Bodiam
Once a hub for
agricultural traffic from the surrounding hop fields – particularly those of
stout drink maker ‘’Guinness’’ – today, the preserved Bodiam station now caters
for tourists heading to the nearby Medieval castle. The site was originally
commissioned for goods traffic with the Robertsbridge to Tenterden (Rolvenden)
section of Holman Stephens’ ‘’Rother Valley Railway’’ on 29th March 1900.
Passenger trains were soon to follow, commencing on the 2nd of the following
month. The character of the line had been determined by the passing of the
‘’Light Railways Act’’ in 1896, which created a category of minor and rural
railways for which an Act of Parliament was not required for their construction.
Effectively, the legislation allowed numerous non-primary rail routes to be
built to lower standards than had previously been permitted, bringing obvious
time and cost savings. The down side was that severe weight and speed
restrictions were imposed. Naturally, the economical approach to construction
was reflected in stations along the Rother Valley Railway, Bodiam being no
exception.
The station at Bodiam was located approximately ⅓-mile south of the grounds of
the castle and the village it purported to serve. It comprised an uncomplicated
layout, simply consisting of the single-track branch and a pair of goods
sidings. A solitary platform was provided on the southern side of the single
line, and upon it was erected a single-storey corrugated-iron station building.
Architecture was standardised along the route, a familiar practice among all
railway companies, and virtually identical structures appeared at Northiam and
Tenterden (later ‘’Rolvenden’’) stations. The Bodiam structure had a pitched
roof, was about 30-feet in length for its main part, and sprouted appendices on
either side. Attached to its northern elevation was a timber platform canopy,
supported upon a trio of stanchions of the same material; naturally, corrugated
iron was still used for the canopy roof. It is worth noting that iron buildings
of the same general design came into use on Holman Stephens’ ‘’Sheppey Light
Railway’’ in 1901, but on the Tenterden Town to Headcorn extension, which opened
on 15th May 1905, station structures were of clapboard construction. Bodiam’s
platform was lined at its rear by a design of timber fencing which also came
into use at Northiam and Tenterden (Rolvenden) stations, and gas lighting was
provided. The latter was fuelled by an acetylene gas generator located within
the main building’s western appendix, and early photographs show that there were
just a trio of lamps lighting the platform. Seating appeared in the form of
frugal wooden planks supported upon blocks of wood – this has certainly been
improved upon since preservation! The eastern appendix contained a gentlemen’s
urinal, and the economical nature of the line was further enhanced by the fact
that the adjacent level crossing lacked gates.
Earlier mentioned were the two goods sidings. These were westward-facing and
terminated behind the platform. The pair converged before meeting the running
line and were kept busy for much of their existence by the abundance of traffic
generated from the hops fields. They were joined in 1910 by a third siding, this
of which was laid on the opposite side of the single-track branch and was
eastward, rather than westward, facing. No signal box was ever present at the
site, and all points were controlled from adjacent ground levers. Of all those
stations along H. F. Stephen’s ''Kent & East Sussex Railway'' (so named from 1904
onwards), Tenterden Town was the only site which could claim to have a signal
box. However, even this was a mere iron hut, simply providing protection from
the elements for the signalman, rather than housing a frame with a full
complement of levers.
The K&ESR had been loss-making since 1932 and, unsurprisingly, its existence
under British Railways as a passenger-carrying railway was short-lived.
Passenger services along the route ceased on 2nd January 1954, and the permanent
way between Tenterden Town and Headcorn started to be lifted almost immediately.
The Robertsbridge to Tenterden Town section was given a stay of execution,
however: hops traffic justified its retention until complete closure on 12th
July 1961. Station sites at Wittersham Road and Rolvenden had already been
completely razed to the ground by BR, but structures at Tenterden Town, Northiam,
and Bodiam, survived the cull. Fortunately, they lasted long enough to be
absorbed into the ‘’Tenterden Railway Company Limited’’ in 1973, after a long
battle between the K&ESR Preservation Society and the Ministry of Transport,
dating back to 1961. Rails between Tenterden Town and Bodiam sites were not to
be reconnected until the year 2000, but new track was nevertheless laid at the
latter station immediately after takeover by the preservation society. A 1¾-mile
eastward extension to ‘’Dixter Halt’’ opened on 25th May 1981, which saw
irregular services run on this short stretch from Bodiam – in the meantime, at
the other end of the line, track was operational between Tenterden Town and
Wittersham Road stations.
Services between Tenterden Town and Bodiam recommenced on 2nd April 2000, and
transformation of the latter station into its new preservation role has been
interesting. The platform length has more than doubled, to accommodate longer
train formations. The goods sidings behind the platform have been relayed in
similar positions to those which originally opened with the H. F. Stephens
station in 1900, but their joint connection with the running line is
significantly further west than before, as a result of the elongated platform.
With reference to the later siding of 1910 origin, this has also reappeared, but
has been formed into a lengthy loop for locomotive run-a-round purposes. The
level crossing now boasts a pair of gates, and a staff kitchen now occupies the
appendix which once housed the gas generator. Immediately beyond the run-a-round
loop was laid single rolling stock siding, about 300 yards long; this has since
been extended by a further ⅓-mile, closing the gap between Bodiam and
Robertsbridge. The first train ran over the new extension on 17th March 2009,
formed of Class 03 Shunter No. D2023, a pair of hopper wagons, and an SR Brake
Van.
30th April 2009
A tranquil branch line scene, with former Midland Region stock in evidence. The run-a-round loop is situated
upon the former site of a dead-end siding, which lacked a connection at the far end and was originally laid in
1910. David Glasspool
30th April 2009
The main building was fortunate to avoid demolition by BR, hence is an original H. F. Stephens fabrication.
The appendix on the right, with attached ''Train Service'' board, formerly accommodated the gentlemen's
urinal. The appendix on the far left, now a staff kitchen, was once host to the acetylene gas generator which
fuelled the station's few lamps. David Glasspool
30th April 2009
The new sidings behind the platform have been re-laid in the same general positions as those of the original
goods yard. However, today's tracks are much longer than those of the pre-preservation era, to accommodate
the extension of the adjacent platform. David Glasspool
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