Lingfield railway station

Lingfield
Lingfield
Location	Lingfield, District of Tandridge; England
Coordinates	51.176°N 0.007°W
Grid reference	TQ394438
Managed by	Southern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	LFD
Classification	DfT category E
History
Opened	10 March 1884
Passengers
2015/16	0.616 million
2016/17	0.573 million
2017/18	0.547 million
2018/19	0.503 million
2019/20	0.508 million
Notes
	Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Lingfield railway station is on the East Grinstead branch of the Oxted line in southern England and serves Lingfield in Surrey. It is 26 miles 23 chains (42.31 km) from London Bridge, although off peak trains run to and from London Victoria. The station is managed by Southern.

A 1910 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Lingfield railway station.

The station adjoins Lingfield Park Racecourse.

History

The opening of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's (LBSCR) Oxted Line in 1884 brought the railway to the small agricultural parish of Lingfield which, like its neighbour Dormansland, had been earmarked for residential development. The area was also to be the location of a new racecourse which was to open in 1890. Lingfield originally had only limited facilities to accommodate passengers and freight, and struggled to deal with the crowds which attended the race meetings. A goods shed and loading dock were added in May 1884, and in 1894 the down platform became an island and the loading dock was extended to become a departure platform for race specials. The LBSCR obtained authorisation to construct a line directly to the racecourse in 1898, but these plans never materialised.[1]

Goods traffic was at a peak during the interwar period, when the sidings saw a variety of interesting traffic. Horseboxes and cattle wagons were numerous, and during the war, it was a stabling point for an emergency tank train. A large banana ripening shed was opened in the late 1950s and this received supplies direct from Avonmouth Docks. This closed on 1 October 1971 as bananas were now containerised and transported by road. Race traffic has also decreased and the track layout was progressively simplified, leaving the remaining traffic to be dealt with by strengthening ordinary services. Further modifications were carried out in 1972 when the station was "modernised" by demolishing the goods shed and removing the down platform canopy. However, the main buildings, together with the adjoining stationmaster's house, have survived as good examples of an LBSCR country station.[1][2]

Services

The typical off-peak service is:

2tph (trains per hour) to London Victoria via Oxted
2tph to East Grinstead

At peak times, there are several Thameslink operated services to Bedford via London Bridge.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Hurst Green		Southern Oxted Line East Grinstead branch		Dormans
Hurst Green		Thameslink Bedford - East Grinstead Peak hours only		Dormans

References

Pryer, G.A.; Bowring, G.J. (1980). An Historical Survey of Selected Southern Stations: Volume One. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. p. 79. ISBN 0-86093-016-5.
British History Online

External links

Media related to Lingfield railway station at Wikimedia Commons

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[pryer-1] Pryer, G.A.; Bowring, G.J. (1980). An Historical Survey of Selected Southern Stations: Volume One. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. p. 79. ISBN 0-86093-016-5.

[2] British History Online