IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Roke Road, KENLEY, CR8 5DZ

Kenley Railway station. Notice the boarded up station house.

This line leads from Oxted (via Warlingham and Whyteleafe) and then Kenley before heading towards Purley and joining the line towards Croydon.

The sides of the Caterham Valley from Purley to Caterham are quite steep. Hayes Lane leads up from Kenley station to the top of the ridge by Firs Road, but as there are no pavements pedestrians are advised to take the slightly longer route via Park Road. This is the view down Hayes Lane from towards the top of the hill.

The sides of the Caterham Valley from Purley to Caterham are quite steep. Hayes Lane leads up from Kenley station to the top of the ridge by Firs Road, but as there are no pavements pedestrians are advised to take the slightly longer route via Park Road. This is the view down Hayes Lane from near the top of the hill.

The first proposals for a railway along the Caterham Valley came in 1836 with the object of building a new London to Dover line through a mile long tunnel under the North Downs. It proved too costly and the existing line via Redhill was used. Instead Caterham received a branch line, built by Caterham Railway, a private company, and opened in 1856. The original purpose was to provide a convenient method of transporting the valuable building stone from the quarries at Godstone to London. Soon though the original purpose was overtaken by wealthy Victorian commuters using the line as the Caterham Valley developed. There were early frustrations for these commuters, for example, in the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway arranging for the connecting train at Godstone Road (now Purley) station to leave one minute before the Caterham train arrived. Kenley station opened at the same time as the line but called Coulsdon for four months until December 1856 when it was renamed Kenley. The high-gabled station house on the right dates from the opening of the line and is Grade II listed. It was sold to a private owner in 2007. The booking office is on the up side of the station. This view looks towards Purley.

Looking down the valley, towards Purley.

Taken from platform 2 looking on to platform 1 and the bridge

The first proposals for a railway along the Caterham Valley came in 1836 with the object of building a new London to Dover line through a mile long tunnel under the North Downs. It proved too costly and the existing line via Redhill was used. Instead Caterham received a branch line, built by Caterham Railway, a private company, and opened in 1856. The original purpose was to provide a convenient method of transporting the valuable building stone from the quarries at Godstone to London. Soon though the original purpose was overtaken by wealthy Victorian commuters using the line as the Caterham Valley developed. There were early frustrations for these commuters, for example, in the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway arranging for the connecting train at Godstone Road (now Purley) station to leave one minute before the Caterham train arrived. Kenley station opened at the same time as the line but called Coulsdon for four months until December 1856 when it was renamed Kenley. The high-gabled station house on the right dates from the opening of the line and is Grade II listed. It was sold to a private owner in 2007. The booking office is on the up side of the station. Here a train heads out of the station on its way to Purley.

The bridge takes Hayes Lane over the railway line. Note the different styles of brick which have been used. The yellow bricks, in the arch, appear to be London stock bricks; soot-stained from the era of steam locomotives.