Station Name: RAYDON WOOD[Source: Nick Catford]
Raydon Wood Gallery 1: August 1924 - 20 April 1962 A rare picture of Raydon Wood station looking south-east in August 1924 before closure to passengers. A glimpse of the signal box is seen on the far side of the barrow crossing in the foreground. The box was abolished in April the previous year. There appear to be no signals, no point rodding and no single wire runs visible which confirms the box was out of use. In later years, photographs show, a ground frame was present to lock/unlock the level crossing gates. This frame is not present in this photo which might suggest the box was retained for a time, reduced to ground frame status, for the crossing. The ground frame had gone by the time the line finally closed.
Photo by Elsie A Cole 1888 1:2,500 OS map. This map shows the original layout of Raydon station (note the original name). The goods yard at this time comprised the loop siding with one dead end siding running west from the loop. The goods shed is sited at the west end of the loop. At this time the signal box hadn't been provided. The crossing keeper’s cottage is seen alongside the crossing on the up side.
Click here for a larger version. 1904 1:2,500 OS map. The station has now been renamed Raydon Wood. A signal box has now been provided opposite the station building on the up side. A second set of points has been added making the original loop shorter so there are now two connections from the up direction. The farm in Woodlands Road, alongside the level crossing is now named Station Farm. Click here for a larger version.
1926 1:2,500 OS map. The signal box is still shown although it had been abolished by this time. The goods shed was closed after WW1 and quickly demolished. The points at east end of the original loop has been removed creating a new dead end siding. The loop is now shorter than originally built.
Click here for a larger version. This undated photo of Raydon Wood station was probably taken around the time of closure in 1932. Later photos from the 1950s show all the posters and notice boards have gone. The enamel sign above the door facing along the platform is for Pears Soap. In its centre is a logo depicting a pair of pears, above which it says "The KING of SOAPS" and below it "The SOAP of KINGS". Between the two doorways to the left, the lower two advertisements are for Mazawattee Tea. The uppermost advertisement appear to be promoting a 'Cough Cure' but is otherwise unclear. The doorway second from left bears a 'Gentlemen' sign.
Photo from James Lake collection Raydon Wood station looking north towards Bentley station. This is an undated picture but as the signal box has gone it is certainly post-1923. The bushes at far right seem well established. When the signal box was still in use, those bushes would have obstructed the signalman's view along the line to the points into the goods yard and its controlling signals. The photo was probably taken after closure to passengers and perhaps 1937/8. The presence of the running-in board (which is GER) and the platform barrow can be ignored as at that time these items often remained for years after closure. The barrow was perhaps still used for parcels and sundries. The crossing keeper’s cottage is seen. This had front similar to the octagonal cottage and Church Road, Bentley with a larger section to the rear.
Photo from John Mann collection Raydon Wood station looking south-east towards Bentley in September 1953. The ground frame that controlled the gates is seen to the left of the barrow crossing. The rodding from ground frame to level crossing is clear, as is the disconnected signal wire run. Where that coal bunker is on the left appears to be the footings of the former signal box which was abolished in 1923. There is another ground frame in the distance, controlling the points to the goods yard which are seen beyond the platform.
Copyright photo from Stations UK Raydon Wood station and Woodlands Road level crossing looking south-east towards Bentley in September 1954. The gate on the right gives access to the station forecourt and on to the goods yard. The view appears to be taken from the cab of an approaching train. Raydon Wood's foreman-in- charge is about to open the gates. The crossing keeper's cottage is seen on the left.
Photo from John Mann collection Class J15 0-6-0 No.65459 stands at Raydon Wood with the enthusiasts’ brake van special of 9 June 1956 on its return journey from Hadleigh. Details of this train are somewhat mysterious. It was organised by either The Railway Club (long since defunct) or the Railway Enthusiasts Club, beginning and ending at Liverpool Street. The route was Liverpool Street to Hadleigh via Audley End - Saffron Walden - Bartlow - Colchester - Ipswich & Bentley. Tickets were printed 'Day Excursion' along with the route as described, return being direct from Bentley to Liverpool Street. The inclusion of "Ipswich & Bentley" is revealing; it tells us the passengers would pass through Bentley on their way to Ipswich before returning to Bentley for the Hadleigh branch, therefore Ipswich is where they boarded the brake vans behind the J15. The circuitous journey from Liverpool Street to Ipswich would not, given the small number of passengers involved, have warranted a special passenger train so it is highly likely this leg was undertaken by timetabled trains, as was the return to London from Bentley. Indeed, at least one person recalls this as being the case. Another obscure detail is the route taken between Haverhill and Chappel, which could have been via Halstead or Sudbury. No.65459 is carrying express passenger headcode lamps which, incidentally, were also applied for certain other types of work, yet she carried none on her tender brackets during the outward journey to Hadleigh. She carries a recently painted Ipswich (32B) shedplate and her general appearance suggests she was given a sprucing-up for this job. Being one of several J15s to be fitted with the Westinghouse brake in addition to the vacuum brake, her Westinghouse pump can be seen just ahead of the cab. New in 1906 as GER No.561, she was moved to Stratford shed in December 1959 and withdrawn two months later.
Photo b y RC Riley The Hadleigh branch add-on, organised by Mr. G. Lockie, to a Ramblers’ Excursion of 20 April 1962 has arrived at Raydon Wood behind D5544 on its way to Hadleigh. On the return journey the train stopped at Raydon Wood to pick up a group of ramblers who had begun their ramble elsewhere. Tickets were specially printed for this group, thus this was likely to have been the final time a train called at Raydon Wood to collect waiting passengers holding tickets valid from this station. Some three decades after withdrawal of regular passenger services, it is perhaps surprising to see an intact oil lamp on the platform. To the right of the lamp and against the wall of the building is what appears to be pen holding gravel. In this view can be seen the three chimney stacks on the station building. At some point in the late twentieth century the central stack was removed, only to be reinstated sometime around 2013.
Photo
by David Pearson
Photo by David Pearson Click here for Raydon Wood station Gallery 2:
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