Atmospheric Railway
In 1844, the L&CR was given parliamentary authority to lay an additional line next to their existing track and test an atmospheric railway system. Pumping stations were built at Portland Road, Croydon and Dartmouth Road; these created a vacuum in a pipe laid between the running rails. A free-running piston in this pipe was attached to the train through a slit sealed by a leather valve. The piston, and hence the train, was propelled towards the pumping station by atmospheric pressure. The pumping stations were built in a Gothic style, with a very tall ornate tower which served both as a chimney and as an exhaust vent for air pumped from the propulsion pipe.
As part of the construction works for the atmospheric system, the world's first railway flyover (overpass) was constructed south of Jolly Sailor, to carry the new atmospheric-propulsion line over the conventional steam line below. The railway experienced many problems with the pumping engines during 1846, creating dissatisfaction among the shareholders with their board of directors, and leading to the amalgamation of the company with the L&BR in August of that year. In 1847, the atmospheric propulsion experiment was abandoned. The engine house at Forest Hill railway station was largely demolished in 1851 and an electricity sub-station was built on the site in 1928. The West Croydon pumping station was relocated to form part of the Surrey Street waterworks building, which still exists. According to one historian the use of the atmospheric system cost the railway £500,000 and was 'a sad fiasco'.
Read more about this topic: London And Croydon Railway
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