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Croydon Tramlink : Routes : Beckenham Junction/Elmers End

Tramlink's north eastern arm runs from Croydon to Beckenham Junction, with a short branch to Elmers End. Much of the route uses former railway alignments–from Sandilands to Arena and on to Elmers End trams run along the former Elmers End–Addiscombe/Selsdon line, and from Birkbeck to Beckenham Junction the route shares an alignment with the single-track Beckenham Junction–Crystal Palace line. Between Arena and Birkbeck these two sections are connected by a line skirting the edge of South Norwood Country Park.

The section of line through Croydon town centre, and from East Croydon as far as Sandilands, is described in the Croydon town centre page.

[click on a stop for pictures]

Sandilands–Arena

At Sandilands Junction, trams for Beckenham Junction and Elmers End leave take the left-hand tracks onto the track bed of the former Woodside–Selsdon railway line. At first the line is in a cutting, which levels out before the first stop at Addiscombe.

Addiscombe stop is between the level crossings over Bingham Road and Lower Addiscombe Road, close to the site of Bingham Road railway station. The tram stop also replaces Addiscombe railway station, the branch line to which closed as part of the Tramlink conversion works. The railway station is a short distance away to the west. The tramway at this point is at street level, but this was not always the case—the railway ran on an embankment at this point, with bridges over Bingham Road and Lower Addiscombe Road, which was levelled for Tramlink. The next stop is Blackhorse Lane.

North of Addiscombe is the site of the junction with the former Addiscombe railway branch, then comes Woodside stop, on the site of the railway station it replaced. At street level the former booking office building still stands. Trams continue along the former railway trackbed to Arena. After this stop is a junction, where Elmers End branch trams continue straight ahead, and Beckenham Junction services turn left.

Elmers End branch

The Elmers End branch is single track from a point just past the junction at Arena, except for a cripple siding just outside the terminus. The tram stop is in the railway station, with trams using the bay platform. There is no physical connection to the Network Rail line here, which is used by trains on the Hayes branch.

Arena–Beckenham Junction

After the juntion to the east of Arena, the tramway runs along the eastern edge of SOuth Norwood Country Park. Harrington Road stop, next to level crossing over the road of the same name, is by the side of Birkbeck Cemetary. Climbing up from this stop, trams join a single track section which takes them onto a railway alignment. This is the route of the single-track Beckenham Junction–Crystal Palace railway line, and trams share the alignment with main line trains as far as the terminus.

At Birkbeck tram stop there is a platform opposite the railway station—both railway and tramway are single track here. The next stop is Avenue Road, where two plaforms serve a passing loop. Another single track section takes the line to Beckenham Road stop, which sits on an embankment above the roadway. East of the stop there is another passing loop, before the final single-track section into Beckenham Junction. The terminus, which has two platforms, sits alongside the main road at the front of the station forecourt.