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THE EPSOM
DOWNS BRANCH
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EPSOM DOWNS
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16 miles
from London Victoria, the new Epsom Downs station
opened in February 1989 after the original
station, which had opened to the public together
with the entire branch in May 1865, was closed
and torn down. More pictures and
information
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DRIFT BRIDGE
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After
just a few hundred yards from the new station
trains cross the major civil engineering landmark
of the branch: Drift Bridge. Once the longest
span single-arch railway bridge in Surrey, it
remains one of the major features of the branch. More pictures and
information
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BANSTEAD
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14-¾ miles from London
Victoria, Banstead station opened to the public
together with the entire branch in May 1865. More pictures and
information
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BANSTEAD DOWNS
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Between
Banstead and Belmont, the branch passes through a
mile-long cutting (excavated for the construction
of the railway line) before crossing the chalk
hills of Banstead Downs. |
BELMONT
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13-¾ miles from London
Victoria, Belmont station opened to the public
together with the entire branch in May 1865. More pictures and
information
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SUTTON
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12 miles from London
Victoria, Sutton station opened to the public in
May 1847 and became a junction with the opening
of the Epsom Downs branch in May 1865. More pictures and
information
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LONDON VICTORIA
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Epsom Downs service leaves Victoria
(October 2003)
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The
destination for most train services throughout
the history of the Epsom Downs branch in London
(together with, to a lesser extent, London's oldest
station, London Bridge), Victoria station opened
to the public in 1858/1862. Overhead
display at Victoria announcing Epsom Downs
service
(October 2003)
Click on
loudspeaker to hear a platform announcement for
the 10:25 Southern service to Epsom Downs
(September 2004)
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Track schematic used by Network SouthEast in
the 1980s for the South London Lines
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Take a
driver's eye view trip on the Epsom Downs Branch,
from Sutton to Epsom Downs and return,
with this Network SouthEast route training video
(orginally provided to train crews on a VHS
cassette)
Shot on 25th
August 1990
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"She felt hungry; at Sutton her
appetite had been keen, and meal-times were always
welcome. She entered the refreshment room, and with
inward murmurs made a repast which reminded her of
the excellent luncheon she might now have been
enjoying. All the time, she pondered her situation.
Ultimately, instead of booking for Victoria, she
procured a ticket for Epsom Downs, and had not long
to wait for the train."
(George
Gissing, The Paying Guest, 1895)
"They were hard at work there far
into the night, and the towering pillar of dense
green smoke that rose therefrom could be seen from
the hills about Merrow, and even, it is said, from
Banstead and Epsom Downs."
(H.G.Wells,
The War of the Worlds, 1898)
"They dispersed therefore and
joined the vast crowd which was already assembling on
the side of the hill and covering the ridge with a
dense mass of spectators. The place was like Epsom
Downs on the Derby Day."
(Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle, When The World Screamed,
1929)
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page last updated 22 August 2021

1999-2021
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