Point Pleasant Junction signal box

[MarkHaz]

Point Pleasant Junction signal box, between Wandsworth Town and Putney stations on the Windsor/Reading lines was decommissioned in 1990 and signalling was passed over to Wimbledon ASC.
The box was demolished at some point between 1990 and 2000, but does anyone know exactly what year it was removed?
It's very hard to find any photo evidence and it's too old to find out using aerial photos. I'm wondering if anyone has any memory of when it disappeared.

 

[Adrian Barr]

The Wikipedia article on the Putney to Wimbledon line adds a couple more relevant dates taken from the London Railway Atlas which might help to make an informed guess.

Viaduct taken out of use 4/4/87
Box closed 16/9/90 as per https://www.wbsframe.mste.co.uk/public/Point_Pleasant_Junction.html
Down spur brought into reversible use 11/2/91

The London Railway Atlas mentions that the viaduct was demolished in 1990. If that was done after the box had closed, it seems quite likely the box would have been demolished as part of the same works, or perhaps when the track layout was being altered for reversible working on the down spur.

The box doesn't appear to have been visible from any public vantage point suitable for photography, and I can't find any cab ride videos from the 1990s that would help narrow down the date of demolition. I did find one undated video (part of the "Cab Views" series so probably filmed between 1988 and 1990) which isn't helpful for working out the date of demolition but is of interest in showing the original layout while the viaduct was still in place (video passes Putney station at 57:45):

4VEP cab ride Reading to Waterloo | Mac's Tracks

In the other direction there's a 1988 view taking the route to Wimbledon Depot from Point Pleasant Jn (passes Wandsworth Town at 14:20)

2HAP (class 414) cab ride empty stock Waterloo to Wimbledon Depot via East Putney 1988 | Mac's Tracks

 

[DerekC]

On the second video above the up track on the link from Point Pleasant Junction to East Putney looks disused. That track may not have been used very often, but it would be really useful during disruption and I wondered if the viaduct had structural problems. Does anyone know if that was the case and that's why it was demolished?

 

[Adrian Barr]

I wondered if the viaduct had structural problems. Does anyone know if that was the case and that's why it was demolished?

There's an informative post about halfway down this old thread on the District Dave London Underground forum: https://districtdavesforum.co.uk/thread/27404/lifted-flying-junction-putney-clapham

It explains the (likely) last train to use the viaduct was a class 73-hauled engineers train on 27/02/87 which crossed the viaduct and was then loaded with track removed from the bridge deck to allow a proper inspection of condition, which was suspected to be poor. Having been "deemed unfit for the passage of trains" the line was formally taken out of use not long after.

That thread gives a date of June 1990 for the start of bi-directional working on the down, although for it to be in place before the closure date given for the signal box in September seems slightly odd as it would presumably have required resignalling to take place first. Looking at the source used for that date - http://www.glias.org.uk/news/126news.html - June 1990 was a planned implementation date for work not yet carried out.

Dates given in the London Railway Atlas (4th edition) are as follows:

"Up" flyover between East Putney and Point Pleasant Junction taken out of use 04.04.1987 and demolished in 1990 (poor condition). The 'down' road was converted to bi-directional running after 11.02.1991

"Demolition" is perhaps an exaggeration; it appears the supports and other brickwork were left intact with the bridge deck being dismantled, with the result seen here: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3810710

Use of the route (past and present) was discussed in this thread: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/the-point-pleasant-junction-to-east-putney-spur.258617/

 

[DerekC]

Thanks @Adrian Barr for the info - I suspected it must have been something like that.

 

[swt_passenger]

I think even when the viaduct was last open the majority of traffic would possibly still have been southbound, the problem that the route solves is the depot entry on the Wimbledon side conflicts with the main fasts and up slow on the Earlsfield to Wimbledon section, but exit from the depot on that side can be non conflicting. There’s a detailed explanation in post #34 of the thread linked at the end of the earlier post by @Adrian Barr

 

[MarkHaz]

Thank you all for your replies. My best guess was 1990 too, so that's probably as close as we'll get to an answer unless any former BR drivers or guards are on here and have a very good memory!