GoKawiil1936 Woking Electrical Control Room Still Stands, One of Two Survivors
A 1936 control room built by Swedish firm Asean to manage electricity on the Southern Rail network survives in Woking, featuring an oval white-domed room with a central switchboard and ornate copper light fixtures. It operated until 1997, when a newer substation took over its functions, and is now Grade II listed, with offices in the building still in use.
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The survival of this control room offers a rare physical record of early 20th-century railway electrification infrastructure, most of which has been lost or repurposed. Its Grade II listing and occasional public openings during Open London heritage weekends suggest an effort to preserve industrial heritage that might otherwise go unnoticed.
- Built in 1936 by Swedish firm Asean, designed by architect James Robb Scott
- Operated with just two on-site engineers until being superseded in 1997
- Only one other of the original five control rooms survives, and it has been stripped for storage
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Published there as: “Woking Electrical Control Room (2016)”
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