Eltham Park
The London suburb of
Eltham has had no less than four separate railway stations to its name, three of
which were all
within the space of half a mile of each other along the same stretch of line. The first of
these to open was ''Eltham'' on the Dartford Loop Line, on 1st September 1866,
the station residing ¾-mile to the south of the locality it purported to serve.
The site became known as ‘’Eltham & Mottingham’’ from 1st January 1892, and it
was only from 1st October 1927 that the station became just plain ''Mottingham''.
The second station of note was Well Hall, which came into use with the Bexleyheath line on
1st May 1895. The station had been built in accordance to the SER’s typical
‘’economical’’ policy, and a single-storey clapboard building was the main
feature, this residing on the ‘’up’’ platform. The emergence of a third station
for the locality was a mere thirteen years away. During the first decade of its
existence, the SE&CR made numerous improvements to the erstwhile separate SER
and LC&DR networks, the most prominent arguably being the St Johns to Orpington
quadrupling and the Chislehurst Junction works. As far as stations along the
North Kent routes were concerned, the company seemed to perpetuate a
characteristic favoured by the LC&DR, that being the provision of ‘’high-level’’
station buildings. Indeed, both Woolwich Arsenal and Charlton received such
features in 1906, and a then newly proposed station at Eltham would receive
similar treatment. At a somewhat paltry half a mile to the east of Well Hall,
the SE&CR commenced construction of a two platform affair, named since the
project’s inception as ‘’Shooters Hill & Eltham Park’’. This was despite the
fact that the road named as the prefix was in fact a mile to the north of the
site! The emergence of the second station would appear to stem from convenience
for passengers: the then new site was positioned directly beside the main high
street. It had been suggested that the station would be a replacement for Well
Hall, not a complement of it; the latter’s closure would naturally have cost
reduction advantages. However, opposition against this compelled the SE&CR to
keep both stations running concurrent with each other.
Major Pringle of the Board of Trade inspected the station on 2nd July 1908. Two
platform surfaces had been erected either side of the double-track running
lines, each measuring some 450 foot in length and 16 foot in width. The
three-foot high platforms were also on a considerable gradient, London-bound
trains enduring a climb of 1 in 81. Graceful and copious canopies were evident
on both platforms; these could quite accurately be described as pitched-roof
versions of those structures still in evidence at Paddock Wood, for a triangular
cross-section was employed as opposed to a semi-circular arrangement. Lining the
rear edges of both canopies for a third of their length was the waiting
accommodation. Single-storey and with their own pitched roofs, these structures
were fabricated out of the same crème brick (with orange brick lining) which was
utilised within the construction of Elmstead Woods and Orpington stations, to
name but two (indeed, this brickwork was heavily used by the LC&DR in its later
years, Chatham and Faversham surviving as fine examples). General waiting rooms
were provided, but also, on both platforms, a separate ladies waiting room was
in evidence. The
road bridge was positioned some 175 feet to the west of the platforms, and to
accommodate the 85-foot long ‘’high-level’’ entrance, it was widened on its
eastern side. Speaking of the main building, this was a somewhat interesting
affair, the structure demonstrating a complex roof design as a consequence of
receiving numerous pitched sections. The legend ‘’SE&CR 1908’’ graced the
building’s façade, which had been frescoed with intricate stonework above the
main entrance. The enclosed footbridge here was affixed to the rear elevation of
the booking hall (in harmony with Woolwich Arsenal and Charlton stations), but
the platforms were positioned a further 150 feet to the east. Thus, to bridge
the gap, a pair of 250-foot long covered ramp walkways were installed - a stroll
between platforms would certainly have been circuitous! In light of this, male
and female toilet facilities were established on both platforms.
The aforementioned visit by the Board of Trade on 2nd July 1908 revealed that
only the ‘’high-level’’ entrance of the station was not fully complete. Major Pringle had
personally recommended the station for opening in writing on the day of his
visit (on the condition that the booking hall was completed beforehand), and
such was made official on the 4th of the same month, when his report was
received by the Board's Railway Department.
As far as the track work was concerned, the layout here was very simple, just
the two running lines being in evidence. No goods yard was ever commissioned,
such a facility already being available at Well Hall station. Initially, no
additional signals were brought into use; only one minor alteration was made at
Well Hall station in connection with the works. This merely involved the
shifting of the ‘’down’’ advance starting signal from its position south of the
running lines, to the north. Later, however, a ‘’distant’’ semaphore appeared at
the London end of Shooters Hill & Eltham Park’s ‘’up’’ platform. Modifications
at the station were swift under Southern Railway ownership. In 1924, during the SR’s
second year of existence, the ‘’high-level’’ booking hall was taken out of use
and converted into shops. The legend ‘’SE&CR 1908’’ was replaced with
‘’Station Parade’’, and tickets were subsequently sold from the ‘’up’’ side
platform offices. On the plus side, passengers wishing to traverse between
platforms no longer had to endure a long route; a covered lattice footbridge was
erected over the platforms and running lines, it being suspended above the
canopies. Nevertheless, the long covered walkways remained in use, linking the
high street with the platforms. Soon after these modifications, the layout was
to see itself overshadowed by a most imposing structure. This was the SR’s
typical red brick three-storey high substation, built just beyond the eastern
end of the ''down'' platform, in connection with the
electrification of the North Kent routes in 1926. The SR’s final implemented
change was that of the station’s name, it simply becoming ‘’Eltham Park’’ from
1st October 1927 onwards.
Under British Railways ownership, Eltham Park had a fairly quiet existence, this
being somewhat accentuated by the fact that there was no goods yard to
rationalise, nor a signal box to close. Indeed, minor modifications had occurred
in June 1954: the ‘’up’’ and ‘’down’’ platforms were extended at their eastern
and western ends respectively, to accommodate ten vehicle formations. Concrete
bracket lampposts had already been appearing on the platforms half a decade earlier.
Thankfully, Eltham Park avoided the dreadful station modernisations of the late
1960s and 1970s, and passed through these decades retaining its intricate SE&CR
canopies, crème brick platform offices, and the former ‘’high-level’’
entrance. However, come the sectorisation era, both Well
Hall and Eltham Park stations were doomed. During the 1980s, numerous stations
on the North Kent routes were rebuilt and modernised, much of the work being
done to reduce long-term maintenance and repair costs, and to create a
''modern'' looking commuter railway (especially with the procurement of new
rolling stock in sight). Under the auspices of the
‘’London & South East’’ Business Sector (latterly ‘’Network SouthEast’’), a
scheme evolved whereby the two existing Eltham stations would close and be
replaced by a new two platform affair situated in-between the sites. The
provision of a new station, complete with bus interchange, was undertaken in
conjunction with widening and realignment of the parallel A2 trunk road. Closure
of the Eltham stations had been earmarked for 2nd March 1985, but prolonged
building work at the modern station site gave a brief reprieve from
decommissioning, this instead occurring on 16th of the same month. The then new
''Eltham'' station came into use the following day.
The original ''high-level'' building of 1908 remains in existence, and when viewed on 2nd August
2006, still displayed the text ''Station Parade''. The complex pitched roof is prominent in this view,
as are signs of neglect on this important structure. David Glasspool
Now behind the station building, this westward view - also from 2nd August 2006 - reveals the 1908
footbridge, now boarded up, and the edges of the platform surfaces. The substation of SR origin
formerly resided on the right, but had succumbed many years before the station's closure. David Glasspool
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