Bill Curtis: “…I travelled with my father on the Westerham branch in the summer of 1959 and as we were the only passengers boarding the empty train at Dunton Green, we were invited by the driver to accompany him and his fireman in the cab for the journey – what a treat! Suffice it to ...
Reference: WH0113
Introduced in the early 1930s, ‘H’ Class locomotives were popular amongst the crews from Tonbridge shed. Being of 0-4-4T wheel configuration and tank-engines (no tender), they were stable and easy to manoeuvre in both directions, there being no turntable on the line.
Reference: WH0116
Clearly an example of ‘time on your hands’, the attractive station garden opposite the platform at Brasted. With one train an hour, plenty of time to do the weeding.
Reference: WH0118
This locomotive worked out of Tonbridge shed between July 1953 to June 1956 and then again between March 1961 to the end of operations in October 1961. It was ‘Push-and-Pull’ fitted in June 1953 for branch-line use.
Reference: WH0120
This locomotive worked out of Tonbridge shed between January 1950 to October 1951 and then again between June 1955 to June 1961. It was ‘Push-and-Pull’ fitted in December 1949. This meant the driver could operate the controls (Regulator, Reverser and Brake) from a compartment at the back end of the train, meaning time was saved ...
Reference: WH0117
There was no station built at Chevening when the railway was opened in 1881, but in 1906 an unstaffed ‘halt’ was erected for the sum of £50 including the steps from the roadbridge and the gate. It was operated like a request stop, so if nobody asked for it when boarding the train, and no-one ...
Reference: WH0132
Several large employers would give their workers an annual summer outing, by rail or coach, often to the sea-side. Here we see workers and their families from Westerham Nursery en-route to Margate in the 1950s.
Reference: WH0166
