Malden Manor
A 1930s Art Deco Station in Suburbia

Malden Manor Station is the first station on the branch line from Motspur Park to Chessington. The station was opened on May 29, 1938 when trains ran through here to the next station at Tolworth. The remaining stations were opened on the 28th of May, 1939. The line had been intended to continue on to Leatherhead, but was never completed. The buildings on the line were designed to be modern with flowing lines and curves. The style was similar to that used for the Odeon Theatres and the style has been referred to as Odeon though the Southern Railway called it the Marine look in reference to the Cunarders and Southampton Docks.

 

Animated SE gif Forecourt View Animated SE gif
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Malden Manor seen from the station forecourt in June 1999. When originally built there was a booking hall, parcels office, shop bookstall and toilets. The large vertical structure in the centre of the station building was the lift shaft which wasn't used as there were ramps provided for luggage. The line passed to British Railways, Southern Region in 1948. Train services are now provided by SWT (South West Trains) using class 455 suburban units.

Detail Photographs
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Lift Shaft Platform level view of the top of the lift shaft. This structure was placed on the up (London direction) platform. When the station was originally built the platform fence was formed of cast concrete fence panels.
Chisarc Canopy The platform canopies were constructed in reinforced concrete integral with the station buildings, in a novel style of German origin known as the Chisarc system, which gave an unobstructed platform free of columns.
Both Canopies Malden Manor station is built on a slight curve.
Under the Canopy The undersides of the platform canopies were lit by fluorescent lighting at night. This was a somewhat revolutionary form of lighting for the 1930s. For daylight the platforms were illuminated by glass "portholes" which was in keeping with the Marine look . Perhaps the portholes needed cleaning as the lights were on during the day.
Station Loudspeaker This is a standard Southern Railway Loudspeaker used for making station announcements. In Southern Railway and Southern Region days they were painted green. This one is in Network South East red
Platform Back Most of the line was on embankments, made up from dry filling from demolitions in London, as the local clay was liable to slip in wet weather. This rear shot of the down platform shows the precast concrete platform built up over the embankment.
Platform Back A Southern Railway concrete gradient post shows the change in the down direction (away from London) from a climb of 1 ft in 513 ft to a falling gradient of 1 ft down for each 99 ft which is a 1% grade in North American terminology.
3rd Rail Connector For those who wondered how the 3rd rail sections are connected.
Down Line Looking south towards Tolworth and Chessington with the bridgework in the foreground. This view clearly shows the railway line as an embankment with houses built on either side. In the far distance the line can be seen climbing and curving to the left.

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There were 7 under-bridges on the line, all constructed of steel girders encased in concrete. The strong horizontal lines in the bridge abutment echo the art deco style

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Last updated May 14th, 2005