Bramley & Wonersh railway station

Infobox UK disused station
name = Bramley & Wonersh
gridref = TQ010451


caption =
manager = London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
owner = Southern Railway
Southern Region of British Railways
locale = Bramley
borough = Waverley, Surrey
platforms = 2
years = 2 October 1865
events = Opened as "Bramley"
years2 = 1 June 1888
events2 = Renamed "Bramley & Wonersh"
years3 = 14 June 1965
events3 = Closed

Bramley & Wonersh was a railway station on the Cranleigh Line. It served the villages of Bramley and Wonersh. Opening in 1865 as "Bramley", its name was changed in June 1888 to "Bramley & Wonersh" as the station, although situated in Bramley, was only a short distance from Wonersh. A passing loop and a second platform were installed in 1876. The station was the last before the line joined the main line to Guildford at Peasmarsh Junction.

During the Second World War a train packed with Christmas shoppers was attacked by a Dornier 217 when it was departing Bramley & Wonersh on 16 December 1942. The plane strafed the train and dropped a bomb which exploded on the embankment, narrowly missing the train. There were seven fatalities, including the driver and guard, and the train was badly damaged.

Axed by Beeching in 1965, the main station building was demolished not long afterwards. The trackbed remained overgrown for many years before being brought back into use in the 1980s as part of the Downs Link, a public footpath and bridleway linking the North Downs and South Downs national trails. In 2004 major renovation works were carried out at the station by the local council and the Bramley Historical Society.

There is a possibility that the station may yet see another train; a study was carried out in the 1990s to determine whether re-opening part of the Cranleigh Line to passenger traffic from Bramley to Guildford would be economically viable. Although the conclusion was that the investment required would not justify reinstatement, Waverley Borough Council have protected the line from development in its Local Plan.

Other stations

* Guildford
* Cranleigh
* Baynards
* Rudgwick
* Slinfold
* Christ's Hospital
* Horsham

Gallery

See also

* List of closed railway stations in Britain

External links

* [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/b/bramley_wonersh/index.shtml Bramley & Wonersh station on Subterranea Britannica]
* [http://cranleighrailway.info/then_now3_bramley.htm Bramley & Wonersh station at cranleighrailway.info]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/70/a3379070.shtml Witness account of the 1942 attack]