Chislehurst Junction Area 

This exceptionally busy simulation includes the major junctions at Chislehurst and Shortlands and the complex network of lines which result from the crossing of two busy 4-track routes from the various London termini towards the Kent and East Sussex coast. These are the lines from Charing Cross via Orpington and the lines from Victoria via Bromley South and Swanley

The layout provides  crossovers so that a Down train can get to any exit Down line  and any Up train can get to any London terminus. With intensive traffic serving the main lines and the busy inner suburban and outer commuter services, the simulation presents a real challenge, especially during the morning and evening rush hours. There is also freight traffic to the Channel Tunnel and elsewhere to be fitted in.

Background

The history of the lines go back to the 1850's. London Victoria (and also Blackfriars) were the city termini of the London Chatham and Dover Railway, seen on our signal panel at the left of the layout diagram, routing either via Beckenham Junction or the Catford Loop. In the Down direction the lines went to Ramsgate and Dover via Chatham, branching off at Swanley via Maidstone East and could also reach Canterbury via Chatham or Ashford.

The South Eastern Railway had lines that ran from Charing Cross, Cannon St and London Bridge to Orpington, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Ashford to Dover and Folkestone. Eventually the railway companies merged and are now known as the South Eastern (Railway). It is the crossing of the lines of these two original railway companies that results in the busy junctions in this simulation.

Signalling

From the London terminals to Shortlands Junction is now controlled from Three Bridges Regional Centre; from Elmstead Woods into London Bridge also. The Orpington to Elmstead Woods section is controlled from Ashford (Kent) Signalling Centre, as is the Down Maidstone from Swanley to Sevenoaks. The Bromley South to Swanley line is controlled from Victoria Signalling Centre at Clapham Junction.

From South of Swanley (Longfield), the signalling is controlled from the East Kent Signalling Centre at Gillingham. The stretch that we have is still under Victoria Control Centre but is gradually being replaced and will be transferred  to one of the other signal centres in the last phase of the Victoria Area resignalling scheme within the 2025-2028 period.

Operating Notes

There are rolling stock Depots at Grove Park, Ashford, Slade Green, Gillingham and Ramsgate which feed the services with EMU stock. 

Shortlands Junction: A  special local train regulation rule is in place during late running and disruption: Up trains which are non-stop may be routed between  Shortlands Junction and the London terminals either via the Up Chatham or via the Up Catford. Although the simulation software will give you a routing error for this, you may choose this as the best option.

Use of  Automatic ('A') buttons at Chislehurst Junction and St Mary Cray Junction:  be aware that during the rush hours trains come from other routes so it is easy to let one slip through. It may therefore be worth working manually during those times to avoid accidentally wrong routing a train. 

Line Names can be confusing :

The Up and Down Chatham lines: between  Shortlands Junction and Swanley these are named the Slow lines.
The Up and Down Fast lines which run from Shortlands Junction to Swanley then become the Up and Down Maidstone. 
The Up and Down Kent Fast and Slow lines run from Elmstead Woods to Orpington, where they become the Up and Down Tonbridge. 

Design Compromise

We have not shown all the platforms at Kent House or Beckenham Junction.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Geoff Butler for providing the timetable and also for his help and advice during the development of this simulation

Thanks also to John Dennis for the use of the PC Rail software and to those who have helped with testing.

Frank Rogers & Geoff Butler
Septermber 2025
