IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Beeches Avenue, CARSHALTON, SM5 3LG

Unit 455 802 forms a train heading via West Croydon to (probably) London Victoria.

RT 734 provides a rail replacement service in the late sixties or early seventies and is seen serving Carshalton Beeches station in Beeches Avenue. Note the long disappeared Southern Electric sign to the right of the bus.

The West Croydon to Sutton line opened on 10th May 1847 by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway as part of the Croydon to Epsom railway and this was the first railway in the present London Borough of Sutton. However, it was not until 1907 that the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway opened 'The Beeches Halt' on the previously uninterrupted stretch of line between Wallington and Sutton. There had once been an avenue of beech trees flanking the old road to Woodmansterne, to the south of the station. The first houses in Beeches Avenue were not built until 1897, but by 1907 the whole district had developed sufficiently to encourage the opening of the station. Trains only stopped if there were passengers to pick up and the trains themselves only consisted of two coach push and pull units which plied to and fro between West Croydon and Sutton. After the First World War the various lines were electrified , including the line between Victoria and Sutton via West Croydon in 1925. At this time it was decided to make 'The Beeches Halt' into a station and give it platforms long enough for the London trains to use. After it was rebuilt it was given the name 'Carshalton (Beeches) station' but the brackets were soon dropped. The name Carshalton Beeches was subsequently applied to the whole area as a means to sell houses. The road bridge ahead carries Beeches Avenue over the railway. The next station in this direction is Sutton.

You would be forgiven for thinking that this picture, taken after heavy overnight snow in February 2009, is of a former railway line converted into a footpath. You can just see a mile post, but many of these do still appear on such footpaths. In reality it is a view from the Beeches Avenue / Park Lane footbridge at Carshalton Beeches Station looking towards Sutton. In time the rails will reappear and trains will run again. No Dr. Beeching here!!

Looking in the direction of West Croydon.

The West Croydon to Sutton line opened on 10th May 1847 by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway as part of the Croydon to Epsom railway and this was the first railway in the present London Borough of Sutton. However, it was not until 1907 that the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway opened 'The Beeches Halt' on the previously uninterrupted stretch of line between Wallington and Sutton. There had once been an avenue of beech trees flanking the old road to Woodmansterne, to the south of the station. The first houses in Beeches Avenue were not built until 1897, but by 1907 the whole district had developed sufficiently to encourage the opening of the station. Trains only stopped if there were passengers to pick up and the trains themselves only consisted of two coach push and pull units which plied to and fro between West Croydon and Sutton. After the First World War the various lines were electrified , including the line between Victoria and Sutton via West Croydon in 1925. At this time it was decided to make 'The Beeches Halt' into a station and give it platforms long enough for the London trains to use. After it was rebuilt it was given the name 'Carshalton (Beeches) station' but the brackets were soon dropped. The name Carshalton Beeches was subsequently applied to the whole area as a means to sell houses. The road bridge ahead carries Beeches Avenue over the railway. The next station in this direction is Sutton.

An earlier photograph at this location shows the line covered in snow during February 2009. Trains now run as normal and here is a Southern 455 unit London bound.