth but involved sharing the LB&SCR tracks for the five miles (8 km) between Havant and the joint line to Portsea.^[10] The LB&SCR objected to the scheme but the L&SWR negotiated with the new company and in December 1858 sought to operate a train over the new route. The LB&SCR attempted to prevent the use of its tracks and the so-called 'battle of Havant' ensued. The matter was eventually resolved in the courts in August 1859, and relations between the railways were formalized in agreements of 1860 and 1862.^[11]

Samuel Laing had also approved a modest degree of expansion elsewhere, most notably the acquisition of a branch line from the main line at Three Bridges to the market town of East Grinstead in July 1855.^[9]

Crystal Palace Branch

Some of the directors of the LB&SCR were closely involved with the company that purchased The Crystal Palace after the completion of The Great Exhibition in October 1851 and arranged for its removal to a site on Sydenham Hill, close to the London to Brighton main line, which they purchased from Leo Schuster. The Crystal Palace became a major tourist attraction and the LB&SCR built a branch line from Sydenham to the new site, which was opened in June 1854, and enlarged London Bridge station to handle the additional traffic. The attraction proved to be an enormous success with 10,000 passengers conveyed daily to and from the new branch.^[12] On one day in 1859, 112,000 people were conveyed to Crystal Place by train, 70,000 of which from London Bridge.^[13]

Rapid expansion 1856–1866

Samuel Laing retired as chairman at the end of 1855 to pursue a political career, and was replaced by the merchant banker Leo Schuster, who had previously sold his 300-acre (120 ha) estate on Sydenham Hill to the new Crystal Palace Company.^[14] Schuster instituted a policy of rapidly expanding the route mileage of the railway with new routes throughout south London, Sussex, and east Surrey. Some of these were financed and built by the LB&SCR, others by independent local companies set up with the intention of connecting a town to the railway network with the intention of sale or lease to the LB&SCR. Schuster accelerated the rate of mileage increase after appointing Frederick Banister as Chief Engineer in 1860. As a result, a further 177 miles (285 km) were constructed or authorised between 1857 and 1865.^[15]

West End of London

Schuster also encouraged an independent concern, the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway (WEL&CPR), to construct a new line extending in a wide arc round south London from the LB&SCR Crystal Palace branch to Wandsworth in 1856 and to Battersea in 1858 with a temporary terminus at Battersea Pier. Shortly after this line was completed, the LB&SCR leased it from the WEL&CPR and incorporated it into its system.

Between 1858 and 1860 the LB&SCR was a major shareholder in the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway (VS&PR), together with the East Kent Railway (later the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR)), the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the London & North Western Railway (LNWR). This enterprise constructed the Grosvenor Bridge over the River Thames at Battersea and the line to the Victoria Station, thereby creating a through (albeit roundabout) route from its main line near Croydon to a terminus in the West End of London. Following the acquisition of the WEL&CPR, a new 'cut-off' line between Windmill Bridge Junction (Norwood) and Balham was constructed during 1861 and 1862, which had the effect of reducing the distance from East Croydon to Victoria.

New lines in South London

The VS&PR line was also connected with another joint venture the West London Extension Joint Railway, jointly financed by the LB&SCR, L&SWR, GWR and the L&NWR, to permit goods transfers between the companies and cross-London passenger trains. This line was opened in 1863, and in the same year the LB&SCR and L&SWR jointly opened a large interchange station named Clapham Junction. The LB&SCR also operated passenger trains between Clapham Junction and Addison Road.

The West Croydon to Wimbledon Line was built as an independent railway joining the LB&SCR and the L&SWR main lines and opened in October 1855. For a few months it was operated under contract by its engineer George Parker Bidder but in 1856 it was leased to the LB&SCR who purchased it in 1858.^[16]

At the same time, the LB&SCR was cooperating with the LC&DR to create the South London line between its terminuses at London Bridge and Victoria. The LC&DR was used from Victoria to Brixton, followed by new construction by the LB&SCR through Denmark Hill, and Peckham to the main line to London Bridge at South Bermondsey.^[17]

New lines in Sussex

During 1858, a branch line was built from Lewes to Uckfield, extended to Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells in 1868. In 1864 the Newhaven branch was extended to Seaford. The East Grinstead line was extended in 1866 to Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells. A large area in East Sussex between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne remained without railways, and the LB&SCR was anxious in case the SER should venture into this territory. As a result, in 1864 it sought powers to build a line between these two towns. It also obtained powers for the Ouse Valley Railway, from the south of Balcombe and north of Haywards Heath on the Brighton main line to Uckfield and Hailsham; an extension to St Leonards was also approved in May 1865. However, some work had been carried out by the end of 1866, but not completed.

In West Sussex the Horsham branch was extended to Pulborough and Petworth in 1859. In 1861 a line was built from near Horsham to Shoreham, providing a direct link to Brighton. Branches were built from the West Sussex coast line to Littlehampton in 1863, to connect with a new cross-channel ferry service, to Bognor Regis in 1864, and to Hayling Island in 1867.^[18] The line from Havant to Hayling had been built by the Hayling Railway, but it was leased to the LB&SCR in 1874.^[19]

Following the 1862 agreement with the L&SWR, a line was built from near Pulborough to a junction with the West Sussex coast line near Ford in 1863. This provided a shorter LB&SCR route from London to Portsmouth via Three Bridges and Horsham.^[20] Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=London,_Brighton_&_South_Coast_Railway
Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších podmienok. Podrobnejšie informácie nájdete na stránke Podmienky použitia.