Early years 1857–1922 The existing Mid-Kent line consists of three sections built at different times. The Mid Kent Railway was built by the
Mid-Kent and North Kent Junction Railway (MK&NKJR) and was opened on 1 January 1857 from (where the existing station was closed and a new station re-opened at the junction) as far as (although it was not technically a junction as the
West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway’s line did not open until 3 May 1858). From opening the line was worked by the
South Eastern Railway (SER) and served new stations at , , and Beckenham (Junction). Seven years later the MK&NKJR built an extension from a new junction station at to
Croydon (Addiscombe Road) which again was operated by the SER. The line diverged from the 1857 line to the west of Beckenham Junction and a new station was built in the junction area. This was re-located northwards two years later. In September 1866 a short spur was opened from the north end of Ladywell station to the recently opened
South Eastern Main Line avoiding Lewisham station, which it joins at Parks Bridge Junction. The Elmers End – Hayes section was built by the , but was sold to the South Eastern Railway in 1881, opening on 29 May 1882. Intermediate stations were opened at and . map of part of the Hayes Line, between Lower Sydenham and Elmers End, showing the now closed
Addiscombe Line and
W&SCR branches off the Hayes Line
Clock House station was opened in June 1890. In 1898 the South Eastern Railway and its bitter rivals the
London Chatham and Dover Railway agreed to work as one railway company under the name of the
South Eastern and Chatham Railway and thus the stations became an SECR stations. The original Lower Sydenham station was closed and moved half a mile south in 1906 in an attempt to develop a new area for housing. On 14 June 1913 members of the
Suffragettes movement planted a bomb which was discovered in the ladies waiting room at
Eden Park railway station. The
clockwork mechanism had stopped working and so it didn't go off. This event followed the death of
Emily Wilding Davison six days earlier after her attempt to stop the King's horse at
The Derby.
Southern Railway 1923–1947 Following the
Railways Act 1921 (also known as the Grouping Act), the Mid-Kent line came under the control of the
Southern Railway. The line was
electrified with other
SECR suburban routes in 1926. Hayes, West Wickham and Elmers End stations were all damaged by enemy bombs during the
Second World War, in 1940.
British Railways 1948–1994 After World War II and following nationalisation on 1 January 1948, the line became part of
British Railways Southern Region. In 1956 platform lengths were extended to accommodate 10-car trains. During the 1960s the local goods yards at Catford Bridge, Lower Sydenham, Clock House, Elmers End, West Wickham and Hayes all closed as did the gas works internal railway at Lower Sydenham. The line was fully converted to colour light operation in September 1975 under the control of London Bridge Signalling Centre. The old mechanical signal boxes closed at this time. Upon sectorisation in 1982, the line came under the control of the London & South East sector, which was renamed
Network SouthEast in 1986. Goods services were withdrawn in 1964 with the exception of Beckenham Junction which survived until 1982. During the planning of the
London Underground Fleet line, now the
Jubilee line, it was suggested that the Mid-Kent line be taken over. However a more northerly alignment was instead taken. The section from Elmers End to Addiscombe was closed in 1997 and taken over by
Tramlink operations. ==Future plans==