SEmG

Woking

On this page we have some of ex-pat Cliff Hutton's personal memories of Woking.

On the purely railway side, my memories are largely of the 80s and 90s. No steam-time stuff at all.
For me, Woking is mostly the "Heathrow bus pick-up and put-down point." People like myself, ariving from overseas and having destinations in southern England would climb, jet-lagged, at 7 a.m.-ish, onto the comfortable coach and doze their way to Woking. Or, the reverse procedure, headed home.

The "airport-bus-side" of the station boasted the pre-war art-deco frontage, curved walls of brick plus concrete slabbery and flag poles. Not entirely unpleasing. I still have a British Railways "No Smoking" poster filched from the Bus Waiting Room.
A pedestrian tunnel could take you through to the "shop-side" of town. Inside the station was a concrete footbridge joining the platforms or you could use the baggage/parcels bridge with elevators if you were burdened or handicapped.

The latter served me, when taking a series of pictures for a friend here in Canada who was about to model the station. He did it and did it beautifully. One of the "glasshouse" signal box photos that I took from this bridge is included here. That box is now a listed building I believe!
Gone now is the extensive system of sidings on the 'down' side which I remember being used in the 80s by the permanent-way-department people. Long lines of Walrussy-type wagons and huge piles of crushed stone, all waiting no doubt, for weekends when the PW folk could create their havoc.

I do remember the station announcer's voice warning passengers to stand back when a fast train was approaching - "beam me back Scotty - let me see a Merc. or a Nellie with twelve bogies on doing that.........."

Well, that's Woking.

 
Woking The imposing front of the station where the main entrance is.

photograph by Cliff Hutton

 
The Signalbox is a typical brick-built Southern Signalbox as built for the larger locations.

photograph by Cliff Hutton

Woking
 
Woking The other side of the Signalbox, taken from the footbridge.

photograph by Cliff Hutton

 
About the brightest thing on the station is this red paint! A 4 Bep is seen standing in the further platform.

photograph by Cliff Hutton

Woking
 
Lines out of Woking Platform six, litter on the track and car parking where once was sidings, the "modern" railway!

photograph by Cliff Hutton

All photographs are copyright

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This page was created 23 July 2007

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