Tunbridge Wells West - January 1989

After a dismal period of neglect during which the station became a magnet for vandals, demolition work was under way in earnest when this photograph was taken.

A railway being demolished is always a sad sight for those who believe in the future of rail transport.

But this view is all the more depressing when one remembers that the Eridge - Tunbridge Wells route was one of only two east-west rail links between Kent and East Sussex.

And it was also a route that even the government's own Transport Users' Consultative Committee believed should have been developed rather than closed.

Indeed, it is worth remembering that despite the crumbling stations and slow, uninviting trains, no less than 600-700 passengers used the route every day, with around 100,000 journeys made from Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells West, and a further 100,000 through-journeys.