Catford Bridge Station is on the Mid-Kent line which runs from London to Hayes. It is adjacent to Catford Station (the two stations are separated by the site of the former Catford greyhound stadium which closed suddenly in 2003 - the land is now occupied by housing).
The opening of the station on 1st January 1857 encouraged the building of houses for the affluent middle classes. The station was built by the Mid Kent and North Kent Junction Railway and was then worked by the South Eastern Railway (SER). The story behind there being two stations here side by side began in 1861 when both the SER and London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) both created rival routes to Dover in 1861. The SER refused to agree to a contract for cross-channel mails in 1862 as it stated that Dover had to be used rather than Folkestone. To the SER's annoyance LCDR secured the contract and by 1863 had created their own independent line into Victoria. Catford station was built on this route a few years later.
Catford Bridge is the much more aesthetically pleasing station and retains some of its original features.
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