Another last day view showing the push-and-pull locomotive bedecked with the Union Flag. The large advertisement hoarding would appear to be oddly sited; it would not be visible to railway passengers under normal circumstances and although visible from the station approach road it was partially obscured by fencing. However, being situated on railway property it no doubt provided additional income for the railway. As can be seen from books and throughout the Disused Stations website, the railways were once very good at attracting revenue from advertising and far more so than today when many are not so much advertisements but more in the nature of notices of either a patronising or warning nature. At Westerham in 1961 things were beginning to look a little shabby although the platform road and loop had recently been given some fresh ballast. It did not go unnoticed that such maintenance jobs were often carried out immediately prior to a closure and often it was suspected of being done to show a deficit increase to help justify closure. This was, however, a myth. It was simply a case of maintenance staff continuing to do the jobs they were paid to do as there was - and still is of course - a requirement to maintain equipment in a fit state for as long as trains are running.
Photo by Bob Morley