Merton Park railway station

For the Merton Park station proposed by the Wimbledon & Sutton Railway, see South Merton railway station.

Merton Park
The station just before closure in 1997
Merton Park Location of Merton Park in Greater London
Location	Merton Park
Local authority	Merton
Owner	Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway
Number of platforms	3
Key dates
1 October 1868 (1868-10-01)	Opened
2 June 1997 (1997-06-02)	Closed
Replaced by	Merton Park tram stop
Other information
Coordinates	51°24′48″N0°12′02″W / 51.4134°N 0.2006°W / 51.4134; -0.2006
London transportportal

Merton Park railway station was a former railway station in Merton Park, then part of Surrey and now within the London Borough of Merton, England. Opened on 1 October 1868 by the Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway as Lower Merton, it was renamed Merton Park in 1887. The station lay at a junction with the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line and served both passenger and freight traffic.

Passenger services ended in May 1997, and the site was later incorporated into the Tramlink network. The original station building remains and has been converted into a private residence.

History

A 1912 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Merton Park station, including the Merton Branch

The station opened as part of the newly constructed Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway on 1 October 1868 at the junction with the existing West Croydon to Wimbledon Line. Initially named Lower Merton, it was renamed Merton Park on 1 September 1887. ^[1]

Two platforms served the new line via Merton Abbey to Tooting Junction station, with a third entering service on 1 November 1870 to serve the single-track West Croydon to Wimbledon Line.

The Tooting platforms were suspended from use between 1 January 1917 and 27 August 1923, at first as a wartime cost-saving measure. The line was eventually closed permanently to passengers on 3 March 1929 ^[1] but continued in use for freight services until 1975, after which the track was eventually lifted and most of the platforms fenced off. Limited passenger access was maintained, however, for it was necessary to cross both platforms and the intervening trackbed to reach platform 3 and the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line. The wooden walkway initially laid for this purpose across the trackbed was eventually replaced with a raised earth walkway.

Access to the station buildings was via the single entrance on Rutlish Road. A public footpath, running alongside the line from a (now demolished) signal box at the Kingston Road level crossing, provided an alternative route for pedestrians.

Closure and Tramlink

Merton Park railway station during construction of Tramlink and prior to restoration as private residence

Merton Park station continued to serve the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line until its withdrawal from service after the last train on 31 May 1997 and conversion into a stop on the Wimbledon branch of the Tramlink network. ^[2] Merton Park tram stop now overlaps the site of the original station, the tram lines occupying the site of the trackbed and platform of the old West Croydon to Wimbledon Line.

The original station building has been converted into a private house, forming part of a small housing development covering some of the original station site.

Part of the nearby long public footbridge (crossing both lines to provide access to playing fields from Dorset Road) is now located at Corfe Castle station on the Swanage Railway, ^{[3] [4]} following its removal on closure of the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Wimbledon		Southern Railway Merton Branch		Merton Abbey
		Connex South Central West Croydon to Wimbledon Line		Morden Road

See also

• List of closed railway stations in London

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 150, 158. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
2. The Railway Magazine . 148. IPC Media: 51. 2002. ISSN   0033-8923.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. Wright, Andrew. "PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL AWARD PLAQUE INSTALLED AT CORFE CASTLE ON 26th OCTOBER 2008". Swanage Railway. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
4. Wright, Andrew. "EX-STRATEGIC RAIL AUTHORITY CHAIRMAN OFFICIALLY OPENS CORFE CASTLE'S HISTORIC VICTORIAN RAILWAY FOOTBRIDGE ON 28th APRIL 2007". Swanage Railway. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011.