Battersea railway station

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Battersea
Site of Battersea Station (West London Extension Railway) - geograph.org.uk - 1772392.jpg
Site of Battersea railway station in 1962
Location Battersea
Owner West London Extension Railway
Key dates
1863 (1863)Opened
1940 (1940)Closed
Other information
Underground sign at Westminster.jpg London transportportal
A 1912 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Battersea railway station Clapham Junction, Stewarts Lane, Lavender Hill & Longhedge RJD 17.jpg
A 1912 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Battersea railway station

Battersea was a railway station on the West London Extension Railway located on Battersea High Street in Battersea, south-west London. Built at the request of the parishioners of Battersea, [1] it opened on 2 March 1863. [2] To prevent overloading the embankment, it was built of wood, with brick pillars under the platforms and structures, but was laid with broad gauge track, because the WLER carried GWR trains. [3] It closed on 14 September 1940 [2] or 21 October 1940 [4] after air raid damage during the Blitz of World War II. [5]

The station was south of Battersea Railway Bridge, at the end of the now pedestrianised area of Battersea High Street by the junction with Simpson Street. It was demolished after closure and no remains are visible today. The site, and an access route from Gwynne Road, continue to remain the property of Network Rail, allowing for potential reconstruction should the need arise in future.

It should not be confused with another station originally opened as "Battersea" on 1 October 1860 (along with Victoria station), but was renamed on 1 July 1862 to "Battersea Park", and located on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, adjacent to the pier on the south bank of the River Thames, next to Victoria Railway Bridge. It closed on 1 November 1870. [2]

See also

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The Battersea Park rail crash occurred on 2 April 1937, just south of Battersea Park railway station on the Southern Railway, in London, England. Two electrically driven passenger trains collided on the Up Local line; the second train, from Coulsdon North to Victoria, had been allowed into the section while it was still occupied by the first train, from London Bridge to Victoria. The signalman at Battersea Park, G. F. Childs, believing there was a fault with the Sykes electromechanical interlocking apparatus which was installed at the box, had opened up the case of the instrument and inadvertently cleared the interlock which should have prevented this situation. The official enquiry ruled that he subsequently accepted the Coulsdon train, although he should have been aware that the London Bridge train had not cleared the section. Ten people were killed, including the guard of the London Bridge train, and eighty people were injured, seven sustaining serious injuries. Another accident had occurred at Battersea Park in 1881.

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References

  1. Sherwood 1994, p. 67.
  2. 1 2 3 Quick 2023, p. 72.
  3. Sherwood 1994, p. 67–68.
  4. Sherwood 1994, p. 92.
  5. Faulkner 1991, p. 100.

Sources

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Clapham Junction   West London Line
1863-1940
  Chelsea & Fulham
Waterloo   London and South Western Railway
1869-1916
  Chelsea & Fulham

51°28′17″N0°10′20″W / 51.47152°N 0.17219°W / 51.47152; -0.17219