It was acquired by the SER in 1859, but it was not until the latter years of the nineteenth century that residential development made the commercial situation of the line more buoyant.

[1][a] The buffer stops at Caterham are 19 miles 70 ch (32.0 km) down the line from London Charing Cross, when measured via Norwood Junction.

The primary aim was to transport stone from the quarries in the North Downs, around 1.5 mi (2.4 km) to the south of the town, and providing a passenger service was a secondary concern.

[13] Five years earlier, in July 1848, the SER and LB&SCR had agreed to divide south east England, to separate their operations and to prevent unnecessary conflict.

[14] The local railway historian, Jeoffry Spence, notes "the acrimonious and internecine warfare" between the SER and LB&SCR at this time and states that the two larger companies "spared no efforts to bring the history of their unfortunate victim [the CR] to a premature conclusion.

A condition of the act was that the CR was not to cross the Brighton Main Line or to otherwise interfere with the operations and property of the LB&SCR.

[18][19][20] The Caterham line was declared "ready for traffic" on 21 September 1855, but disputes with the other railway companies prevented it from opening for almost twelve months.

[21] By March 1855, SER shareholders were becoming increasingly concerned that the CR would attract passengers from the Oxted and Westerham areas, who might otherwise have used Godstone and Edenbridge stations.

There were suggestions that Alexander Beattie had a conflict of interest between his roles as an SER board member and CR chairman.

[14][24] At the start of the following month, the Railway Times noted that the delay in opening had been due to "political" reasons and expressed concerned over the high proposed fares.

The trains operated by the two larger companies were inconveniently timed to allow connections to be made at Caterham Junction.

In November 1856, the CR brought a unsuccessful case at the Court of Common Pleas to force improvements in the timetable, ticketing arrangements and passenger accommodation at the junction station.

[29][30] In October 1858, the SER agreed to buy the line, but faced opposition from the LB&SCR in preparing the enabling bill for Parliament.

[25][29] The SER also made a payment to George Drew and Captain Wigsell for waiving their rights to stop trains on demand at Kenley.

Of the three schemes, only the C&GVR received authorisation from Parliament, which was granted in the Caterham and Godstone Valley Railway Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vict.

[33] The line, which faced opposition from both the SER and the LB&SCR, required four tunnels through the hills to the south of Caterham to reach Godstone.

[39] For the first three months, these services ran to the previous steam-hauled schedule, but a new timetable began on 17 June, doubling the frequency of trains.

Portion working was introduced, allowing units from Caterham and Tattenham Corner to join at Purley, before continuing as one train to Charing Cross.