Sandown Park originally opened on 12 August 1889 as Oakleigh Racecourse.[5] It was renamed Sandown Park in 1892.[4] Named after Sandown Park in Surrey, England,[6] the station was built to service the nearby Sandown Racecourse, and was only used for racecourse traffic.
Upon opening, the station did not feature in any timetables for the Eastern line.[5] By 1892, it was featured in timetables for the first time.[5]
By 1909, in addition to the two main lines, there was a signal box and booking office located at the up end of the station,[5] and two sidings each over 600 metres long on the eastern side of the tracks,[5] for the stabling of special race services. The station had no platform on the up track, instead having an island platform on the down track, with the other face serving one of the sidings on the eastern side.[5][7]
By 1929, four sidings existed at the down end of the station, parallel to the main lines.[5] In 1937, a crossover at the down end of the station was abolished[4][5] and, in 1943, three sidings that adjoined the back platform road were abolished.[4][5] By 1954, the back platform road and the remaining siding were placed out of use.[4][5] On 16 May 1955, Sandown Park was closed.[4][5]
1965-present
On 19 June 1965, Sandown Park reopened as an island platform,[4][5] coinciding with the first race day meeting at the adjacent racecourse.[8][9] Like the first station, it was open for passengers on race days only.[4][5] On October 4 of that year, it was opened for general passenger traffic.[4][5]
The station once had a second exit and a pedestrian underpass at the up end of the platform, but that has since been closed and filled in.
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