Forest Hill Railway Station
The station adjoins a road which serves as part of the A205 South Circular Road. There are two entrances, the main one being on platform 1 at the bottom of the South Circular Road, and a side entrance on platform 2 on Perry Vale. The ticket office is placed in the main entrance, although there are ticket machines outside both entrances.
History
The station was opened by the original London & Croydon Railway (L&CR) on 5 June 1839, as Dartmouth Arms (the name of the local inn).
The line was also used by the London and Brighton Railway from 1841 and the South Eastern Railway (SER) from 1842. In 1844, the station was chosen by the L&CR as the northern terminus for Phase 1 of an experimental atmospheric railway to West Croydon. A pumping station was also constructed at the station. The L&CR and the L&BR merged to form the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in July 1846; the following year "atmospheric" working was abandoned. In 1845 the station became Forest Hill for Lordship Lane.
The LB&SCR moved the Down platform during the early 1850s when the line was quadrupled, and extended the island platform around 1864.
The LB&SCR station buildings were badly damaged by bombing during World War II but were patched up and survived until British Rail demolished them in 1972 and built a much smaller CLASP system-built prefabricated station building that remains in use to this day. The short narrow island platform serving the fast lines was demolished in the early 1960s.
Services
Forest Hill is on the Windrush line of the London Overground, with services operated using Class 378 EMUs. Additional services are operated by Southern using Class 377 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:
- 2 tph to London Bridge
- 8 tph to Highbury & Islington via Surrey Quays (Windrush line)
- 2 tph to London Victoria via Streatham Hill
- 4 tph to Crystal Palace (Windrush line)
- 4 tph to West Croydon (Windrush line)
The station is also served by a single early morning and late evening service to East Croydon via Norwood Junction, with the early morning service continuing to Tattenham Corner and Caterham.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Southern Stopping Services | ||||
Preceding station | London Overground | Following station | ||
Honor Oak Park towards Highbury & Islington
|
Windrush line | Sydenham towards Crystal Palace or West Croydon
|
Connections
London Buses routes 122, 176, 185, 197 and 356 serve the station.
References
- ^ "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
- ^ Turner, John Howard (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1 Origins and Formation. Batsford. pp. 249–250. ISBN 0-7134-0275-X.
- ^ Chronology of London Railways by H.V.Borley
- ^ Forgotten Stations of Greater London by J.E.Connor and B.Halford
- ^ Howard Turner, John (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 2 Establishment and Growth. Batsford. pp. 43, 245. ISBN 0-7134-1198-8.
- ^ Table 171, 177, 178 National Rail timetable, May 2022
- ^ "London Overground Timetable: Highbury & Islington to New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon" (PDF). London Overground. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ Forest Hill station/Dartmouth Road
- ^ Forest Hill Station/London Road – Bus
External links
- Train times and station information for Forest Hill railway station from National Rail