Trains at: Brighton, BML, 20/06/26

A decent enough afternoon spell at Brighton on the Brighton Mainline where we see services from Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express.

The station was opened in 1840 and for the first year purely served trains going to and from Shoreham, it wasn't until 1841 that trains started to arrive from London. The station was extended to accommodate trains running from the Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway in 1846. Oddly enough a year before the line was opened it was brought by the London and Brighton Railway, in 1846 the London and Brighton Railway merged with the various companies running in and out of the station to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.

The station was rapidly becoming unfit for purpose because of the amount of trains trying to use the station aswell as the amount of passengers passing through its doors. During the 1870's the platforms were modified to accommodate two trains and the three original roofs that were in place were replaced with a large singular roof structure in 1882/1883.

The roof was refurbished at the turn of the 21st century. This the roof that has stood the test of time since the 1880's.

There was a goods yard that was built on the east side of the station and for a long time saw a lot of use from trains running from the Anglian region and the midlands, the way in which the yard was accessed was initially via the Shoreham line which was connected via a tunnel, part of the yard was converted to accommodate offices during WW2. Some of the original tunnel is currently used by the local rifle club. The remainder of the yard has been turned into a housing estate.

The next major project to be built here was a small locomotive shed and servicing facility which could look after the various steam engines that would visit the area. This was built in 1840 a few months after the station had been completed. This was done for the use of the trains using the Shoreham line. However on the same year another shed was built on the opposite side which would service the mainline trains from London.

The yard was eventually closed and demolished in 1966 once steam had been completed removed from service and electric traction was in full swing.

My next film will be from Didcot Parkway on the Great Western Mainline.

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