[Brighton] Brighton Station memories

[Chicken Run]

There was also the barbers down there

yeah and a ladies hairdressers which use to smell of eggs from the perming solution

 

[BrightonCottager]

Wasn‘t there a pub, where M&S is now called Bonepartes or something?

I miss pubs inside stations, even if most were absolute dives…

There are some epic real ale bars in stations, especially up North (proper North, not Haywards Heath). I recently went to the one in Sheffield station - about 10 real ales on the bar and a beautiful room, to boot.

 

[A1X]

There are some epic real ale bars in stations, especially up North (proper North, not Haywards Heath). I recently went to the one in Sheffield station - about 10 real ales on the bar and a beautiful room, to boot.

Ale Trail - Home

Find out about the Transpennine Real Ale Trail, featuring 8 fantastic pubs all located conveniantly on or near Train Stations.

www.realaletrail.net

 

[Madafwo]

There was also the barbers down there

Up until a few years, well, 10 years ago, the barbers chairs were still down there. I think they may have gone now.

Wasn‘t there a pub, where M&S is now called Bonepartes or something?

I miss pubs inside stations, even if most were absolute dives…

Yup, after that we had The Cyclist on the opposite side where the BTP office used to be, but that didn't last long.

York Station has an absolute belter of a pub on the platforms.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

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My first proper job was at Smiths on Brighton station. I distinctly remember banging my shins on the radiators that failed to keep the kiosk warm.

Pretty soon, Smiths replaced that beautiful but impractical building with the "new" square box that was much bigger and allowed people to walk in. Our staff room was half way down platform 1.

 

[Justice]

Where was the WHSmith kiosk located?

I remember the kiosk in the corner of Hove station, not Smiths, but the same guy (maybe he’s still there?) every day.

Is TB still holding up the queue ?

 

[cheshunt seagull]

I remember turning up and just buying a ticket instead of having to plan any journey weeks in advance.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

I thought that, too, but according to a post on 'My Brighton and Hove' site, it appears not:

"The arrivals and departures board featured in the picture is now in fact owned by Sir William McAlpine who lives in Buckinghamshire and has it in his railway museum. He is also the Chairman of the Hythe, Winchealsea and Romney Railway. On his land in Bucks he has a full sized 1.5 mile long railway line, yes 4’8.5″ gauge, on which he runs a steam train and tender. He has a signal box that was also for the chop, and a railway station with waiting room which he had moved lock stock and barrel and re-erected at his home, and a platform ticket machine. He opens his station and runs the trains with the support of many amateur helpers for charity events during the year. We go there regularly and have many rides on the train, which are free once you are in."

This was where they filmed the great model railway competition that was on TV a few years ago.

Fawley Museum | Steam Railway

Fawley Museum is the private railway museum and Steam Railway established by the late Sir William McAlpine

www.fawleymuseum.org

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Wasn‘t there a pub, where M&S is now called Bonepartes or something?

I miss pubs inside stations, even if most were absolute dives…

Yes, I worked there in 1986, our licence only extended to 9.45pm caused many an argument including the time TV presenter David Jacobs waltzed in at 9.50 with a Tory MP having done a local politics show in town. He did do the 'do you know who I am?' for which I replied yes, but you are still not gettng served, go to talk to British Rail who dictate the terms of our licence if you do not like it.

 

[LANGDON SEAGULL]

I remember the Casey Jones burger bar on the right as you got off the trains . Never seemed to be open when you got back late from an away trip

 

[Bodian]

York Station has an absolute belter of a pub on the platforms.

Yes - worth a visit even if you're not catching trains.

And if Sheffield Utd come up again next year, https://sheffieldtap.com/ is well worth popping into.

 

[rebel51]

The stinking toilets down the stairs.

Used to have my haircut opposite in the barbers opposite.the blokes hand used to shake as he was doing your haircut. 2 of them worked there and I used to always draw the 1st straw. I ve come out of there with slash marks across my neck, when the door opened the woft of lovely piss air came thru.The plus point it was well cheap.oh happy days

 

[Perfidious Albion]

I well remember these things . My father worked there on the ticket barriers for a time.
The toilets down the stairs were something, I recall gleaming copper pipes and marble floors. Wasn’t it a ladies hairdresser that made the smell?
It was great to get out quickly to Trafalgar Street if you wanted London Road , I always missed that entrance coming back . Happy days when we were younger…..

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I may have "borrowed" several books from the remaindered table in front of the old WH Smith in the late 1970s. I need to remember to take them back sometime.

 

[Hovegull]

Does anyone know how they operated the departure indicator boards?

 

[birthofanorange]

Does anyone know how they operated the departure indicator boards?
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I read this:

"
I think I’m able to explain how the board worked in the 1950’s, but it’s mechanisms may have been altered since then. I too have seen the board at the Museum site near Henley (see Mr. Ross detail on previous answers) and the indicator displays are still changeable by hand, so not sure whether any supporting mechanisms still exist.

As a schoolboy train-spotter in the 1950’s I spent many hours at Brighton Station and watched the platform staff operate the board. It showed the departure time and platform number of trains due to leave within the next half hour or so. In addition, if there were sufficient “empty” display columns these would be used to show further later departures from the same platforms numbers already in use.

Each column contained 20 windows to show up to 20 rotatable “tumblers” . A tumbler was a solid hardwood piece with 3 separate faces, best described as being akin to a giant but solid
‘Toblerone’ chocolate bar !
Face 1 bore an attached name plate of a station name served by that particular service, with a single station name being (in the 1950’s and previous) an enamel plate, later replaced by it’s current Formica style material plate .

Face 2 was completely plain, painted with the same colour as the surrounding bulk structure and this would be on display in the window if the train service did not call at that station.

Face 3 was the operational part of the tumbler. It had appropriately positioned slots to allow operating rods to .’tumble’ the plate to display the station name in the window. In addition there was also a lead weight balancing strip inset to aid the tumbling process.

The operation of the tumble process was controlled at the base of each column ( refer to the main picture and note the cupboards at the base of the columns ) by a very stout hard card which contained pre-set holes to operate the various rods up to the tumblers. A different card for each type of service, e.g. Semi-fast to Victoria would cause 7
plates (Preston Park, Haywards Heath, Three Bridges, Redhill, East Croydon, Clapham Junction, Victoria) to display cascaded intermittently down
the 20 slot column, with the remaking 13 slots showing the ‘blank’ face of the remaining tumblers.

All the tumblers were loose fitted into the frame columns by small projecting metal spindles so that they could rotate sufficiently to display names or blanks.

Exactly how the station staff operated the control cards is a bit hazy now. I think thay opened the base cupboard, selected a required route card and then inserted it into a slot and pulled/pressed a lever to operate the tumblers, with a similar operation to clear a column back to empty.

Hope that helps explain it all – and that you haven’t all fallen asleep by now!"

 

[Hovegull]

I appreciate that explanation, thank you

 

[BrightonCottager]

Yes - worth a visit even if you're not catching trains.

And if Sheffield Utd come up again next year, https://sheffieldtap.com/ is well worth popping into.

See post #22. Last night I didn't get further than here - possibly now my favourite pub in the world. I remember a bar on Lewes station platform selling Harvey's circa late 80s- early 90s, I think.

 

[Bodian]

See post #22. Last night I didn't get further than here - possibly now my favourite pub in the world. I remember a bar on Lewes station platform selling Harvey's circa late 80s- early 90s, I think.

Aha - missed that.

I had some great beers in The Beer Engine last year.

 

[The Clamp]

Brilliant thread. Thank you .

I spent a few nights doing some work at a few Sussex stations. Got taken back of house at Brighton and Worthing and shown around all the back rooms and underground stuff .

Fascinating. So much of it, even the areas still operational, look like they are still in the early 1980’s. The offices and staff toilets etc.

I enjoyed it.