Addiscombe Line

Addiscombe Line
Mid-Kent line to Lewisham Elmers End Mid-Kent line to Hayes Woodside Woodside & Sth Croydon Rly to Sanderstead Addiscombe Sidings Addiscombe

Woodside tramstop looking south

A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around the Addiscombe Line.

The Addiscombe Line in south east London, United Kingdom ran between Elmers End (London Borough of Bromley) and Addiscombe (London Borough of Croydon).

The line was built by the South Eastern Railway (SER) as part of its extensive competition with London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR). The line was electrified by the Southern Railway in February 1926 at 660 V (later 750 V) DC third rail. The line between Woodside and Selsdon reopened in 1935 with electrification.

In 1983 the line from Woodside to Selsdon was closed and the following year Woodside signal box was abolished. By the early 1990s the line went into decline starting with the closure of the carriage depot at Addiscombe in 1993. Shortly afterwards the stations at Addiscombe and Woodside became unstaffed. In 1996 the line was reduced from double to single track following Addiscombe signal box being destroyed by fire. The line permanently closed in 1997 for Tramlink construction from Elmers End and Beckenham Junction to Wimbledon.

The track was removed in 1998 and Addiscombe station was demolished in 2001. The route between Woodside and Addiscombe has now become Addiscombe Railway Park and the site of Addiscombe station has become East India Way housing development.

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