Farningham Road Rail Station

Last week I attended the 150 th anniversary of the opening of Farningham Road railway station.  It was actually opened on 3 rd December 1860 but, because of the appalling weather in December, it was postponed until last week. It was an opportunity for commuters, staff and local residents to commemorate the service that the station has given to the local area during that time.

Stephen de Winton, the Chairman of the Parish Council and Pat Coleman, the Mayor of Dartford made reference during the ceremony to the significance the station has had on the villages of Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley since it was built.

When the station was opened it was the Victorian hey-day, opening up social, work and cultural opportunities to the communities it served.  Back then people would have worked within ten miles of where they lived, so work opportunities were widened.

Farningham Road Station was used to send troops to the first and second World wars.   When the station opened Lord Palmerston was Prime Minister, Queen Victoria was on the throne,  Abraham Lincoln, first Republican president, was presiding over America and bringing together the States, the first golf Open was played and Charles Dickens published the first extract of Great Expectations.

More recently, Farningham Station has become a vital transport link for local commuters. It has witnessed the frustrations experienced by local commuters but remains a well run, popular local railway station.