Merstham tunnels
Encyclopedia
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 50 miles long, and is electrified throughout. Trains are operated by Southern, First Capital Connect, and Gatwick Express, now part of Southern.-Original proposals:There were no fewer...
between Merstham
Merstham
Merstham is a village in the Reigate and Banstead borough of Surrey, England, in the London commuter belt. It is just north of Redhill, near the intersection of the M25 and M23 motorways, on the edge of the North Downs and on the North Downs Way.-History:...
and Coulsdon
Coulsdon
Coulsdon is a town on the southernmost boundary of the London Borough of Croydon. It is surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt of the Farthing Down, Coulsdon Common and Kenley Common...
(formerly Stoats Nest) in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, Great Britain. They were built sixty years apart.
Merstham tunnel
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
was constructed under the supervision of the engineer John Urpeth Rastrick
John Urpeth Rastrick
John Urpeth Rastrick was one of the first English steam locomotive builders. In partnership with James Foster, he formed Foster, Rastrick and Company, the locomotive construction company that built the Stourbridge Lion in 1829 for export to the Delaware and Hudson Railroad in America.-Early...
for the London and Brighton Railway
London and Brighton Railway
The London and Brighton Railway was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway runs from a junction with the London & Croydon Railway at Norwood - which gives it access from London Bridge, just south of the River Thames in central London...
(L&BR) between 1839 and its opening on 12 July 1841. It was cut through chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
, using twelve vertical shafts, up which the spoil was raised to the surface in skiffs by means of two-horse gins The tunnel was originally intended to be 2013 yards (1841 metres) in length, but during the course of construction it was realigned and became 1830 yards (1674 metres) = 1.04 miles. The new tunnel was finished with brick portals, whitewashed and lit by gas lamps supplied from a small gas works south of Merstham station.
The two-mile railway cutting to the north of the tunnel is one of the largest in Europe and is 100 feet (30.5 metres) deep at the northern entrance to the tunnel. Its construction involved the removal of more than a million cubic yards of chalk.
Although the tunnel was built by the L&BR, it was on a section of line between Croydon and Redhill
Redhill railway station
Redhill railway station serves the town of Redhill, Surrey, England. The station is a major interchange point on the Brighton Main Line 21 miles south of London Victoria...
that was to be shared with the South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
(SER), when they commenced services on their route to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
in 1842. On 16 July 1844 the SER refunded half of the construction cost of the joint line and took ownership of the section between Purley
Purley railway station
Purley railway station is at Purley in the London Borough of Croydon, on the main London to Brighton line, in Travelcard Zone 6. It is a junction, with branches to Caterham and Tattenham Corner. There are sidings used by the Day and Son gravel company, part of whose installation has been given a...
and Redhill
Redhill railway station
Redhill railway station serves the town of Redhill, Surrey, England. The station is a major interchange point on the Brighton Main Line 21 miles south of London Victoria...
, including the Merstham tunnel.
This tunnel was the site of the unsolved murder of Mary Sophia Money in 1905. Marks were discovered on the tunnel wall showing Miss Money had been thrown to her death from a moving train.
Quarry tunnel
Coulsdon North railway station
Coulsdon North is a closed railway station on the Brighton Main Line.- Opening :The station was opened as "Stoats Nest and Cane Hill" on 5 November 1899 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway . It took its name partly from the nearby Cane Hill asylum and partly from the nearby Stoats Nest...
and Earlswood
Earlswood (Surrey) railway station
Earlswood railway station serves Earlswood, south of Redhill, in Surrey. It is on the Brighton Main Line, south of the junction between the 'Redhill line' and the 'Quarry line'. Train services are provided by Southern.-History:...
which avoided the SER stations of Coulsdon, Merstham and Redhill. This involved the construction of a second tunnel to the east of the original, but 25 feet (7.6 metres) above the level of the original. Since both routes form part of the Brighton Main Line
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 50 miles long, and is electrified throughout. Trains are operated by Southern, First Capital Connect, and Gatwick Express, now part of Southern.-Original proposals:There were no fewer...
, in order to differentiate them the former was called the Redhill line, whilst the new line became known as the Quarry Line.
Quarry tunnel is 2113 yards (1932 metres) = 1.1 miles in length and was built between 1896 and its opening on 8 November 1899. The contractors for the new work were Messrs. Firbank, and the estimated cost of the tunnel was £85,000. The new tunnel was also approached by a 100 ft deep cutting on the north side.
Electrification
The lines through both tunnels were electrified in 1932 by the Southern RailwaySouthern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
.