Station code BXW DfT category F2 Opened 11 March 1867 Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference TQ167518 2011/12 81,122 | |
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Similar Box Hill - Surrey, Dorking railway station, Ockley railway station, Holmwood railway station, Leatherhead railway station | ||
Box Hill & Westhumble railway station is a railway station in the village of Westhumble in Surrey, England, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Dorking town centre. Box Hill is located approximately 1⁄2 mile (800 m) to the east.
Contents
The station is served by one train every hour towards London Victoria and one train every hour towards Horsham off peak, operated by Southern. More trains operate at peak times, when some South West Trains services to and from London Waterloo also stop here, along with a limited number of trains from London Bridge via West Croydon (p.m only). Most evening SWT services also call in the southbound direction, giving the station a better service after the evening peak than during the daytime. On Sundays the service is half-hourly and runs exclusively between Victoria & Dorking.
The station is the end point for the Thames Down Link long distance footpath from Kingston upon Thames, and lies close to the midpoint of the Mole Gap Trail between Leatherhead and Dorking. The station is within 1⁄2 mile of the North Downs Way.
History
The station was constructed at the insistence of Thomas Grissell the owner of Norbury Park, in part compensation for the railway cutting across his land to the north of the village. The main building was designed by Charles Henry Driver in the Châteauesque style and included steeply pitched roofs with patterned tiles and an ornamental turret topped with a decorative grille and weather vane. The building is currently in use as a private dwelling and commercial premises and is protected by a Grade II listing.
Grissell also obtained the right from the LBSCR to stop any train on request, a privilege subsequently exercised by Leopold Salomons, who purchased Norbury Park in 1890. This concession was legally abolished by the Transport Act of 1962, however there is no evidence to suggest that it was regularly used after 1910.
The name of the station has changed many times over the years with "Box Hill" & "Boxhill" and "Westhumble" & "West Humble" used in varying combinations for signs, timetables and railway maps, with many inconsistencies. In 2006, after consultation with local residents, the station's name was changed to "Box Hill and Westhumble" from "Boxhill and Westhumble".
Terrier tank engine
A Terrier tank engine, built by the LBSCR in 1880, was named Boxhill after the station. It was used to haul commuter trains in South London and Surrey until the 1920s, when it was moved to become a shunting engine at Brighton. Unlike other engines of its class, its smokebox was not modified in the early 20th century, and it was restored by the Southern Railway in 1947 to its original condition and painted in its original Stroudley yellow ochre livery. It is now preserved at the National Railway Museum in York.
Typical off-peak journey times
December 2006 – May 2007 timetable
Frequency in trains per hour