London Tramlink operates a vehicle from Wimbledon Tram Stop to West Croydon Tram Stop every 10 minutes. Tickets cost £3 - £5 and the journey takes 26 min. Alternatively, you can take a bus from Wimbledon to West Croydon Station via Wimbledon Park, Wimbledon Tennis Club & Museum and Tooting Broadway, St George's Hospital in around 1h 10m. Rome2rio makes travelling from Croydon to Wimbledon easy. Rome2rio is a door-to-door travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. Find all the transport options for your trip from Croydon to Wimbledon right here. 7 images in cluster Wimbledon and West Croydon in TQ2768. Image clustering - assigning images labels - is an automated process, based on the image title/description. It's not totally accurate, and can sometimes assign images to odd clusters. In TQ2768, near Mitcham.
- Wimbledon To West Croydon Line
- Wimbledon To West Croydon Tram Stops
- Wimbledon To West Croydon England
- Wimbledon To West Croydon Sussex
- Wimbledon To East Croydon Tram
- Last Tram From Wimbledon To West Croydon
Notes: From 1809 to 1836 the site of the station was the terminal basin of the Croydon Canal. The canal was drained and became part of the route of the London & Croydon Railway, opening on 5 June 1839 as Croydon. The name was changed to West Croydon in 1851.
With the opening of the Wimbledon - Croydon line a bay was let into the south side of the 'up' platform to accommodate the trains. After closure of the Wimbledon line in 1997 the track in the bay was lifted and fenced as passengers have to walk along the platform to reach the plat form for London. It the past it was not unknown for passengers unfamiliar with the station to board a Wimbledon train when they were expecting to go to central London. Three platforms at West Croydon remain inn use.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WIMBLEDON - WEST CROYDON LINEBefore the coming of the railways the River Wandle was very heavily industrialised with 38 water mills and factories along its short length between Wandsworth and Croydon. As the river was not navigable, the mill owners required a means of transport for their goods so the Surrey Iron Railway was built between Wandsworth and Croydon. This was the earliest public railway in the London area and the first railway to receive parliamentary sanction in 1801. The 4' gauge double track horse drawn iron plateway was built by William Jessop and opened on 26th July 1803. The line was later extended south as the Croydon Merstham and Godstone Railway terminating at underground stone quarries at Merstham.
| The line was never profitable as much of the traffic from Croydon used the Croydon Canal which opened in 1809 terminating at a basin adjacent to the Surrey Iron Railway at what is now West Croydon station. After 1825, the company paid no dividend. Early in 1844 there was a proposal by the London and Brighton to use the former track bed of the Surrey Iron |
It wasn't long before there were further proposals promoted by local interests. One of these was the Mitcham & South Western Junction Railway running from Mitcham Green to the LSWR at Earlsfield. This was opposed by the LSWR but eventually an independent scheme to build a line from Wimbledon to Croydon was approved with the LSWR leasing the line between Wimbledon and Mitcham and the LBSCR leasing the remainder to a junction with its own line at West Croydon. The LSWR eventually pulled out of the scheme and the Wimbledon & Croydon Railway received its act in 1853 with a provision for working arrangements with the LSWR.
The line was built by local Mitcham engineer George Parker Bidder and after two postponements to comply with Board of Trade requirements the line opened on 20 October 1855 with two intermediate stations at Mitcham and Beddington. Although sufficient land had been purchased for double track only single track was laid. The line followed the course of the Surrey Iron Railway from a point just west of Mitcham station to the site of the later Waddon Marsh Halt. There were no major engineering works with the line running on the level for much of its length requiring level crossings over seven public roads. A third intermediate station at Morden opened in March 1857
In a further Act in 1856 the LBSCR secured a 21-year lease to operate the line with authorisation to raise capital to double the track if required. However in 1857 with the prospect of LB & SCR trains running into Wimbledon the LSWR revived their interest and obtained Parliamentary authority in 1857 for joint operation securing the Wimbledon—Mitcham section for the remainder of the lease on the understanding that the Brighton could continue to work into Wimbledon. In 1862 a joint committee was set up to manage the line which was later purchased outright from the W & CR by the LB & SCR on 1st January 1866. The LSWR were offered a half share in the venture but declined only retaining an interested in the section shared with their proposed Wimbledon - Tooting route.
On 1st October 1868, the LB & SCR opened their line from Peckham Rye to Sutton, this cut across Mitcham Common turning sharply to join the W & CR where a new shared station at Mitcham Junction was opened, beyond the station the new line diverged to the south and on towards Sutton.
| The Tooting Merton and Wimbledon Railway also opened on 1st October 1868 from Streatham Junction to Wimbledon, which was approached from two directions by lines diverging at Tooting Junction, one coming into the town from the north-east, the other from the south-east after forming a junction with the Wimbledon & Croydon at Merton. A station called Lower Merton was opened at the junction but this initially only had platforms on the Tooting line although a third platform was later added on the Croydon line opening on 1st November 1870. The Croydon line saw few changes before World War I with 12 trains a day in each direction and one railmotor working. The line between Mitcham and Mitcham Junction had been doubled in March 1879, probably to facilitate the working of goods trains to and from the yard at |
Freight traffic gradually assumed more importance between Mitcham and Croydon were a number of sidings were built of which the most noteworthy was the ‘Waddon Marsh New Siding’ serving Waddon Flour Mills on the north bank of the Wandle, a single line of almost a mile running due south from the Croydon end of Beddington Lane. Near this junction, sidings served gravel pits on both sides of the line, those on the south later rearranged for the British Portland Cement Works, the others for a permanent way depot. Another siding, on the north side, a little nearer Croydon entered a brewery and was followed by another into the Croydon Gas, Commercial & Coke Company’s works at Waddon Marsh, west of the line. After 1920, these works expanded to the east side, requiring another set of sidings. Also on that side was Croydon Power Station, rail-served from about 1925 and with its own internal system. In 1948—50 a second and very large power station (Croydon B) was built on the west side of the W & CR north of the gasworks. This too had a large complex of sidings
During WW1 push-and-pull sets of two side-gangway coaches and Stroudley 0-4-2T were introduced as a wartime economy from 1 November 1918. These were manned by conductor guards who issued tickets to those boarding at what were now unstaffed halts at Merton Park (formerly Lower Merton), Morden and Beddington Lane. The booking office at Merton Park reopened in 1923 but Beddington Lane and Morden Road remained unstaffed.With the opening of the Northern Line extension to Morden on 13th September 1926 passenger revenue form Merton Park, Morden Road (formerly Morden) and Mitcham declined rapidly although through journeys continued to attract a steady patronage. In 1927 there were 14 push-and-pull workings between Wimbledon and West Croydon, one extended to Crystal Palace Low Level, two from Wimbledon to Sutton via Mitcham Junction, and another from Mitcham to Crystal Palace Low Level; a similar service worked down. The line maintained healthy freight traffic, especially around Croydon and Waddon Marsh.In 1930 during the building of the London County Council's 825-acre St. Helier housing estate the contractors, laid an extensive temporary network of flat-bottom rails on cinder ballast to carry materials as required to the building sites, this being connected to the W&CR through a siding at Mitcham goods yard. This rail network which included 30ft bridge over the River Wandle was operated by six locomotives, shedded at a depot about a mile south of Mitcham. It was one of the last examples in southern England of a major public works contract relying on rail-delivered materials which were carried to site over specially-laid lines.
The W&CR also handled the Southern’s own needs for its permanent way depot on the north side of the line near Beddington Lane and for the civil engineer’s depot next to the goods yard at Mitcham.
| Electrification of the Southern's suburban railway network was nearing completion by 1928 and approval was given for electrification of the W & CR on 7th July that year. With the increased frequency of trains after electrification of the line the Southern had to consider how this would affect the handling of the important freight traffic.The existing five booked freight |
As no corridor electric stock was available for conductor-guard operation, 2-car electric sets were made up from redundant side-gangway first class trailers from the LBSCR’s 1909 overhead stock built for the South London line electrification. After conversion and refurbishment at Peckham Rye works into two car multiple units, they were ready to start work on the newly electrified line on 6 July 1930, operating every 20 minutes at peak times, otherwise half-hourly, seven days a week, and sharing the reconstructed platforms 9 and 10 at Wimbledon with the Wimbledon and Sutton service.
On the opening day of electric service, a new halt was added at Waddon Marsh, attached to the south end of the existing signal box, served by a passing loop. Traversing the whole length in just over 16 minutes, the electric trains passed each other on the double track between Mitcham and Mitcham Junction.
Although there were two or three patches of new housing between Morden Road and Mitcham by the end of the 1930s, the rural atmosphere was preserved when the extensive area of Morden Hall Park came under the care of the National Trust. From Mitcham to the Junction many small houses were built between 1927 and 1939 and the general residential growth of the Mitcham area required some improvement to the goods yard in 1936. At Beddington Lane there was a small cluster of new housing close to the station.The mixed land uses and street transport competition stunted the growth of passenger traffic that normally accompanied suburban electrification. The 2-car sets continued to provide ample accommodation for the traffic offering right through to the 1950’s, when they reached the end of their useful life. In 1954 they gave way to BR 2EPB 2-car sets which brought an end to the conductor-guard operation and ticket issuing arrangements were provided at Morden Road while passengers using Waddon Marsh and Beddington Lane were able to buy tickets from the signalmen.
Freight traffic was still quite heavy in the mid-fifties but by the 60's this was in decline. Mitcham yard closed, from 1 May 1967. After the Croydon gasworks closed, there remained until 1973 two or three daily trips bringing coal from Betteshanger Colliery in Kent to Croydon B power station, but in that year a switch was made to Durham coal brought by coastal vessels to Kings-north (Kent) where it was loaded into lorry loads and taken over congested urban roads to Croydon. This left gas oil for the power station’s auxiliary plant as the only regular freight movement.
| The W&CR was early on the list for closure, coming up for the first time in 1951 when it was decided that with freight still important, passenger abandonment did not make much sense, as signaling could not be much reduced so withdrawal of the passenger service would make little difference to operating costs. Instead, there followed a series of economy cuts, starting with |
In common with others on the Southern Region, the halts lost this description in the timetables operative from 5 May 1969. With the drastic reduction in freight, it became possible to work the separate goods line between West Croydon and Beddington as a siding from West Croydon. In 1971 a land slip on the Wimbledon side of the road bridge at Mitcham station resulted in the double track section being cut back to the station and the up platform was taken out of use. BR once again considered closure that year but despite declining passenger numbers there was strong opposition and the line was reprieved after a public enquiry.
A year later, BR issued a poster encouraging people to 'ride the line, which remains a useful link between two important suburban centres.' After October 1991 the last 'slam door' trains were withdrawn from the line which was then worked by modern air door Class 456 units.In 1986 a study was carried out by London Transport and British Rail which covered all of London. From 1990 Croydon Council and London Transport worked to promote a tram network to improve traffic congestion. Public consultations took place during 1991 discussing routes and testing public opinion which resulted in a bill being put before Parliament in November 1991. The Croydon Tramlink Act received Royal Assent on 21st July 1994 giving London Regional Transport the legal power to build and run 'Tramlink'. Three routes were planned, Route 1 running from Elmers End to Wimbledon utilising he entire length of the Wimbledon and West Croydon line.
By this time the line was in a very dilapidated state with little passenger traffic and all the stations covered in graffiti. Closure was announced for 2nd June 1997 with a special service operating on 31st May to cope with the anticipated crowds. This shuttled backwards and forwards all day but even before closure most of the signage had been removed from the stations to deter collectors and the stations took on an air of desolation despite the crowded platforms. The final train was en enthusiasts 'special' which also travelled over the Elmers End - Addicombe branch which also closed on the same day as part of the Tramlink conversion.
| Work on Tramlink had started in January 1997 and was scheduled to be complete for an opening in November 1999. Initially little work was done on the Wimbledon - Croydon line but the track was lifted in the summer of 1998 followed by the demolition of all the stations with the exception of the 'up' platform and original station building at Mitcham and the station building at Merton Park. All the stations were retained as stops on Tramlink with new platforms with the exception of Waddon Marsh where a new site was selected several hundred yards closer to Croydon. A variety of problems with the contractors and numerous legal contracts delayed the opening of the new line. The first tram was delivered in October 1998 to the new depot at Therapia Lane and testing on sections of the Wimbledon line began shortly afterwards. The first tram ran through streets of Croydon on 16th June 1999. |
The official opening finally took place on 10th May 2000 at New Addington when Route 3 opened to the public. Route 2 to Beckenham Junction opened on 23rd May 2000 with the Route 1 from Elmers End to Wimbledon opening a week later on 29th May 2000.
Tickets from Michael Stewart, Brian Halford & Nick Catford (PT)
Sources:
- London's Local Railways by Alan A Jackson - David & Charles 1978 ISBN 0715374796.
- London Railway Record 12 & 13 Connor & Butler
- London's Disused Stations Volume 6 - Connor & Butler 2006 ISBN 978 0 947699 39 2
See other web sites: Transport of Delight for more old pictures of the Wimbledon - West Croydon line and the Unofficial Croydon Tramlink web site
Click on station name for other stations on the Wimbledon - West Croydon line: Merton Park, Morden Road, Mitcham, Beddington Lane & Waddon Marsh
See also the Tooting Merton & Wimbledon Railway: Merton Abbey, Tooting Junction and Haydons Road.
See also the St. Helier Estate Railway
(West Croydon, Mitcham Junction and Haydons Road are still open but are included for completeness)
Welcome to Advantage Wimbledon Motorbike and Scooter training. If you’re looking to ride a scooter or motorbike, pass your CBT test, DAS, A1 or A2 test? Your search is over! Advantage Wimbledon, Tel: 020-8543-5722
We can provide you with your CBT test (Compulsory Basic Training) and DAS (Direct Access Scheme) A1 or A2 training . At Advantage you can learn on scooters and motorcycles , all from our training facility @ 124 Merton High Street, South Wimbledon, London Sw19 1BD. Keeping you safe during Covid-19
Advantage Wimbledon, your choice for Scooter and Motorbike CBT Test Training
Advantage Wimbledon is a small and friendly motorbike and scooter training and test school in South Wimbledon, London SW19. Established in 2002, and licensed as an A.T.B (approved training body) by the D.V.S.A. (Government). We’re here to help you achieve your goals and can provide you with all your motorcycle and scooter training and tests from CBT test (Compulsory Basic Training) to DAS (Direct Access Scheme), A1 and A2 courses.
Professional CBT facilities and service in London
Free secure onsite car parking. Comfortable waiting/rest room with Netflix and Amazon TV. Free Costa’s Coffee and PG tips tea. Toilet facilities both in shop and onsite.
Most motorcycle and scooter training school’s will provide you with the legal minimum (safety helmet) for your training. Here at Advantage Wimbledon are happy to provide you with: Safety Helmet, Armoured Jackets and Trousers, Gloves and Waterproofs for your safety and comfort on all of your training courses and tests. Our shop does have a good range of Helmets, Jackets, Trousers, Boots, Gloves for sale should you wish. (Special offers and discounts available to all training customers).
What will I do on my CBT test Training Course?
Wimbledon To West Croydon Line
When you choose Advantage Wimbledon for your scooter and motorbike CBT test or full licence training in London you can relax, rest assured you are in safe hands. You will receive unrivalled tuition from our instructors in a relaxed, friendly environment. The CBT test training will include, familiarity with all the aspects of your motorbike or scooter and all safety equipment, it will also include explaining the basic safety checks you should complete before starting any journey. Our CBT test begins in Wimbledon, London at 08.15 and finishes at around 17.30, and includes five specific elements that need to be completed in order during the day of your training:
A: The importance of wearing the correct motorcycle safety equipment and clothing.
B: How to carry out motorcycle and scooter safety checks.
Wimbledon To West Croydon Tram Stops
C: Practical off road motorcycle and scooter riding skills.
D: Safe road riding briefing.
E: Minimum of 2 hours of on road instruction.
Once you have completed each of these five stages safely, your CBT test training course is at last complete! Once completed your instructor will issue you with a Compulsory Basic Training Certificate (Form DL196). Well done and congratulations are in order. You can now ride up to 125cc motorbikes or scooters on “L” plates for two years.
What if I don’t pass my CBT Test at Advantage Wimbledon?
The CBT training course is split into five elements. You must complete each element safely and in order to progress onto the next one. At Advantage Wimbledon we have a training guarantee that if you don’t pass your test on the first day then we will give you a second days training at half price. We believe we are the only school in London to include this sort of guarantee on your CBT course.
CBT test or CBT training?
CBT test or CBT training, what is it? Compulsory Basic Training is the full title, shortened down to CBT and it is just that! If you want to ride up-to a 125cc bike you have to complete the course so it’s Compulsory. The basics of safe riding are taught so it’s Basic. Training, it’s a training course and not strictly a CBT test!
So what is a CBT test?
As stated the basic training course is a training course and not a test however …. The CBT certificate is valid for 2 years and once it expires you would need to take the course again! This is where the CBT test can be useful. Granny doesn’t like to be taught to suck eggs and no one wants to have to take a training course they don’t need! When your certificate is about to expire we will send you a reminder (6 weeks notice) so you can renew it for a further 2 years riding.
Wimbledon To West Croydon England
What is a CBT renewal?
Renewing your entitlement to continue riding is easy with Advantage Wimbledon. Here you can renew your entitlement to ride simply and efficiently. A novice would normally take a whole day to complete the course but an experienced rider much less! Advantage can cater to your needs and renew your certificate in a much shorter course saving you time and money.
Client focused CBT course training.
Wimbledon To West Croydon Sussex
Experienced riders are not forced to take a “one size fits all” cbt course here at Advantage. Tailored to your needs, client focused training the renewal is more like a CBT test than a novice training course. No waiting around for your turn to go out on the road, training at a 2:1 ratio. Even if you are renewing you must still complete all the elements.
Wimbledon To East Croydon Tram
How do I get a Full Motorcycle or Scooter licence?
Last Tram From Wimbledon To West Croydon
Once you have passed the CBT London training course you will need to pass the theory test.This is a requirement for all motorbikes and scooters. You can book a motorcycle / scooter theory test on-line or call 0300 200 1122 to book, the nearest theory test centres to Advantage Wimbledon are at: Croydon, Kingston or London Bridge. have a look at our page on Full Motorcycle licence for all the information on getting a full motorbike or scooter licence.