Restoration of Platform Scales

Published: 14 November 2018

BEFORE RESTORATION                                                     AFTER RESTORATION

The platform scales were left inside the boarded up station building and discovered when STC took ownership of the keys to the station in March 2018.  They were made by Henry Pooley & Son Ltd; a company who specialised in making weighing scales.  The company was founded in the 18th century and were originally based in Liverpool then in 1896 the head office moved to Birmingham.  The scales would have been used to weigh luggage and other bulky items.

In order to preserve this important feature of the stations history STC made the decision to restore the scales and display them inside the refurbished station.  They sourced a team of dedicated volunteers from the Bluebell Railway who took the platform scales to their workshop in East Sussex to work on them for a number of weeks.  The volunteers made spare parts, replaced the glass and repainted the scales back to their original colour; Brunswick Green.

The scales will be carefully transported and returned to Bat & Ball Station for the preview event.

Sevenoaks Town Council would like to thank Tony Drake and his team of volunteers who have brought this historic artefact back to life.