Crystal Palace station

Crystal Palace railway station is located in the London Borough of Bromley in south London. It is one of two stations built serve the site of the 1851 exhibition building, the so-called Crystal Palace, when it was moved from Hyde Park to Sydenham Hill after 1851.

Crystal Palace (Low Level)

This station was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) on 10 June 1854, on the line between Sydenham and West Norwood to take the crowds to the Palace. The station, with its French and Brighton Pavilion influences made a fitting approach to the exhibition halls. That station was originally called Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood; it later became known as Crystal Palace (Low Level), until the second station (see below) was closed.

The frontage of the station was rebuilt in 1875, and was described: "Although the Roman Catholic chapel room is no longer used the station still has a cathedral-like atmosphere as one passes from the period booking hall to the vault-like station and the stairs down to the original station area." (from Railways of the Southern Region (PSL Field Guide, Geoffrey Body, 1984)).

Access to the Palace was by means of a 720ft (1150m) colonnade.

The line was electrified between Balham and Crystal Palace on 12 May 1911, using the LBSCR overhead system.

Towards London (Victoria) direction there is the short 746-yard (690m) Crystal Palace Tunnel. The station is built on the junction of two lines: the old station platforms lying on the Beckenham Junction route, and the more modest platforms on the northern spur to Sydenham. The latter is the busier of the two.

The two bay platforms which were used for trains terminating here are no longer in use, the track having been lifted.

Crystal Palace (High Level)

The West End and Crystal Palace Railway was the original beginning of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR); by 1860 it had a line running to Beckenham Junction via Loughborough Junction, to the north-west of the Crystal Palace site. In order to capture traffic from the LBSCR, the LCDR constructed a branch line from the latter station, with a junction at Nunhead to run directly to the Crystal Palace site. The line opened on 1 August 1865.

The station was below Crystal Palace Parade and was connected to the Palace by a tunnel (which is now Grade 1 listed). The tunnel still remains and is sealed off, but is sometimes opened to allow organised visits.

The branch was electrified, as part of a Southern Railway scheme, on 12 July 1925.

Branch closures

The branch line had two periods of closure: wartime economies led to the line closing from 1917-1919 and manpower shortages to a second closure from 1944-1949. After the first closure trains from the City (Holborn Viaduct), which had previously served the station, were not reinstated.

The line and the station were finally closed on 20 September 1954; housing now occupies the site.

Train services today

Trains to Crystal Palace depart from London Bridge and London Victoria, serving the West Croydon and Redhill lines, as well as the London Bridge - London Victoria services (the outer South London Line service).

External links

• Crystal Palace station timetable from National Rail's Live Departure Boards
• Street map of Crystal Palace station, from multimap.com