Littlehaven
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photograph by Mark Westcott The combined booking office and signalbox at Littlehaven, photographed in September 1985. |
| The railway line from Three Bridges to Horsham was opened on 14 February 1848 and, with the exception of Crawley, passed through an area of very sparse population. Littlehaven barely existed when the line was built, but in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was developed with villas of the period for the population of Horsham, moving out as that town grew in size. This led to the opening of a station in 1907, initially called Rusper Road Crossing Halt, then Littlehaven Crossing Halt and finally renamed Littlehaven Halt, all within the same year! Further building development between and after the two world wars ensured a steady supply of traffic for the station, which was subsequently renamed as Littlehaven in 1969. There are no signs of the original buildings as the station has been completely rebuilt with minimal facilities. A Signalbox that is basically just a crossing gate box, doubles up as the booking office at certain times of the day. The station is, however, something of an enigma in the twentyfirst century as (like Plumpton) it retains its crossing gates, thus requiring the Signalbox to be manned 24 hours a day, whilst also having a state of the art LED signal for the up starting signal, which also protects the crossing. |
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The booking office cum signalbox in 2006.
photograph by Peter Richards |
| Class 377 Nº377154 pulling into Littlehaven's up
platform with a train for Victoria.
photograph by Peter Richards |
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The passenger information display. Although the station is unmanned outside
these times, there is, of course, a Signalman always present whose 'box
doubles up as the booking office when required.
photograph by Peter Richards |
| The sum total of railway buildings at Littlehaven, all on the
east end of the down platform.
photograph by Peter Richards |
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Class 377 Nº377132 pulling into the down platform. No footbridge is
provided so any passengers requiring to use the booking office and then catch a
train from the up platform have to use the level crossing.
photograph by Peter Richards |
All photographs are copyright
First | 2nd
This page was updated 5 February 2009
