The ornate red brick station buildings from the forecourt. Note the lack of any station signs in this view.

photograph by Ian Morgan

The West Sussex seaside resort of Bognor gained its "Regis" title by royal decree after King George V recovered from an illness whilst staying there in 1928. It is also said that the royal personage made an alliterative disparaging remark about the town which we cannot print here! Anyway the town's railway history started 64 years earlier with the building of a branch line into the town leaving the main Brighton to Portsmouth line at Barnham Junction. This line was the result of an 1861 Act, and prior to this Bognor (at the time more of a seaside village) was served by a remote station on the main line near the village at Woodgate. Opened 1st June 1864, Bognor station was originally a small wooden single storey building which was severely damaged by the winds of a storm in March 1897. It subsequently suffered a fire and was destroyed on 29th March 1899.

The current grand - if somewhat ostentatious - red brick station buildings were built between 1900 and 1902 by Messers W. Johnson & Co., of Wandsworth, at a cost of £68,000, which figure included the purchase of additional land for extensive sidings and a goods yard. The station layout as featured in the following photographs taken by Ian Morgan in 1993/4 consists of 4 platforms with a loco release road between platforms 3 and 2 allowing loco hauled services readily to use platform 3, though regular services are by EMU. There are also carriage sidings on the up side of the station allowing stock to be stabled there.

The rail photographs are in sequence, approaching the station from the Barnham Junction direction.

The beginning of the station throat starts neatly between the signal box and a public house!

photograph by Ian Morgan

The SR brick built signal box by the time of this photograph was in Network SouthEast colours.

photograph by Ian Morgan

Slightly further up the station throat showing the complex trackwork into the platforms - note the up carriage sidings to the right.

photograph by Ian Morgan

A reverse view of the station throat looking "up" line from the end of platform 3/4.  Note the use of semaphore signals.

photograph by Ian Morgan

4-Cig unitNº1747 on the left in platform 3 is carrying headcode 74 for a Bognor Regis to Littlehampton hop. 4-CigNº1738 in platform 2 on the right is exhibiting a double red blank in its headcode box - signifying the end of the train and for long an acceptable alternative to carrying a red tail lamp.

photograph by Ian Morgan

The buffer stops at the end of platform 3 (near camera) and 2 (far camera). The stop for the tail of the loco release road can just be seen on the right of the photograph.

photograph by Ian Morgan

The white building occupied here by a glass merchant was formerly the station coal office with reputedly a picture of a coal wagon in one window and a coal carrying ship in the other. The large brick building to the rear is the former goods shed.

photograph by Ian Morgan