General information | |
---|---|
Location | Betchworth, Mole Valley England |
Grid reference | TQ210512 |
Managed by | Great Western Railway |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | BTO |
Classification | DfT category F2 |
History | |
Opened | 4 July 1849 |
Original company | Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway |
Pre-grouping | South Eastern Railway |
Post-grouping | Southern Railway |
Passengers | |
2018/19 | 13,974 |
2019/20 | 15,134 |
2020/21 | 5,228 |
2021/22 | 12,152 |
2022/23 | 12,368 |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Betchworth railway station serves the village of Betchworth in Surrey,England. It is on the North Downs Line,27 miles 17 chains (27.21 miles,43.79 km) measured from London Charing Cross via Redhill. All services are operated by Great Western Railway.
The station was opened in 1849 by the Reading,Guildford and Reigate Railway,which became part of the South Eastern Railway in 1852. It is 27 miles 17 chains (43.8 km) from Charing Cross,and has two platforms. The eastbound platform 1 is long enough for a four-coach train,but the westbound platform 2 can accommodate seven coaches. [1] .
The station was destaffed in 1967. In 1967,Quentin Crisp starred in the sixteen-minute film The Even Tenour of her Ways,which was shot at this railway station. [2]
In 2017/18 and 2018/19,it was the least used station in Surrey,after patronage at Longcross increased. [3] [4]
All services at Betchworth are operated by Great Western Railway using Class 165 and 166 DMUs.
The typical off-peak service is one train every two hours in each direction between Reading via Guildford and Gatwick Airport. During the peak hours,the service is increased to one train per hour in each direction. [5]
On Sundays,eastbound services at the station run only as far as Redhill.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Great Western Railway |
The station was particularly significant for its connection with the Betchworth Quarry railways,which were built to serve the Dorking Greystone Lime Company's three pits north of the station. [6]
The quarry railways had four different track gauges. The standard gauge part had a junction with the main line to the west of Betchworth station It ran via a reversing siding to the Eastern and Southern Kiln Batteries. A 3 ft 2+1⁄4 in (972 mm) gauge railway system began there and primarily served the quarry with lines diverging to the Main, Upper Western Whitestone and Eastern Greystone Pits. The other gauges serving the works were the 19 in (483 mm) gauge line that ran from a standard gauge siding to the Hearthstone Mine, and a short 2 ft (610 mm) gauge section of track that ran exclusively between the Eastern and Southern Kiln Batteries. [6]
The first engine to shunt on the standard gauge portion, Engine No. 1 of 1871, was unofficially named The Coffeepot. It is now preserved at Beamish Museum in County Durham. [7] Another, Captain Baxter was renamed simply Baxter in 1947, the last engine ever to work the line, and the Rev. W.V. Awdry featured it in his book Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine . Baxter is preserved on the Bluebell Railway and was returned to traffic for that railway's 50th anniversary. [6] [8]
Two 3 ft 2+1⁄4 in (972 mm) gauge locomotives were also preserved. Townsend Hook , is at Amberley Chalk Pits Museum, having undergone a cosmtic restoration as a static exhibit. [9] William Finlay, the sister engine of Townsend Hook, is preserved at the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum. [10]
Amberley Museum is an open-air industrial heritage museum at Amberley, near Arundel in West Sussex, England. The museum is owned and operated by Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre, a not-for-profit company and registered charity, and has the support of an active Friends organisation. The items in the Museums collection are held by The Amberley Museum Trust
The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales.
The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive-building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures diesel shunting locomotives. The company is part of Ed Murray & Sons.
Bressingham Steam & Gardens is a steam museum and gardens located at Bressingham, west of Diss in Norfolk, England. The site has several narrow gauge rail lines and a number of types of steam engines and vehicles in its collection and is also the home of a Dad's Army exhibition.
The West Lancashire Light Railway (WLLR) is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway that operates at Hesketh Bank, situated between Preston and Southport in North West England. The distance between the stations on the railway is 430 yards (393 m), though track extends eastwards beyond Delph station on ledge above the old clay pit which is too narrow to contain a run round loop. An extension of up to 435 metres (1,427 ft), running along the north bank of the fishing lake has been proposed. The railway has seven steam locomotives, three of which are in operating condition; two are currently being rebuilt and another is on static display. There are also two electric locomotives and many IC locomotives.
A cable railway is a railway that uses a cable, rope or chain to haul trains. It is a specific type of cable transportation.
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) A1 class is a class of British 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton railway works. The class has received several nicknames, initially being known as "Rooters" by their south London crews. However, the engines were more famously known as "Terriers" on account of the distinctive 'bark' of the exhaust beat. Later in their careers, some engines were known as "Hayling Billy" on account of their work on the Hayling Island branch line. A pub of this name on the island was briefly home to the engine which is now No. W8 Freshwater.
There were more than a thousand British narrow-gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways. Many notable events in British railway history happened on narrow-gauge railways including the first use of steam locomotives, the first public railway and the first preserved railway.
The Great Laxey Mine Railway was originally constructed to serve the Isle of Man's Great Laxey Mine, a lead mine located in Laxey. The 19 in gauge railway runs from the old mine entrance to the washing floors along a right of way that passes through the Isle of Man's only remaining railway tunnel under the 3 ft gauge Victorian Manx Electric Railway and the main A2 Douglas to Ramsey coast road.
British industrial narrow-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man that were primarily built to serve one or more industries. Some offered passenger services for employees or workmen, but they did not run public passenger trains. They are categorized by the primary industry they served.
The Dean Single, 3031 Class, or Achilles Class was a type of steam locomotive built by the British Great Western Railway between 1891 and 1899. They were designed by William Dean for passenger work. The first 30 members of the class were built as 2-2-2s of the 3001 Class.
Some industrial narrow-gauge railways in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man were primarily built to serve quarrying, mining, and similar industries. Some of these narrow-gauge railways offered passenger services for employees or workmen, but they did not run public passenger trains. They are listed by the primary industry they served.
The Amberley Museum Railway is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway based at Amberley Museum, Amberley, West Sussex. It has a varied collection of engines and rolling stock ranging from 18 in gauge to 5 ft 3 in gauge. It operates passenger trains at the museum using a mixture of steam, internal combustion and battery-electric locomotives.
The Old Kiln Light Railway is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway at the Rural Life Living Museum in Tilford, near Farnham, Surrey. It has a collection of historic locomotives and rolling stock including two steam locomotives. It operates on most weekends in the summer and occasionally certain midweek days during school half term.
The Hook Norton Ironstone Partnership was the first company to quarry ironstone at Hook Norton on a large scale. Although only in operation for twelve years, its quarries subsequently became part of the Brymbo Steelworks quarries and relics of the Partnership's railways and tramways can still be seen today.
Townsend Hook is a 3 ft 2+1⁄4 in gauge Fletcher, Jennings & Co. 0-4-0T steam locomotive built in 1880 for the Dorking Greystone Lime Co. as works no. 172L. Townsend Hook is cosmetically restored and based at Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre, West Sussex.
Betchworth Quarry and Lime Kilns is a 27-hectare (67-acre) nature reserve north of Betchworth in Surrey. Betchworth Quarry only is managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Mole Gap to Reigate Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.
Brockham Limeworks is a 45-hectare (110-acre) nature reserve north of Brockham in Surrey. It is owned by Surrey County Council. Part of it is a Scheduled Monument, and it is part of the Mole Gap to Reigate Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.
Gloddfa Ganol was a museum dedicated to the Welsh slate industry and narrow-gauge railways, situated in the Oakeley slate quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog. It opened in 1974 and closed in 1998 following an auction of its exhibits.
The Brockham Railway Museum was a 2 ft narrow gauge railway based at the site of the Brockham Limeworks, near Dorking, Surrey. When it closed in 1982, the majority of the collection was moved to the Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre where it formed the nucleus of the Amberley Museum Railway.