Point Pleasant Jn - East Putney

[Hydro]

Just worked over this chord from the Windsors onto the joint NR/District line between East Putney to Wimbledon. What services actually use this line? LO? The rails are shiny, so it definitely sees some use.

 

[swt_passenger]

Just worked over this chord from the Windsors onto the joint NR/District line between East Putney to Wimbledon. What services actually use this line? LO? The rails are shiny, so it definitely sees some use.

Mainly SWT ECS, with a handful of passenger workings:

2L10 04 54 Basingstoke - Waterloo
5C07 05+05 W’don Pk - Waterloo
5O05 05+19 W’don Pk - Waterloo
5C09 05+34 W’don Pk - Waterloo
5Y81 08+21 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5Y93 08+58 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5Y83 09+14 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5Y87 09+26 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5Y84 10+36 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5Y86 10+48 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5Y90 11+04 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5Y85 11+36 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5O96 16+38 W’don Pk - Waterloo
5Y95 23+43 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5Y88 23+50 Waterloo - W’don Pk
5Y89 00+20 Waterloo - W’don Pk
2K77 00 42 Waterloo - Strawberry Hill
1B01 01 05 Waterloo - Southampton Ctrl

That's from Dec 2010 - probably still about right - and there are also 'Q' paths for transfers from Clapham Yard to Wimbledon Park.

 

[SWTCommuter]

I think it's an alternative route for ECS to Wimbledon depot. In BR days it was also used as diversionary route if the line was blocked between Wimbledon and Clapham (see my post in the Strangest Diversion thread).

There used to be flyover from East Putney taking a chord to the London-bound Windsor lines.

 

[Hydro]

Lovely, cheers. I didn't think it's be used for many service trains. You can still see where the flyover line diverged, the short untracked spur now has a radio base station and mast installed on it. The bridge abutments are still very much in existence, of course, though without the actual bridge that they once supported.

 

[swt_passenger]

I think it's an alternative route for ECS to Wimbledon depot.

At the time of day it is mainly used, it is the only practical route for down ECS trains from Waterloo, as there is no straightforward means of reaching the depot from the down main slow through Earlsfield.

In BR days it was also used as diversionary route if the line was blocked between Wimbledon and Clapham (see my post in the Strangest Diversion thread).

Still is a standard diversion - I did it only last year during a weekend of engineering work. I expect the change from BR to SWT had no effect on its use really...

 

[SWTCommuter]

At the time of day it is mainly used, it is the only practical route for down ECS trains from Waterloo, as there is no straightforward means of reaching the depot from the down main slow through Earlsfield.



Still is a standard diversion - I did it only last year during a weekend of engineering work. I expect the change from BR to SWT had no effect on its use really...

Thanks very much, that's very interesting.

 

[Oracle]

Point Pleasant Junction was once marked by a green SR-style enamel plate on the Up side. The flyover to the Up line was apparently closed because of a weak bridge.

There are occasional railtours over the line: the Vulcan Venturer that I was on circa 1980 had a class 50 hauled train from Victoria that used the line to get to Bournemouth and Weymouth. In the 1960s at least one Midland Pullman DMMU set traversed it on a tour.