"Troy Steadman" wrote in message
news:d5a9a4b5447d3523444bdb3aee87db78.125090@mygat e.mailgate.org...
...and how was it done? The "spur" sidings between the platforms
(points either end) seem important:

http://www.wymann.info/EpsomDowns/EpsomDowns.html
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/s...s/index4.shtml

I was expecting an angry reaction to the following but in the absence of
any anger I admit it is rather a good point. In the 1900's there were no
houses only the college for miles around Epsom Downs Station. Does the
1 platform station nowadays handle more annually than the 9 platform
station? What is a Derby crowd - 300,000?

When the line was double track the signalling probably didn't allow trains
at closer headways than 5 minutes, so the station could probably handle
around 6000 passengers per hour. Now the single track from Sutton doesn't
permit better than 24 minute headways, in reality 2 trains per hour or 1500
passengers per hour. As pointed out in the website your post links to, since
1901 Tattenham Corner has been a better sited station for the Epsom
racecourse, and it retains double track and extra trains on Derby and Oaks
days.

One occasion when the railways failed to cope with the Derby Day crowds was
1838, when the London & Southampton Railway advertised special trains from
Nine Elms to the station later named Surbiton (the publicity didn't mention
the 6 mile walk) and was completely overwhelmed by the demand.

Peter