The Mid Kent line was built by the Mid-Kent and North Kent Junction Railway and was opened on 1 January 1857 as far as Beckenham Junction. From opening the line was worked by the South Eastern Railway. On opening Catford Bridge was provided with a small goods yard on the up side north of the platform. Seven years later the MK&NKJR built an extension from a new junction station at New Beckenham to Croydon which again was operated by the SER. Almost all services from the station have terminated at Charing Cross or Cannon Street stations but between 1880 and 1884 a service worked between Croydon calling all stations to New Cross and then via a connection to the East London Line and terminating at Liverpool Street station. In 1898 the South Eastern Railway and its bitter rivals the London Chatham and Dover Railway agreed to work as one railway company under the name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway and Catford Bridge became an SECR station.
Following the Railways Act 1921, Catford Bridge became a Southern Railway station on 1 January 1923. The Mid-Kent line was electrified with the third rail system and electric services commenced on 28 February 1926. Early electric services were worked by early Southern Railway 3-car Electric Multiple Unit trains often built from old SECR carriages. Between 1927 and 1935 speculative house building west of the station saw an increase in commuter numbers.
British Railways (1948-1994)
After World War II and following nationalisation on 1 January 1948, the station fell under the auspices of British Railways Southern Region. The goods yard closed to general traffic on 28 December 1964 and to coal on 25 March 1968. Colour light signalling was introduced between Ladywell and New Beckenham on 4 April 1971 with signalling being controlled by the signal box at New Beckenham. The small SER signal box which was located on the up platform was closed as a result. On 28 September 1975 the control of the signalling was transferred to London Bridge signalling centre. In May 1993 the up side ticket office was destroyed by fire and following this a new ticket office was opened on the down side of the station.
The second episode of the 1979 London Weekend Television comedy series End of Part One includes the main characters watching a film called "The Life of Christopher Columbus". In the film, Columbus goes to a tube station and asks for a train to America, but is told he can only go as far as Catford. Part of a modified tube map is shown which shows the fictitious tube stations Lewisham, Ladywell, Edge of the World and Catford on the East London Section of the Metropolitan line south from New Cross station. There is an actual part of the main line Mid-Kent Railway that interchanges with New Cross station, and the stations are, southwards in order: St. John's, Lewisham, Ladywell and Catford Bridge.
