The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) obtained its authorising Act of Parliament in 1835, to build its line from a junction with the London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) to Croydon. At that time the L&GR line was under construction, and Parliament resisted the building of two railway termini in the same quarter of London so that the L&CR would have to share the L&GR’s London Bridge station. The line was built for ordinary locomotive operation. A third company, the London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was promoted and it too had to share the route into London by running over the L&CR.
When the lines opened in 1839 it was found that congestion arose due to the frequent stopping services on the local Croydon line; this was particularly a problem on the 1 in 100 ascent from New Cross to Dartmouth Arms.[3] The L&CR engineer, William Cubitt proposed a solution to the problem: a third track would be laid on the east side of the existing double track main line, and all the local trains in both directions would use it. The faster Brighton trains would be freed of the delay following a stopping train. Cubitt had been impressed during his visit to the Dalkey line, and the new L&CR third track would use atmospheric power. The local line would also be extended to Epsom, also as a single track atmospheric line. These arrangements were adopted and Parliamentary powers obtained on 4 July 1843, also authorising a line to a terminal at Bricklayers Arms. Arrangements were also made with the L&GR for them to add an extra track on the common section of their route. On 1 May 1844, the Bricklayers Arms terminus opened, and a frequent service was run from it, additional to the London Bridge trains
The L&CR line diverged to the south-west at Norwood Junction (then called Jolly Sailor, after an inn), and needed to cross the L&BR line. The atmospheric pipe made this impossible on the flat, and a flyover was constructed to enable the crossing: this was the first example in the railway world.[13] This was in the form of a wooden viaduct with approach gradients of 1 in 50. A similar flyover was to be built at Corbett’s Lane Junction, where the L&CR additional line was to be on the north-east side of the existing line, but this was never made.
A 15-inch diameter traction pipe was installed between Forest Hill (then called Dartmouth Arms, also after a local inn) and West Croydon. Although Samuda supervised the installation of the atmospheric apparatus, a weather flap, a hinged iron plate that covered the leather slot valve in the Dalkey installation, was omitted. The L&CR had an Atmospheric Engineer, James Pearson. Maudsley, Son and Field supplied the three 100 hp steam engines and pumps at Dartmouth Arms, Jolly Sailor and Croydon (later West Croydon), and elaborate engine houses had been erected for them. They were designed in a gothic style by W H Breakspear and had tall chimneys which also exhausted the evacuated air at a high level.
A two-needle electric telegraph system was installed on the line, enabling station staff to indicate to the remote engine house that a train was ready to start.
This section, from Dartmouth Arms to Croydon started operation on the atmospheric system in January 1846.
The traction pipe slot and the piston bracket were handed; that is the slot closure flap was continuously hinged on one side, and the piston support bracket was cranked to minimise the necessary opening of the flap. This meant that the piston carriage could not simply be turned on a turntable at the end of a trip. Instead, it was double ended, but the piston was manually transferred to the new leading end. The piston carriage itself had to be moved manually (or by horsepower) to the leading end of the train. At Dartmouth Arms, the station platform was an island between the two steam operated lines. Cubitt designed a special system of pointwork that enabled the atmospheric piston carriage to enter the ordinary track.
The Board of Trade inspector, General Pasley, visited the line on 1 November 1845 to approve it for opening of the whole line. The Times newspaper reported the event; a special train left London Bridge hauled by a steam locomotive; at Forest Hill the locomotive was detached and: the piston carriage substituted and the train thence became actuated by atmospheric pressure. The train consisted of ten carriages (including that to which the piston is attached) and its weight was upward of fifty tons. At seven and a half minutes past two the train left the point of rest at the Dartmouth Arms, and at eight and three-quarter minutes past, the piston entered the valve, when it immediately occurred to us that one striking advantage of the system was the gentle, the almost imperceptible, motion on starting. On quitting the station on locomotive lines we have frequently experienced a "jerk" amounting at times to an absolute "shock" and sufficient to alarm the nervous and timid passenger. Nothing of the sort, however, was experienced here. Within a minute and a quarter of the piston entering the pipe, the speed attained against a strong headwind was at the rate of twelve miles an hour; in the next minute, viz. at eleven minutes past two, twenty-five miles an hour; at thirteen minutes past two, thirty-four miles an hour; fourteen minutes past two, forty miles an hour; and fifteen minutes past two, fifty-two miles an hour, which was maintained until sixteen minutes past two, when the speed began to diminish, and at seventeen and a half minutes past two, the train reached the Croydon terminus, thus performing the journey from Dartmouth Arms, five miles, in eight minutes and three-quarters. The barometer in the piston carriage indicated a vacuum of 25 inches and that in the engine house a vacuum of 28 inches.[note 7][14] The successful official public run was widely reported and immediately new schemes for long-distance railways on the atmospheric system were being promoted; the South Devon Railway’s shares appreciated overnight.
Opening
Pasley’s report of 8 November was favourable, and the line was clear to open. The directors hesitated, desiring to gain a little more experience beforehand. On 19 December 1845 the crankshaft of the Forest Hill stationary engine fractured, and the engine was unusable. However the part was quickly replaced and on 16 January 1846 the line opened.
At 11:00 that morning the crankshaft of one of the Croydon engines broke. Two engines had been provided, so traffic was able to continue using the other,[note 8] until at 7:20 p.m. that engine suffered the same fate. Again repairs were made until on 10 February 1846 both the Croydon engines failed.
This was a bitter blow for the adherents of the atmospheric system; shortcomings in the manufacture of the stationary engines procured from a reputable engine-maker said nothing about the practicality of the atmospheric system itself, but as Samuda said to the Board:
"The public cannot discriminate (because it cannot know) the cause of the interruptions, and every irregularity is attributed to the atmospheric system."
Two months later the beam of one of the Forest Hill engines fractured. At this time the directors were making plans for the Epsom extension; they quickly revised their intended purchase of engines from Maudsley, and invited tenders; Boulton and Watt of Birmingham were awarded the contract, their price having been considerably less than their competitors’.
Amalgamation
The London and Brighton Railway amalgamated with the L&CR on 6 July 1846, forming the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). For the time being the directors of the larger company continued with the L&CR’s intentions to use the atmospheric system.
Technical difficulties
The summer of 1846 was exceptionally hot and dry, and serious difficulties with the traction pipe flap valve started to show themselves. It was essential to make a good seal when the leather flap was closed, and the weather conditions made the leather stiff. As for the tallow and beeswax compound that was supposed to seal the joint after every train, Samuda had originally said "this composition is solid at the temperature of the atmosphere, and becomes fluid when heated a few degrees above it"[4] and the hot weather had that effect. Samuda’s original description of his system had included a metal weather valve that closed over the flap, but this had been omitted on the L&CR, exposing the valve to the weather, and also encouraging the ingestion of debris, including, an observer reported, a handkerchief dropped by a lady on to the track. Any debris lodging in the seating of the flap could only have reduced its effectiveness.
Moreover the tallow – that is, rendered animal fat – was attractive to the rat population; their bodies drawn in to the traction pipe at the beginning of pumping in the morning told its story. Delays became frequent, due to inability to create enough vacuum to move the trains, and stoppages on the steep approach inclines at the flyover were commonplace, and widely reported in the press.
The Directors now began to feel uneasy about the atmospheric system, and in particular the Epsom extension, which was to have three engines. In December 1846 they asked Boulton and Watt about cancelling the project, and were told that suspending the supply contract for a year would cost £2,300. The Directors agreed to this.
The winter of 1846/7 brought new meteorological difficulties: unusually cold weather made the leather flap stiff, and snow got into the tube[note 9] resulting in more cancellations of the atmospheric service. A track worker was killed in February 1847 while steam substitution was in operation. This was tragically unfortunate, but it had the effect of widespread reporting that the atmospheric was, yet again, non-operational.
Sudden end
Through this long period, the Directors must have become less and less committed to pressing on with the atmospheric system, even as money was being spent on extending it towards London Bridge. (It opened from Dartmouth Arms to New Cross in January 1847, using gravitation northbound and the Dartmouth Arms pumping station southbound.) In a situation in which public confidence was important, the Directors could not express their doubts publicly, at least until a final decision had been taken. On 4 May 1847[17] the directors announced "that the Croydon Atmospheric pipes were pulled up and the plan abandoned".
The reason seems not to have been made public at once, but the trigger seems to have been the insistence of the Board of trade inspector on a second junction at the divergence of the Brighton and Epsom lines. It is not clear what this refers to, and may simply have been a rationalisation of the timing of a painful decision. Whatever the reason, there was to be no more atmospheric work on the LB&SCR.
