is architecturally "the exact counterpart in miniature of Tunbridge Wells", and constructed of red brick with string courses of blue and white brick, including coloured brick reveals to the doors and windows. The stationmaster's original residence was on the western side of the building adjacent to a booking hall, while at the same time a new goods and parcels office was added to the eastern end of the building, next to the gentlemen's toilets. A subway led from the main platform to the island platform where until 1896 there were no passenger facilities; upon the urging of a passenger, a waiting room and buffet were provided at a cost of £2,300. The station was equipped with three platform faces: the main station platform was used for down trains, whilst the far side of an island platform served the up trains. A double track ran through the station, with a third line splaying out to the other side of the island before merging once again with the line to Tunbridge Wells. Four sets of goods sidings lay to the north of the main station serving a carriage dock, blacksmith's shop and stable. The extensive goods yard and generous facilities did not, however, see much use, and the Southern Railway used the station as a collection point for empty wagons and, at one point, as a holding yard for Tunbridge-bound trains. A footbridge was installed in 1889 to the west of the station to carry the footpath crossing the railway line to pass over the embankment; this replaced deep cutting steps which led down the embankment on either side of the footpath, the use of which was becoming ever more dangerous with the increasing traffic. By 1899 the levels of traffic generated from the Oxted Line prompted the LBSCR to invest in extending the island platform and re-aligning the track around it. Decline Until 1965 north-south services were run in two sections: Victoria - Tunbridge Wells West, and Tunbridge Wells West - Brighton/Eastbourne. These two sections interconnected at Groombridge where with Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells coaches were detached from London trains; traffic grew from around 80 trains per day in the 1900s to 120 in the 1930s and more than 200 per day in the 1950s. The pattern of operations changed completely in the wake of the Beeching Report when the relative importance of Groombridge and Eridge as railway junctions diminished with