Croydon Trams: The Wimbledon Branch - Part One

Having explored the rest of the Tramlink network it is time to start on the Wimbledon branch. In this episode we start at Cairo New Road and get as far as Beddington Lane. The Wimbledon branch re-uses the route of the former Wimbledon & Croydon Railway which opened in 1885, mainly to serve industries in the Wandle Valley. The industries closed or moved away and the already low passenger numbers fell. The line closed in 1997 for conversion to tram operations. Before the Wimbledon & Croydon, the Surrey Iron Railway, a horse drawn plateway existed in this area from 1805 to 1838 and the railway, and now the tram, re-used some of that route, although details are sketchy and no trace remains.