Woodside was a railway station in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, south London, on the

Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway The Woodside and South Croydon Joint Railway (W&SC) was a short, relatively short-lived and unsuccessful railway in the London Borough of Croydon in London, England. Its site is now largely occupied by Tramlink. Route ; Woodside station Ju ...

. The South Eastern Railway opened the station in July 1871 to serve the nearby Croydon racecourse. A ramp from the station facilitated the loading of racehorses. The station has since been replaced by

Woodside tram stop Woodside tram stop is a light rail stop situated between Woodside Green and Ashburton Park in the London Borough of Croydon in the southern suburbs of London. The stop is located on the site of the former Woodside railway station of the Woodsi ...

. After the racecourse closed in 1890, use of Woodside station decreased. The down bay platform fell into disuse in 1917 following the closure of the line to . The line to Selsdon reopened upon electrification in 1935, with through services to and from London. However, there were drastic reductions in the train service during World War II, from which the line never really recovered. From October 1939 the station was served by a shuttle to and from . Through weekday trains to London were reinstated in the spring of 1948, but traffic on the branch was in decline and a shuttle service was again instituted again in 1950, with a handful of through London services in the peak hours. The small goods yard closed in 1963. The line to Selsdon once again closed in 1983, this time permanently, and the signal box at the south end of the down platform closed in 1984. The station building, situated over the platforms at street level, was de-staffed from 1993 and boarded up. In 1996 the signal box at burned down and single-line working was introduced, with all trains using the down line; the London-bound platform fell into disuse. The station closed in 1997 in preparation for the construction of

Tramlink London Trams, previously Tramlink and Croydon Tramlink, is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in the London region since 1952. It is manage ...

. Tramlink now uses the line between Elmers End and the site of . Most of the previous platforms were demolished and new tram platforms constructed. Part of the London-bound platform was left to provide a pathway to the tram platforms, using stairs to the street-level building, which is abandoned. Following closure of the Addiscombe branch the trackbed has become

Addiscombe Railway Park Addiscombe Railway Park, also known as the Addiscombe Linear Park, is a park in Addiscombe, South London, managed by the London Borough of Croydon. The first section of the park was opened on 26 May 2007, with the second stage opened on 15 Ma ...

. The dismantled platform was donated to the Swanage Heritage Railway and reassembled in 2009 at .

References

{{Disused railway stations of London Disused railway stations in the London Borough of Croydon Former South Eastern Railway (UK) stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1871 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1997