Tickets please!

Are we British obsessed with the weather and the trains? Anyway, as I've waited recently in the glorious sun at East Malling station I often ponder how well the station is maintained, despite the best efforts of some. What caught my eye recently are the new (retro-style) signs replacing the old blue and white ones. What would also be nice are some flower boxes or hanging baskets full of flowers to welcome people to the station, or, as the case may be, send them off.

Anyway, if you have an interest in all things train-related, you may be interested in my previous posts on East Malling Halt. To continue the theme, please cast your eye over the photos above of another view of the old Halt and an old ticket for a journey between Borough Green and Wrotham and East Malling Halt (courtesy of some sellers on ebay). Sadly there are no dates for the photo or the ticket. If anyone has any thoughts, please post a comment on the site.

Dear South Eastern Railways...

It occurred to me today, having come across the photos below, that it would be fabulous if South Eastern Railways (or rail track, or whoever would be responsible) were to run a steam train journey for commuters instead of the usual trains. This could take place once a month on a Friday and would give commuters something to look forward to and maybe (going out a limb here) it would cheer every one up. Also, it be an amazing PR exercise for the train company. My cynical side, however, reminds me (in an annoying wittering voice) that there is probably a miriad of reasons why this is unlikely to ever happen, e.g. health and safety issues, number of seats, lack of carriages, lack of specialist train drivers, industrial action, personal injury claims, etc. Whilst I continue my daydream, you may wish to cast your eye over the photos below. The first is from the East Malling/Ditton/Barming avian blog and featured in a post on the 24th October 2007 (for train buffs: this is a 45407). The second I found on the discussion forum of a website called Watercress Line. The post was by a Mr Hugh Topham on the 20th August 2003. He writes: "Saw 73096 today at East Malling Station as photo shows Passed through at 12:58 on its way to Canterbury on a Cathedrals".

I expect there are more photos and information out there on steam trains and East Malling. If you have anything to contribute, please let me know.

East Malling Halt (3)

Another ebay auction has resurrected the East Malling Halt theme that started back in March (see my original and subsequent post). The item is a East Malling Halt totem sign. The seller described this as a "rare totem", which was reflected by the fact the winning bid was £450! Some totems on ebay have apparently sold for £2000, so maybe £450 is a bargain. I have included the photo the seller left below.

East Malling Halt (2)

Here's one for you....why is a train station called a halt? Because it is unmanned of course. Except, however, in the case of East Malling. The feedback I have received is that our beloved station was, in its early days, actually manned even though it was called a halt. I'm sure there's a simple explanation. Maybe it later became manned after being given it's title, particularly as it has been described as a very busy station (pre-war that is) due to the lack of automobiles at this time and Maidstone being only a short distance away. My original post on the station identified what appeared to be a waiting room on the platform. I have been kindly informed that this was correct and the adjacent platform also had a waiting room. I also noted that the perspective in the photo appeared to be from the current station car park. I'm likely to have egg on my face on this one, as it has been suggested that the photo was taken from the other side, i.e. on the corner of Rocks Road looking toward the London-bound platform. Hence, the wall in the photo looks like the side of the road bridge on the High Street.

I can also report that David Glasspool (the author of Kent Rail) is going add East Malling Halt to his website later this year. I soon as I learn of this I will post something up.

Thanks to Godfrey King and Sarah Carling for their contribution to the above.

East Malling Halt

For those of us who commute, now the clocks have gone forward we can again enjoy the train journey to and from East Malling in the daylight and appreciate the fabulous scenery of the Kent countryside along the way. Admittedly, I'm usually asleep on the train in the morning, but it makes all the difference in the evenings. There's nothing worse as the working day draws to an end than the thought of getting on a train where all you can see is your own reflection. Anyway, this leads me on to East Malling train station or, as it was originally called, East Malling Halt when it opened in 1913. This information was sourced from a great site called Kent Rail. For those of you wondering what a 'halt' actually is (i.e. in terms of rail transport), Wikipedia has the answer: "a halt is a small station, usually unstaffed and with few facilities" and the entry goes on to say that many stations have now removed the use of 'halt' in the title, as in the case of 'East Malling'. I attach photograph of East Malling Halt taken circa. 1950 (thanks again to Diane Brazier for supplying me with this). It looks as though the photo was taken from the perspective of station car park (though I could be wrong). And could the hut on the adjacent platform be the one that stands there today? Although the hut in the photo looks as though it has a door to the left (a waiting room perhaps?). If any one has thoughts on this, or any more photos, please let me know.