Wivelsfield
| Wivelsfield station, on the LB&SCR line to Brighton,
is not actually at Wivelsfield at all but is situated on the north side of
Burgess Hill, a short distance on the London side from Keymer Junction and
about a mile from the tiny hamlet whose name it bears. Opened on 1 August 1886
it replaced an earlier station, called Keymer, which had been located on the
Lewes line south east of Keymer Junction. Wivelsfield station is a little
unusual in that the platforms are on top of a high embankment, with the booking
office on the east side about halfway up this embankment. There are two
entrances to the station, each with some three dozen steps leading up to a
subway beneath the tracks at booking office level, with another couple of dozen
steps leading up to the platforms. The photographer commuted to London from
this station in the late 1960s and remembers well that it was an ill-advised
move to arrive at the station entrance just as the train was due!
The photographs on these pages were all taken on 15th September 2004. |
 |
The "main" entrance to the station is on the east side, from
where the steps lead directly to the booking office. At the time of the
photograph the double arrow sign was still in faded Network SouthEast colours!
photograph by Peter Richards |
| The outside of the station is branded as New Southern
Railway, though the gate that can be used to close off the steps is still in
Connex blue.
photograph by Peter Richards |
 |
 |
One unusual aspect is the booking office remains open longer on Sundays
than any other day of the week, presumably to handle the purchase of weekly
season tickets for the subsequent week.
photograph by Peter Richards |
| The other, west, entrance to the station. These steps climb
up to the subway from where you can climb further to the platform, or go
through to the booking office.
photograph by Peter Richards |
 |
 |
The entrance to the the booking office at the top of the first flight of
steps. Passengers using the west entrance enter from the far side of the
building, having passed under the railway by means of the subway.
photograph by Peter Richards |
| The entrance to platform two, the down platform, at the top of the second
flight of steps. The entrance to platform one is the same as this (though
"handed").
photograph by Peter Richards |
 |
 |
Looking south from platform two towards Keymer Junction.
Two shelters are provided on each platform with the nearest on platform one
being of minimalist "bus stop" style. Until recent times a section of
each platform at the north end of the station was surfaced with wood, but this
has now succumbed to a more normal hard surface.
photograph by Peter Richards |
| However, the oldest shelter, a far more substantial wooden one, on platform
two is more open to the elements. A rare survivor today of a LB&SCR wooden
structure on the main line, it previously had a twin on the opposite platform.
photograph by Peter Richards |
 |
 |
Looking north from platform two towards Haywards Heath. All
the paraphernalia of the modern railway is in evidence here!
photograph by Peter Richards |
All photographs are copyright
return to picture gallery page
This page was created 21 September 2004
