Godstone Station, William's Siding and Bletchingley Tunnel
All the stations opened with the line on 26 May 1842, with the exception of Nutfield and Leigh, which are covered in their respective galleries.
Separate collections cover (a) Tonbridge Station; (b) Leigh Station; (c) Penshurst Station; (d) Edenbridge Station; (e) Godstone Station; (f) Nutfield Station ; and (g) Redhill Station.
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A rare photograph of the forecourt of Godstone Station, pictured on 30.01.1966. Entering the booking office under the canopy, passengers climbed stairs within the building to reach the platform. The wooden building on the left is a luggage chute from which a footpath ran directly to the adjacent "Railway Hotel" public house (out of shot behind the camera). The hotel may not have been an ideal destination, since a short distance to the east was the Godstone District Gas Works. To the right a cattle pen can be seen at the top of the steep approach and on the very extreme right a siding can just be seen passing under a loading gauge adjacent to a concrete hut. The siding ran the whole length of the forecourt, where there was also a goods crane and coal bins (out of shot to the right). By then the goods yard was no longer in use, having closed on 04.05.1964. Unfortunately the photograph has insufficient resolution to establish the nature of the lorry but it may have been a coal merchant. John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Godstone Station, viewed looking north from the adjacent main A22 road, albeit rather less busy than it would be today. It can be seen how the station sits on a steep embankment. The source is an old postcard by A Hollands of Batchelder Bros, Croydon, but an internet search has failed to identify any copyright. Please contact me if you claim ownership. The picture has received some restoration. Steve Elphick supplied, and retains all current rights to, this image.
Godstone Station platforms, looking east, on 30.01.1966. The construction dates from 1914/1915, when the platforms were lengthened and raised, and a footbridge was provided. Originally a siding ran right up to the side of the building behind the fence on the left. Note the ornate swan-necked lamp standards, gas lights, totems and wooden seats. At the end of the platform the eastbound Starting signal is raised. To the left of the station building, in the distance, are some of the Victorian houses in South Godstone, which are the other side of the main A22. It is likely that a good number of these dwellings were originally occupied by people working at the nearby gas works. John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Another view looking east along the platforms at Godstone Station on an unknown date. Note the running in board and swan-necked gas lamps (a benefit of the adjacent gas works). This was a frequently pictured view, and there are a number of copyright images on the internet, but none exactly replicating this one. Steve Elphick supplied, and retains all current rights to, this image.
Godstone Station looking west on 30.01.1966. The signal box is tucked behind the footbridge, westbound passengers benefit from a wooden shelter, and there is a staff board crossing. The westbound Starting signal is raised and in the distance the eastbound Home signal can just be seen, installed on a bracket to make room for the siding to the goods yard and the headshunt. John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Redhill bound "Tadpole" unit 1204 enters Godstone Station on Sunday 08.02.1970. The picture very nicely captures the luggage chute, which was entered via the door facing the platform. Luggage was lowered to the forecourt below, which was probably much easier than carrying it down the stairs in the booking hall. Unlike some other stations on the line at this time, Godstone had a footbridge, a consequence of the station being rebuilt from its original form in 1914/1915. The signal box is tucked behind the footbridge on the right and the large gasholder in the distance is in the grounds of Godstone District Gas Works. Eric Kemp retains all rights to this image.
The Starting signal at the western end of Godstone Station, pictured on 08.02.1970 in the "Off" position. The signal was mounted on a wooden post. Just behind the signal, on the right, the track of the goods yard headshunt can be seen, disconnected and out of service. The track was never lifted and more than 50 years later it is still there, covered by bushes. Eric Kemp retains all rights to this image.
Godstone Station, looking east on Thursday 09.07.1970. "Tadpole" unit 1204 is standing at the westbound platform with the 18: 55 service from Tonbridge to Redhill. The main station building is largely concealed by a metal shed and debris from the former goods yard, which closed on 04.05.1964. On the extreme left it can be seen that the station entrance sloped steeply away down to the adjacent road and in the distance is the green gasholder of the Godstone District Gas Works. Eric Kemp retains all rights to this image.
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A motor coach from Hastings unit 1034 in a siding at Godstone on 09.07.1970, following a derailment on 11.06.1970, caused by a distortion of the track. Eric Kemp retains all rights to this image.
Godstone Station looking east circa 1970. The photographer has caught the installation of new lamp standards with florescent tubes, as the inspection traps on the lamps on the right are still open and the original ornate lighting is still in situ. There is a "proper" wooden seat under the canopy, and there is just a glimpse of the entrance to the luggage chute beyond the footbridge. In the distance the eastbound Starting signal can be seen in the "Off" position. The station buildings seen here (except the signal box) were demolished in the mid-1970s. John Clark retains all rights to this image.
Godstone, looking east from the station past signal AD505. The black and white plate indicates that the signal is automatic, and will revert to green once the line is clear. The word "Semi" is more unusual and indicates a semi-automatic signal that can be controlled by the signalman if required. Beyond the road bridge on the right there was once a long siding entered by trailing points from the westbound line, but all trace of it had vanished. 10.07.2005
Looking west from Godstone Station with a long lens. The remains of the former goods yard headshunt and its buffer stop can be seen on the right. In the distance is Bletchingley Tunnel, but the lens makes the distance appear shorter than is actually the case. 10.07.2005
Godstone Station entrance on 24.06.2010, with the station in "Southern" colours and a selection of posters, including one which explained where to board your "Rail Replacement Bus". Hopefully they didn't use that one too often. John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Godstone Station, looking west from the footbridge on 24.06.2010. The station buildings were, by then, long gone, having been demolished in the 1970s, and the inevitable bus shelters were provided for passengers. John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Godstone Station, looking west from the footbridge on 24.06.2010. Tucked around the corner from the right hand shelter is a "Help Point", another modern "improvement". John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Godstone Station, looking west from the footbridge on 24.06.2010. Many years earlier colour light signals had been installed, replacing the semaphore signals that disappeared in about 1986. John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Godstone Station, looking west along the line on 24.06.2010. On the right a headshunt used to extend west, and the goods yard was located behind the fence to the right of the camera. John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Godstone Station, looking east on 24.06.2010, with the entrance to the station on the left. John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Godstone Station, looking east on 24.06.2010. The signal box used to stand on the right beyond the footbridge, and beyond the bridge was a long siding, extending east from the station. John Attfield retains all rights to this image.
Opposite what was originally the forecourt to Godstone Station was the "Railway Hotel", which has since been transformed into "The Langham" and "The Spice Yard". I hope someone had noticed that their TV aerial was hanging by a thread. To the right (out of shot) there was originally another coal yard next to the hotel, which was served by a separate siding from the eastbound line. 26.02.2022 21270
Two double arrow station signs are attached to the wall adjacent to the road that leads to Godstone Station, but they are not particularly conspicuous. They were quite difficult to photograph without standing in the middle of the very busy A22, and (having done a risk assessment) I decided that this would have to do. 26.02.2022 21271
This is the entrance to Station Approach (as it was) but nowadays it looks very much like the access to a small group of houses. To add to the confusion the name of the road has been changed to "Ragan Mews". You are allowed to play "Spot Godstone Station". It was quite difficult to assess the footprint of the original station forecourt, but I believe that the houses behind the fence on the right may be built on the site of the long coal siding that stretched right down to the A22. 26.02.2022 21272
The houses that now occupy the former forecourt of Godstone Station. They were constructed around 2018 (the year is not precise) and some were still for sale in 2021. 26.02.2022 21273
This is the entrance to the car park at Godstone Station, which is "Free" (remarkable in itself). The change in land ownership has resulted in the rather silly situation that you can actually drive around the left hand side of the height barrier. This makes the boundary between the residents parking and the station parking somewhat fluid. 26.02.2022 21274
Godstone Station car park with some residential parking on the left. 26.02.2022 21275
The station building having long gone, the stunningly impressive entrance to Godstone Station is next to the rusting shipping container on the right. Beyond it was a broken Portaloo, about which the least said the better. 26.02.2022 21236
It is a sign of the times that a covered cycle rack is provided adjacent to the entrance of Godstone Station. 26.02.2022 21237
Looking down from Godstone Station, towards the car park and former forecourt. 26.02.2022 21254
The sloped entrance to Godstone Station. The gate on the right is an engineers access to the track. 26.02.2022 21238
The reverse of the previous view of Godstone Station, looking down the slope from the platform. Try to ignore the container and Portaloo. Trust me, it is not easy, but fortunately this website does not provide "smell vision". 26.02.2022 21239
The entrance on to the platform at Godstone Station. At the risk of stating the obvious, the station is not actually in Godstone which is, in fact, two miles away. The SER did not tend to worry about such things when they constructed railways. This contributes to the station not being well used, but a small community of "South Godstone" exists, which it directly serves. There are some Victorian terraces in the community (on the opposite side of the A22) which originally probably had some connection with the gas works. 26.02.2022 21242
Notice boards at the entrance to Godstone Station. 26.02.2022 21269
Looking east down the eastbound platform at Godstone Station. 26.02.2022 21241
Extra notice boards at the entrance to Godstone Station, including the Samaritan's very positive display. Also included is a local map which informs the unwary that (apart from South Godstone) you are in the middle of nowhere. In addition there is a Rail Replacement Bus map which explains that having walked all the way up to the platform, you need to retrace your steps and go right down to the A22 again. The delights of rural stations. 26.02.2022 21243
Like the vast majority of stations in this area Godstone Station has a defibrillator, sited near to the platform entrance, next to some new seating. 26.02.2022 21244
The ticket machine and bus shelter on the eastbound platform at Godstone Station. 26.02.2022 21245
The bus shelter on the eastbound platform at Godstone Station. This is of a recent design where the roof does not sit down on the top of the shelter, leaving a gap at the top which admits the wind and rain. It is hard to imagine who thought that this was a good idea. 26.02.2022 21246
The bus shelter on the eastbound platform at Godstone Station. This is of a recent design where the roof does not sit down on the top of the shelter, leaving a gap at the top which admits the wind and rain. It is hard to imagine who thought that this was a good idea. 26.02.2022 21247
Train information and a "Help Point" are sited adjacent to the footbridge at Godstone Station. 26.02.2022 21248
