old141.jpg) Push - Pull* set 717 at Westerham in 1947. The locomotive is believed to have been Class R 0-4-4T No.1671. Few details specific to set 717 have been found but it shows hallmarks of being of LB&SCR origin. These sets had an interesting history and ran originally either as single cars or with a locomotive sandwiched between a pair of driving trailers. The latter method was rather wasteful of resources. Eventually altered into the driving trailer + composite form seen above, following a number or reshuffles the composites finally inserted had began life in the one-time LB&SCR overhead electric units. Note that the locomotive is at the Dunton Green end; Southern Railway practice appears to have had Westerham branch trains either way around but in BR days trains generally had the locomotive at the Westerham end. Information supplied with the above photograph states that at the end of each day's service the Push - Pull trains had goods wagons coupled for returning to Dunton Green where they were detached and the train then continued in service to Tonbridge. Although this cannot be disproved at the time of writing, it is considered highly unlikely. The practice in BR days, at least, involved the passenger set being stabled overnight at Westerham while its locomotive detached and worked the goods to Dunton Green with the reverse applying in the early morning, with a goods trip back to Brasted before the locomotive returned to Westerham to take up passenger service. On the platform, note the alternate-colour painting on the canopy support columns. This had probably been applied during WWII as part of the ARP blackout contingency measures. [*Push - Pull, with the hyphen, was the Southern's version of the term for this method of operation. Other railway companies used variations such as 'Push & Pull', 'Pull & Push' or simply 'P&P'. The Great Western Railway, as always wanting to be different, used the words 'Autotrain' and 'Autocoach'. 'Motortrain' was yet another term used rather loosely from time to time.]
Photo from Michael West collection old142.jpg) This is almost certainly the same train, at the same time, as seen in the 1947 view looking at the driving trailer end of the train. One of the men on the track appears to be the same one as seen in the other view of this train but what they are doing is unclear. To the right of the locomotive, Westerham's running-in board can be seen and beyond it the Crown.
Photo from Michael West collection old143.jpg) A further view from 1947 looking south-west towards Westerham station and goods yard. Directly ahead of the camera is the water tower and to its right the site of the engine shed. The water crane can be seen far right. No close-up views of the shed have been found and all views only show the shed in the distance. It appears to have had a pitched roof. Another mystery is the purpose of the railings on the low wall which once formed the base of the shed. The railings were possibly added after the shed was demolished as additional protection against staff falling into the ash pit by tripping over the low walls. Nevertheless, unguarded pits were the norm at most sheds and staff were expected to exercise caution and common sense so it is difficult to see why Westerham would be an exception. Some sources refer to 'the engine shed at Westerham with its peculiar railings', suggesting that shed and railings co-existed so this is one mystery which may never be solved.
Photo from Michael West collection old144.jpg)
A pleasing view of Westerham in 1947, no doubt taken from the signal box steps and with the platform on the right. This is one of the very few images showing goods activity at Westerham. Behind the crane a small lorry is loaded with what appear to be pipes and these are probably the same type of pipes which can be seen stacked on the ground the other side of the goods shed in numerous other images. The lorry is unidentified but has the look of an ex-military vehicle about it. Surplus military vehicles, sold off following the end of both world wars, were a common sight. On the left, some open wagons can be seen on the back road siding with sacks of unknown content being either loaded onto or unloaded from a Southern Railway Scammell 'Mechanical Horse'. These articulated vehicles were direct replacements for the horse and cart and were designed to be manoeuvrable in confined areas. They were based upon a design by D Napier & Son (better known for the Deltic power unit, aero engines and early racing cars). Scammell Lorries Ltd purchased the design following a request for such a vehicle from the LNER and production of the Mechanical Horse commenced in 1934. Many thousands were built and the type could be seen across Britain and not just in railway use. The three-wheeled tractor unit was powered by a petrol engine located towards the left-hand side of the cab. This made the vehicles somewhat unstable and a degree if skill was required to drive them safely. Brakes also required caution of operation. Their intended purpose was local collection and delivery work and at this task they proved absolutely ideal - apart from one drawback: the trailers which were mainly, but not exclusively, of the open flatbed type and theft of goods became a problem as drivers were distracted during deliveries, dealing with paperwork and so on. Coupling between tractor and trailer was of a Scammell design which went on to become more or less universal in its various modified forms. The Mechanical Horse seen above would have been based in the area and likely at Westerham itself. Livery would have been green, later replaced by the more familiar British Railways carmine and cream with, post nationalisation, British Road Services examples in green. The Mechanical Horse was ultimately replaced by the better-known Scammell Scarab and Townsman models. Now museum pieces, several examples of all versions survive, some of which can occasionally be seen in action at heritage railways
and vintage transport events. Photo
from Michael West collection
old145.jpg) Westerham goods yard in August 1947. Apart from the small goods shed and dock at the western end of the site, this view shows the extent of Westerham's goods facilities which on this occasion held a reasonably amount of wagons. As was the case with most wagon-load goods traffic, much shunting and remarshalling was required during the course of a journey. Westerham's position close to London meant that it was often, especially with the advent of road motor transport, far more convenient to send goods by road unless goods needed to be sent to, or were coming from, much further afield. This should not be taken as a criticism of the Westerham branch though, as the same situation existed at many other locations. The open wagon nearest the camera on the back road siding, right, looks ancient even for 1947 and appears to retain a wooden bufferbeam. It may have been a private owner wagon. The open wagons, centre left, are carrying what look like sections of felled trees. Left of the crane the signal box and part of the station platform can be seen.
Photo from Michael West collection old146.jpg) Another 1947 view looking due west with the running line in the foreground and the signal box in the right background. Ahead of the camera is the well-known ringed shunt signal and the various sidings can be seen fanning out. No.1 siding, the loop, can be seen branching off on the right, just beyond the engine shed site. The brakevan, centre distance, can just be seen on the extreme right of the 1947 view looking due east. At first glance the van looks a little like an ex-SE&CR 'Dance Hall' type but closer examination suggests that it is an LMS 20-ton type. Note, right of centre, the Southern style ground shunt signal is 'off'. The reason for this is unclear.
Photo from Michael West collection old147.jpg) A general view, again from 1947, of what remains of Westerham's locomotive facilities. The track, left foreground, was the running line and the track leading from there was No.1 Siding which also formed the run-round loop. The next track to the right was No.2 siding. It connected to the running line in the left background, beyond the water crane, and was also connected to No.1 siding out of view to the right. The back road siding was on the far right. No.2 siding ran, as can be seen, to the former engine shed (where the railings can be seen on the left) but was not connected to any other track at its eastern end.
Photo from Michael West collection old148.jpg) Looking east from Westerham signal box during the last year of the Southern Railway's existence, 1947. It would be hard to identify this as a pre-nationalisation scene if it were not for the private owner open wagons on the right. The name on the nearest wagon appears to be 'Carlton' or something similar. Private owner wagons were once extremely common and could be seen all over the network. They carried the name and, usually, the location, of the owner and if in good clean condition, which was not always the case, presented a fascinating sight. Today, many can be seen on heritage railways. The small rectangular structure on the left is a WWII air raid shelter for use by railway staff. It has brick walls and a concrete roof with an entrance at opposite ends of the two long sides. Shelters such as this example could not, nor were they designed to, withstand a direct hit. They could withstand the effects of a blast in the vicinity but that was their limit. Later in the war, Westerham was also at risk of attack by V1 flying bombs. Intended to fall on London they could, and many did, come down in Kent. Also visible in this scene are a Southern style shunt signal, the water tower, engine shed site and water crane. The hut beside the water tower presumably houses a pump
Photo
from Michael West collection
old12.jpg) A rather grubby Class R1 0-4-4T waits at Westerham in 1947, towards the end of Southern Railway days. The small class of 15 R1 locomotives has been described elsewhere. The goods shed, left, shows staining from steam locomotive exhaust. Normally steam locomotives were not permitted to pass through goods sheds but rules were sometimes tailored to suit local operating requirements. However, the west end of Westerham goods shed showed no evidence of staining so presumably the east end staining was the result of locomotives merely positioning wagons inside the shed.
Photo from John Mann collection old57.jpg) This view of Westerham station came with the loose date 1950s. This is probably correct but a couple of features suggest very early 1950s or even around the time of nationalisation. The features concerned are the smaller nameboard on the signal box, possibly of SE&CR origin, plus the starter signal. That seen above is a SE&CR railway example with wooden post and lower-quadrant wooden arm. This signal was replaced with a Southern example with metal post and metal upper-quadrant arm sometime around 1952. A vehicle can be seen stabled to the right of, and beyond, the goods shed. The photograph is too indistinct for a positive identification but it appears to be an ex-SE&CR brakevan.
Photo from John Mann collection old7.jpg) A general and trainless view of Westerham in 1950, two years into the British Railways period. The area is rather tidier than it was during many a later year. A number of goods wagons are present, both in the goods shed and, in the distance, on the back road siding. On the far left a London Transport Green Line bus can be seen. The fencing make a positive identification difficult but it appears to be a 'T' class AEC Regal. Like almost all London Transport vehicles up to the Routemaster, the 'T' class was built to LT specification and was an attractive half-cab, exposed radiator vehicle. There were numerous variations within the class, mainly concerning the type of bodywork, and the type, in one form or another, served London Transport from 1929 until 1962. Anybody who remembers them or has been on one of the preserved examples will know they were an absolute delight to travel in, but then so were most London Transport vehicles built to their specification. The crossover from the run-round loop to the siding has been removed and railings fitted at the end of the dock preventing end-loading.
Photo from John Mann collection Click here for Westerham Station Gallery 4:
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