Alan Roberts… Remember it well and the cafe inside, v big entrance hall
Jan Warren… So much better than the new building
Colin Bell… Had many a cup of tea and a cheese roll there back then with my Uncle Bernard who was a proud train driver
Dave Weeks… Bit more character than todays
David Francis… I was working for amicus housing from 2002 and my desk was on the fifth floor of the office block opposite the station when it was being demolished, the land re levelled to build the new station, the college and the health centre and the little supermarket. It was a feat of civil engineering.
Fiona Evans… Should never have been demolished. At least,it had character more than the soulless carbuncle we have now .
Partrick Lewis… Lovely example of railway architecture
Stuart Moir… Just about the time I moved to Hastings and met some of the best music friends in the country.
William Crouch… I remember lovely building should never been demolished yes I lived in London road Bexhill
Alan Esdaile… Anyone remember when they had a metal name plate machine in the station? similar to this photo…
photo: https://www.pennymachines.co.uk
Colin Bell… Me!
Inside the Station, year unknown?
photo source: unknown
Allan Mitchell… I remember those days.
Peter Ellingworth… Built by the first (and best) Southern Railway in the ’30’s ? Remember the murals around the roof ? Came across an interesting article while browsing in Smiths in St. Albans, think it was the ‘BackTrack’ rail magazine ( May issue) on the Tonbridge to Hastings line, its construction and issues thereon, resulting from shoddy construction work on the likes of Wadhurst tunnel meaning special narrow width non standard rolling stock having to be used-‘Restriction O’ in rail parlance- one of the reasons electrification, first mooted in 1903, took so long to come about. The Southern Railway considered it in 1934-5 ,when the Eastbourne to Ore section was electrified as part of their ongoing programme, but two things stood in the way: the traffic department objected on the grounds of single tracking in places creating pinch points ( a lot of freight used the line then) and new dedicated coaching stock had only been built which had a life of twenty five or so years. The issue came up again in the mid fifties to include the line in the ongoing Kent Coast electrification programme to be completed by 1962, but yet again the traffic department objected to single track passing points ( freight traffic was still quite intensive) so hence the Hastings Diesels came about. The last I saw of our beloved and famed ‘Schools’ class steam locos built with the Hastings line restrictions in mind, was in March-April ’62 when ‘Malvern’ or ‘Ardingly’ worked the 6.25 pm parcels train from Hastings to Tonbridge. I believe they worked down from London Bridge on the 5.25 am stopper which remained steam worked until 1962, up to Ashford on the 8.30, on to Tonbridge, back to Ashford – Hastings then finally back to Tonbridge in the evening. I would say towards the end of the former old building, as it originally was darker in colour and had the Old Southern Railway murals on the upper walls.
Peter Ellingworth… Can I add that the purpose of single tracking in the likes of Wadhurst tunnel, was to allow sufficient side clearance for normal standard width stock to be used on the line. As said there was much more freight on the line than now, and this would have created pinch points and problems for normal timetable scheduling. As it is, this still creates issues with planning the intensity of service today. The expensive law suits between the South East and Chatham Railway and the contractors because of skimping work – for instance, Wadhurst tunnel was supposed to have a more substantial backlining of bricks – the contractors falsely said this had been done, when it had not- resulting in a partial collapse with remedial work needed narrowing the tunnel width, hence the use of special narrower width stock- almost broke the back of the SECR, never flush as it was. I also believe no. 30923 ‘Bradfield’, one of the ‘Schools’ class steam locos, worked the 1962 trains I mentioned of as well. It was one of the class that didn’t have a multiple blastpipe chimney fitted, and I remember seeing one such from South Saxons one evening so I guess this must have been it. I was first alerted to the ‘Schools’ Hastings line swansong by a class mate, whose father manned the old signal box by the low bridge in Bexhill Rd. As they had fnished regular working on the Hastings line by then, at first I thought it was a wind up ! Anybody else remember this?
Built by the first (and best) Southetn Railway in the ’30’s ?
Remember the murals around the roof ?
Came across an interesting article while browsing in Smiths in St. Albans, think it was the ‘BackTrack’ rail magazine ( May issue) on the Tonbridge to Hastings line, its construction and issues thereon, resulting from shoddy construction work on the likes of Wadhurst tunnel meaning special narrow width no standard rolling stock having to be used-‘Restriction O’ in rail parlance- one of the reasons electrification, first mooted in 1903, took so long to come about.
The Southern Railway considered it in 1934-5 ,when the Eastbourne to Ore section was electrified as part of their ongoing orogramme, but two things stood in the way: the traffic department objected on the grounds of single tracking in places creating pinch points ( a lot of freight used the line then) and new dedicated coaching stock had only been built which had a life of twenty five or so years.
The issue came up again in the mid fifties to include the line in the ongoing Kent Coast electrification programme to be completed by 1962, but yet again the traffic department objected to single track passing points ( freight traffic was still quite intensive) so hence the Hastings Diesels came about.
The last I saw of our beloved and famed ‘Schools’ class steam locos built with the Hastings line restrictions in mind, was in March-April ’62 when ‘Malvern’ or ‘Ardingly’ worked the 6.25 pm parcels train from Hastings to Tonbridge.
I believe they worked down from London Bridge on the 5.25 am stopper which remained steam worked until 1962, up to Ashford on the 8.30, on to Tonbridge, back to Ashford – Hastings then finally back to Tonbridge in the evening.
Can I add that the purpose of single tracking in the likes of Wadhurst tunnel, was to allow sufficient side clearance for normal standard width stock to be used on the line.
As said there was much more freight on the line than now, and this would have created pinch points and problems for normal timetable scheduling. As it is, this still creates issues with planning the intensity of service today.
The expensive law suits between the South East and Chatham Railway and the contractors because of skimping work – for instance, Wadhurst tunnel was supposed to have a more substantial backlining of bricks – the contractors falsely said this had been done, when it had not- resulting in a partial collapse with remedial work needed narrowing the tunnel width, hence the use of special narrower width stock- almost broke the back of the SECR, never flush as it was.
I also believe no. 30923 ‘Bradfield’, one of the ‘Schools’ class steam locos, worked the 1962 trains I mentioned of as well. It was one of the class that didn’t have a multiple blastpipe chimney fitted, and I remember seeing one such from South Saxons one evening so I guess this must have been it.
I was first alerted to the ‘Schools’ Hastings line swansong by a class mate, whose father manned the old signal box by the low bridge in Bexhill Rd. As they had fnished regular working on the Hastings line by then, at first I thought it was a wind up !
Anybody else remember this?
I would say towards the end of the former old building, as it originally was darker in colour and had the Old Southern Railway murals on the upper walls.