Southern Heights Light Railway

The Southern Heights Light Railway was to have been a railway between Orpington, Kent and Sanderstead, Surrey. It was authorised in 1925, but ultimately not constructed. The engineer was to have been H. F. Stephens and the line was to have been constructed under the Light Railways Act 1896.

Southern Heights Light Railway
0 mi 0 ch (0.00 km) Orpington
/ South Eastern Main Line
1 mi 7 ch (1.75 km) Green Street Green for Farnborough
3 mi 5 ch (4.93 km) Downe and Keston
5 mi 14 ch (8.33 km) Cudham and Biggin Hill
6 mi 11 ch (9.88 km) Westerham Hill
Kent
Surrey
8 mi 9 ch (13.06 km) Tatsfield
11 mi 44 ch (18.59 km) Chelsham for Warlingham
12 mi 5 ch (19.41 km) Hamsey Green
14 mi 12 ch (22.77 km) Mitchley Wood
15 mi 64 ch (25.43 km) Sanderstead
/ Oxted Line
Station distances are from Orpington,
which is 13 mi 65 ch (22.23 km) from
London Charing Cross

Southern Heights Light Railway
Overview
LocaleKent and Surrey, United Kingdom
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (proposed)
ElectrificationThird rail (proposed)
Length15 miles 64 chains (25.43 km) (proposed)

History

The Southern Heights Light Railway was proposed in the mid 1920s. Colonel H. F. Stephens was the engineer.[1] The line was first mentioned in March 1925 when an inquiry into the proposed line was held at Orpington, Kent. The railway was to have cost £511,148 to build, or about £40,000 per mile.[2] It was to have been a single track railway constructed across the North Downs.[1] The Light Railway Order was granted on 29 December 1928. In a departure from Stephens' usual practice, there were to have been no level crossings at all on the line, which would have required 23 bridges to have been built. Construction of the line would have required the excavation of 631,000 cubic yards (482,000 m3) of material.[3] In January 1931, authorisation was sought to deviate from the authorised route in an effort to reduce construction costs by £17,245. The line was to have taken a different route in Cudham, Tatsfield and Titsey, on the Kent/Surrey border.[4]

The line was to have been electrified by the third rail system. It was to have been operated by the Southern Railway.[5] Passenger trains would have been operated by electric multiple units, with steam locomotives handling freight trains. The scheme was dropped in the 1930s.[6]

Stations

The proposed line would have served eight stations between Orpington and Sanderstead.[7]

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References
  1. Glover 2001, p. 109.
  2. "Southern Heights Light Railway". The Times (44212). London. 5 March 1926. col A, p. 11.
  3. "Southern Heights Railway". The Times (45098). London. 11 January 1929. col D, p. 9.
  4. "Southern Heights Railway". The Times (45717). London. 10 January 1931. col C, p. 12.
  5. Klapper, Charles. "Some English Railway Might-Have-Beens" (PDF). RCHS Journal. Railway and Canal Historical Society (May 2004): 433. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  6. "The Southern Heights Light Railway". Chelsham Bus Garage. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  7. "Southern Heights Light Railway". Railwaycodes. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
Sources
  • Glover, John (2001). Southern Electric. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-2807-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
  • "The Southern Heights Light Railway". Backtrack. Atlantic Publishing. Volume 13, Number 5 (May 1999).
  • "The Southern Heights Light Railway". The London Railway Record. Connor & Butler Ltd (Issue 33). October 2002.

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