TUNBRIDGE WELLS WEST
Commissioned and published by New Society Magazine, 'The End Of The Line' documents the former Tunbridge Wells West Branch Line, closed shortly after these photographs were taken.
Constructed in 1866, the line connected Tunbridge Wells to Brighton. Circus trains carrying animals once stopped here, reputedly including Buffalo Bill's Circus in 1903. The line was truncated in the wide-ranging Beeching cuts of the 1960's. Much of the site of the former marshalling yard is now a Sainsbury's supermarket. The Spa Valley Line has re-opened much of the track to Eridge, running heritage steam trains. In 1985, the year of the line's closure, the booking hall and platforms were still lit by gaslight.
(L) The station's chargehand, train leaving the west station, bound for Tunbridge Wells
The signalbox
The Engine Shed, lunchtime at an Eridge pub
The Clock Tower
The gaslit Booking Hall