Surrey_Iron_Railway

Surrey Iron Railway

The Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) was a 4 ft 2 in narrow gauge railway that linked the Surrey towns of Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham (all now in south London). It was constructed in the early years of the 19th century, opening on 26 July 1803.

Origins

Short publicly subscribed plateways, like that to the Caldon Low quarries and the Little Eaton Gangway, had already been built. However, they were all part of canal projects. The original plan, first mooted in 1799, had been for a canal, but to take the necessary water from the streams in the area would have deprived the many water-powered mills and factories. This was the world's first railway to be publicly subscribed by Act of Parliament as a railway throughout.

Operation

It was horse-drawn, dedicated to goods. It was essentially a form of turnpike as users had to provide their own wagons and horses, paying a fee for use of the plateway (tramroad). This is remarkably similar to the modern arrangement under which a Train operating company pays track access charges to Network Rail.

Route

The nine-mile route followed the shallow valley of the River Wandle, then heavily industrialised with numerous factories and mills, from the River Thames at Wandsworth southwards to Croydon. A short branch also ran from Mitcham to Hackbridge. The line was subsequently extended as the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway through Purley and Coulsdon to serve quarries near Merstham, opened 1805, closed 1838.

History

William Jessop was chief engineer of the latter venture only and the flat alignment of his route proved more long-lasting than the railway. The advent of faster and more powerful steam locomotives spelled the end for horse-drawn railways. In 1823, William James, a powerful shareholder in the SIR, tried to persuade George Stephenson to supply a locomotive for the line. However Stephenson realised that the cast-iron plateway could not support the weight of a steam locomotive and declined the offer. The SIR closed in 1846. Part of the route was reopened in 1855 by the Wimbledon & Croydon Railway, which was later absorbed by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Much of the route remains in use by Tramlink.