Disused Stations: Westerham Station

An April 1974 view looking due south at the site of Westerham station forecourt. Landmarks are the telegraph pole and advertisement hoarding. The industrial building in the background can be seen under construction in an earlier image. On the right is part of the Crown Hotel and the photographer is standing in the car park looking across London Road. It would appear this building was named simply 'Crown Hotel' and not ' The Crown', unlike the modern building on the site which uses the latter name. The black sign at the back of the forecourt says 'Bus turning point - please keep clear'. The Honda PC50 moped parked on the right belonged to the photographer.
Photo by Nick Catford

In this circa 1975 view, taken from near the site of the water tower and looking south-west, were it not for the Crown and a couple of telegraph poles it would difficult to recognise this scene as being Westerham station, the main 'red herring' being, of course, the industrial building across the trackbed. One cannot help wondering, had the preservationists succeeded, what might have been trundling past this point in 1974. Would the ex-GWR diesel railcars be still in action? Would they be ex-BR railbuses or perhaps ex- BR diesel multiple units? One thing we can be certain of is that it would not have
been a Railmobile!
Photo from John Mann collection

With the school and Crown Hotel providing orientation landmarks, this is the site of Westerham station circa 1975 having been taken over by local industry. Much evidence of the railway remains, not least the platform and fencing; the large telegraph pole, left centre, and advertisement hoarding also still stand. Various tools of the (non-railway) trade are visible with, on the left, a compressor and a Thames Trader lorry. 'Thames' was a brand name used by Ford for their small-to-medium-size range of goods vehicles. The Thames Trader was based upon Ford's American 'C' series truck and became a common sight on Britain's roads from the late 1950s onwards. An unusual, if not somewhat ugly, design, most have long since gone to the scrapyard and only a handful now survive. London Transport had a small fleet of five double-deck Thames Trader 'cycle buses' for transporting cyclists and their bicycles through the Dartford Tunnel. The service was an expensive failure and lasted just two years, 1963 - 5, being replaced by a Land Rover and trailer. One of the buses has survived into preservation.

Photo from John Mann collection

Another view looking of the station site looking north-east from what was the area of the dock circa 1975. The platform is left of centre. Landmarks are Barton's warehouse, right background, with telegraph poles and the advertisement hoarding on the left. The beer promotion campaign had ended five years previously and we are now encouraged to partake of Martini.

Photo from John Mann collection

Compare this circa 1975 image with that from circa 1912. Apart from the cars, the only significant addition to this scene is the London Transport bus stop but, of course, the bus-rail interchange is no more. The station building has gone and the site is fenced off as the station site is now being used by local industries. Perhaps surprisingly the general shape of the tree on the left is still recognisable from 1912. Of the road vehicles, there is an Austin A30 or A35 van and an Austin Westminster A110. The van in between is difficult to identify; it is possibly a Bedford CA or a Morris J2. Note the broken Southern Railway trespass sign under the tree, this is seen close-up below.
Click here for a reminder of the 1912 view.

Photo from John Mann collection

Westerham station platform and derelict trackbed in 1978, with the school and Crown providing landmarks in the background. The site was cleared by 1977 prior to redevelopment. The platform was finally demolished in 1979 and the first industrial unit was completed in 1980. The two road vehicles, one of which is a Volkswagen Type 2 (owned by the photographer), are parked in the layby which once in effect formed the station forecourt. The flag of the LT bus stop is visible above the vehicles.
Photo by Brian Potter

By February 1980 industrial units have taken over the station site, while the Southern Railway legal notice is able to only partially convey its by-then-irrelevant warning. The photographer is standing in the station forecourt in London Road looking east towards the aignal box. Click here to see the same sign in 1964. The full wording, predominantly in block capitals, was 'SOUTHERN RAILWAY Co NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN IN PURSUANCE OF SECTION 90 OF THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY ACT 1924 THAT THIS ROAD IS A PRIVATE ROAD. BY ORDER. This type of notice was common but there were variations according to legalities of the locality. That at Westerham did not warn of trespass whereas others did, adding that a fine 'Not Exceeding 40/-' was liable to be applied. Others omitted the 'Co' after Southern Railway. Other railway companies erected signs with similar meanings and the majority, as at Westerham, survived nationalisation and closure when applicable. Some may still be seen today, long after the companies to which they applied ceased to exist but so-called 'privatisation' of the railways has seen off many survivors.
Photo by Brian Potter

The remains of Westerham station in July 1980. Part of the platform is visible, with its blue- brick edging and some of the canopy support bases. The trackbed has been infilled to just short of platform level. Close examination suggests that the canopy support bases were hollow and thus the supports simply dropped into them. The bases themselves would have been rather deeper than is visible above and set into the platform; this would explain their continued existence in 1980. Below and to the immediate left of the Horse Chestnut tree is a damaged Southern Railway sign, a close-up of which is seen above. Right of centre the post box set into brickwork is seen. It can be seen in several views of the station exterior taken from London Road although in the above view it appears to have received a new concrete capping. Letters may still be posted here in 2016, albeit in a more modern pillar box. The iron fencing dated from Southern Railway days. The London Transport bus stop and The Crown are out of view to the left.
Photo by David Staines

Preservationists did finally operate to Westerham but not in the form of the Westerham Valley Railway Association. Here on 31 August 1980 preserved London Transport (LT) RT 3491 stands on the turning circle/bus stop which until nineteen years previously had been adjacent to the forecourt of Westerham station. Evidence of the station in the above view is the low wall behind the bus which had formed the base of the wooden station building. Retention of this wall appears to have been deliberate as close examination shows it had been given cappings subsequent to demolition of the building. The general air of neglect in the background was also typical of former railway locations in the days before such sites were snapped-up for redevelopment; a phase kick-started during Mrs Thatcher's time as Prime Minister which had begun the year before this photograph was taken. When still in service with LT, RT 3491 was always a red central area bus and only received green country area livery in preservation as LT were not very happy with preserved buses running around in their red livery unless they were operating on the one-time dedicated route 100. The RT family, which was several thousand strong, comprised a number of variations. The majority followed the pattern seen above with bodywork by a number of builders but these was also the RTL class, based upon the Leyland Titan chassis, and the similar but 8ft wide RTW class (the standard RT/RTL was 7ft 6in wide). There was also what is usually referred to as the 'prewar' RT which differed in a number of ways to the postwar version. To muddy the waters further, there were a number of bodywork variations, including the instantly recognisable Craven version which was a five-bay 'Londonised' provincial design, and the 'roof box' types. All these aside, the bulk of the type was as seen above and was based upon the AEC Regent III chassis with air-operated preselector gearbox. This type of gearbox, which was also to be found to certain upmarket cars, had the gear selector lever mounted on a quadrant. Gears were pre-selected and engaged when required by depressing a foot pedal situated in what would otherwise have been the clutch pedal position. RT 3491 was an identity rather than a specific bus. To explain, the bodies and chassis of the postwar 7ft 6in RT and RTL classes were interchangeable and when sent to Aldenham works for overhaul the buses were completely stripped down and, through a dispensation from the then Ministry of Transport, a bus which arrived at Aldenham bearing one fleet and registration number would leave after overhaul bearing different numbers. Thus RT 3491 as seen above went through life with LT with a number of different bodies and chassis' despite the fleet and registration numbers implying the same vehicle. The RT family served London and the suburbs for 40 years although never was the entire family in service at the same time. The final example in LT service bowed out in 1979, on route 62. RT 3491 herself having been withdrawn in 1973. A potted history of RT 3491 can be read here together with some details of the procedure at Aldenham. Aldenham, some readers may be aware, was intended as a depot for the Northern Line extension from Edgware to Bushey Heath which was partially built but ultimately abandoned. The works was located between what would have been Elstree South and Bushey Heath tube stations and just west of the now-infilled tube tunnels under Elstree Hill. The site of Aldenham works is today an industrial estate. Further images and details of RT 3491 can be found in the Westerham thumbnail gallery below.

Photo by David Jones from his Flickr photostream

Looking north-east at the site of Westerham station in April 2014. The photographer is standing approximately on the trackbed with the end of the line about 30yd behind. The Crown office block is seen on the far left, this stands on the site of the Crown Hotel.

Photo by Nick Catford

The base of the 5-ton goods yard crane survives as a memorial to the station beside The Flyers Way. There is no interpretation panel so most people passing by will have no idea what it was and why it is there. This view from April 2014 is looking east; the station site is behind the photographer.
Photo by Nick Catford

Horton's coal office on the corner of London Road and Hortons Way in April 2014. The building is confusingly called 'Station House' (black sign to the left of the door). When the building was sold recently the agent's sale particulars stated ' A detached single storey building which we understand was built in 1878 as the station sale particulars master's day house'. This is totally untrue; there is no such thing as a stationmaster's day house. The stationmaster lived in a normal two-storey house at 46 Maden Road. The coal office was built in 1903 and is now used as a beauty salon. The other single-storey wooden buildings along Horton Way had no direct railway connection.

Photo by Nick Catford

1950s

10 November 1957

28 October 1961

August 1980

April 2014

February 2016

Click on thumbnail to enlarge

[Source: Nick Catford]