Lullingstone station - a fascinating 'never was'.

A southward view reveals the ends of the platforms and, in the distance, Eynsford substation, the latter of which is virtually identical to that still in evidence at Chelsfield. The absence of platform edging is evident here.

Text and picture © David Glasspool

 feature which can also still be seen is the former entrance to the footbridge. It is located on the ''down'' side of the line, above the platforms - the station is in a cutting by this point. In the background is the field which was earmarked for the international airport. The station had been partly financed by the Kemp Town Brewery Company, which also owned the land planned for development. The distances of Heathrow and the proposed Lullingstone airport from Central London are not too dissimilar: 14 miles and 17 miles out respectively.

Text and photo © David Glasspool

This northward view reveals that both prefabricated concrete platform surfaces remain intact, although some of the edging has since disappeared. A signal post now occupies part of what would have been the ''up'' platform. Eynsford Tunnel is in the distance, and the field which was to accommodate the area's version of Heathrow Airport is beyond the vegetation on the left. 

Text and photo © David Glasspool

The above three photos were all taken on 14 December 2006 and are published with permission of the owner David Glasspool. More on this station and other Kent railways on the recommended Kent Rail website.

In a few rare cases stations were built but never opened. Lullingstone in Kent is one of these. It was sited on the Maidstone East line just over a mile from the existing station at Eynsford. Although largely demolished in 1955 there are still some remains visible, south of Eynsford Tunnel.

The station was built to serve new housing and a proposed new airport. Lullingstone would be one of four airports to serve London, and a 5000 acre estate was purchased for new housebuilding. 

The clue to why this didn't happen is the date - 1936. War was just three years away, and plans and development were all put on ice.

However the station was constructed, ready for the passengers that never came. The proposed opening date was 2 April 1939. The main line platforms and station buildings were built as were the steps for a footbridge. The station would have been substantial, with four platforms, two for mainline use and another two on the proposed airport branch. The station never opened but was shown in passenger timetables from 1939 to 1941 as, confusingly, being served by trains but with a note saying the opening date would be announced in due course. After that the station still appeared for a while, but no trains were shown as stopping there.

After demolition the station canopy was reused at Canterbury West. Today there are still a  few signs of its existence, including parts of the platforms, and the approach road.

I did try to find this station back in April 1985, having read about it somewhere. I walked the road beyond Eynsford station towards Lullingstone hoping to find some clue as to where it was, but with the light fading and twenty years before Google I gave up, but not before getting this lovely shot of the viaduct with a slam door train running over it. This quiet corner of Kent would have been transformed if Lullingstone Airport had been built!

(23.4.1985 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

Further information http://www.kentrail.org.uk/Lullingstone.htm

eynsford 1985

(All 23.4.1985 Eynsford, Kent)

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An April evening in 1985 in Eynsford, Kent. Just a suburban Southern station. I'd parked the lorry in Lullingstone and had hoped to find the built but never used platforms for Lullingstone station, but couldn't get near the site. So I walked to the station and got these shots.

Almost from day one I tried to capture more than just trains, using atmosphere shots. They could vary from shot 3, a picture of the approach road and shot 4, an against the sun shot of the viaduct. Top two shots are of course just record shots, already well dated re livery and type of train.

Further info (via Wikipedia)

Eynsford railway station serves Eynsford in Kent. Train services are provided by Southeastern and Thameslink.

The ticket office, on the 'down' side, is situated in the substantial station building. This is manned only during part of the day; at other times a PERTISpassenger-operated ticket machine issues 'Permits to Travel' - which are exchanged on-train or at manned stations for travel tickets - and is located at the foot of the stairs leading from the car park to the Ashford-bound platform.

The platforms are connected by a concrete footbridge - a typical product of the Southern Railway concrete factory at Exmouth Junction. There is a small car park (charges apply) at the entrance to the station.

History

The Swanley to Sevenoaks Bat & Ball line was opened on 2 June 1862, by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, initially with just a single track. The station at Eynsford came into use the following month, with two platforms and a passing loop; the second track came in 1863.

The main station building is on the "down" side, two storeys high, with chimney stacks and arched window frames. On the "up" side is a shelter with an elaborate valance and sides for protection from the weather. The track was crossed at ground level until a lattice footbridge was built in about 1910. The signal cabin was positioned at the southern end of the "up" platform.

Eynsford's goods yard was positioned on the "down" side, to the south of the main building, and comprised a pair of sidings, one of which passed over a wagon turntable through the pitched-roof goods shed. The platforms were extended twice, first in 1894 and again in 1932 when they were lengthened at their southern ends, requiring the demolition of the signal box. This was replaced by a porch on the ground floor of the station building's platform side.

Electric services between Bickley and Sevenoaks were introduced on 6 January 1935, when the station lost its lattice footbridge to a prefabricated concrete replacement. Goods traffic ceased in May 1962 and the goods shed was demolished soon after.

Lullingstone Viaduct

Approximately 1 km to the north west lie the remains of Lullingstone, built but never opened, as the development it was intended to serve never materialised. All that remains are the platforms (still in situ) and the platform canopies, now gracing Canterbury East station. Between the two, the line is taken over the River Darent by an impressive nine-arch red-brick viaduct.

Services[

From 23 March 2009, most of the stopping train services to/from Blackfriars were re-extended (resuming a service pattern from the 1980s) across Central London via the 'Thameslink' route, serving City Thameslink, Farringdon, St Pancras International, Kentish Town and West Hampstead Thameslink.

The typical off-peak service from the station is

• 2tph to West Hampstead Thameslink via Catford
• 2tph to Sevenoaks