Platform Furniture

Historic pictures of Woody Bay station show that, beside the wall-mounted post box, was a Nestlés chocolate vending machine. Similar machines were installed at stations and similar venues throughout the country, from which, by depositing one penny (that is 1d - or £1/240), a bar of chocolate could be obtained!

In 2004, when Woody Bay reopened and the postbox was reinstalled, it was natural that the chocolate machine should follow. Unfortunately however, they are nowadays extremely difficult to get hold of, so instead, Eric Leslie built a wooden replica, which was good enough to fool many visitors to the railway since!

With many of the Trust members searching, it was only a matter of time before an original was found, and the honour fell to Peter Miles, who managed to find an authentic example on eBay! Painted in authentic Nestlé Red by Martyn Budd, and detailed by Jim Pounds, the real thing has now been installed in its rightful place on Woody Bay Platform. Unfortunately, the venerable vending machine is no longer able to dispense it's wares, but don't worry, a range of sweets and chocolates is available from the station shop!

In addition to their other tasks, last week's Thursday Gang were also kept busy with the installation:

Words and pictures by Nigel Thompson

1. John O'Dell unscrews the wooden replica, the restored original on the trolley awaiting installation.

2. Firmly bolted to the wall, The chocolate machine looks superb, recreating exactly the original 1930s platform scene.

3.Close-up of the Nestlé chocolate machine. Sadly, no chocolate, but a descriptive front panel will be fitted later.