Gravesend West Line
Encyclopedia
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
that branched off the Swanley to Chatham line
Chatham Main Line
The Chatham Main Line is a British railway line that runs from either London Victoria to Dover Priory / Ramsgate or London St Pancras to Faversham, with both services travelling via Medway...
at Fawkham Junction
Fawkham Junction
Fawkham Junction is a railway junction that currently connects High Speed 1 with the Kent Rail Network.Originally the Junction was part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway's line to Gravesend West . The intermediate stations were: Longfield Halt, Southfleet, Rosherville Halt and Gravesend West...
and continued for a distance of 5 miles (8 km) to Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
where the railway company constructed a pier to connect trains with steamers. It was opened in 1886 and closed to passenger services in 1953, remaining open to freight until 1968 before reopening briefly between 1972 and 1976. Part of the railway's former alignment was incorporated into the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
High Speed 1 , officially known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and originally as the Continental Main Line , is a high-speed railway line running from London through Kent to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.The line was built to carry international passenger traffic from the United Kingdom...
.
History
Authorisation to construct the Gravesend West Line was obtained by the Gravesend Railway Company in the shape of the Gravesend Railway Act 1881 (c.cxliv) which received royal assentRoyal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 18 July 1881. The Act envisaged a junction with the Chatham Main Line
Chatham Main Line
The Chatham Main Line is a British railway line that runs from either London Victoria to Dover Priory / Ramsgate or London St Pancras to Faversham, with both services travelling via Medway...
near the village of Pinden which lies between the larger settlements of Farningham
Farningham
Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent in England. It is located on the River Darent, south of Dartford, and has a population of 1,289...
and Fawkham
Fawkham
Fawkham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located to the north-east of Sevenoaks town. The main village in the parish is Fawkham Green. The railway station now called Longfield was originally called Fawkham.The 12th century parish church is...
from which a line would run to Gravesend, a town already well-served by the railway. The project was driven by Sir Sydney Hedley Waterlow, Bart., the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Gravesend
Gravesend (UK Parliament constituency)
Gravesend was a county constituency centred on the town of Gravesend, Kent which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election....
and Deputy Chairman of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
(LCDR) which had built the Chatham Main Line. The LCDR's great rival, the South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
(SER), attempted to block the scheme by seeking parliamentary authorisation for a loop line towards Northfleet
Northfleet
Northfleet is a town in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. Its name is derived from North creek , and the settlement on the shore of the River Thames adjacent to Gravesend was known as Norfluet in the Domesday Book, and Northflet in 1201...
and Snodland
Snodland
Snodland is a small town in the county of Kent, England, located on the River Medway between Rochester and Maidstone. It has a population of about 12,000 people....
which would take in land required by the Gravesend Railway. The latter successfully petitioned against the SER's bill and obtained approval for its own scheme.
The 1881 Act sanctioned the construction of a double-track line from the LCDR's Main Line to a terminus which was said to be "Near the Ragged School" at Gravesend and initial plans had it sited in Princes Street. The initial capital of the railway company was £200,000 and it had powers to borrow a further £55,000. The line had to be completed within five years after which it would be worked by the LCDR. The construction works were put out to tender and eventually the offer of £108,000 from a Mr G. Barclay-Price was accepted on 3 August 1881. There was some internal discussion over the eventual siting of the terminus which was changed to Bath Street and then finally to Stuart Road. Around the same time, the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is an English railway line linking Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London with northeast London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. It is currently known as the Essex Thameside Route by Network Rail...
proposed to link with the Gravesend Line and the SER via a tunnel under the Thames from Tilbury
Tilbury
Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...
, but this was never realised.
A second Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
was obtained on 24 July 1882; the Gravesend Railway Act 1882 (c.cliii) authorised construction of a pier on the Thames and the extension of the line to serve it. The railway company's capital was increased by £50,000 and its borrowing rights by £16,600. The contractor, Barclay-Price, submitted a revised tender of £143,000 to complete the line and pier. By 29 June 1883 works were sufficiently advanced for the LCDR to take over formal control of the Gravesend Railway Company, holding a ceremony the following day at Stuart Road where the first sod was formally cut.
The line was officially opened on Saturday 17 April 1886, the date coinciding with the opening of the Tilbury Docks. The first train departed Fawkham Junction
Fawkham Junction
Fawkham Junction is a railway junction that currently connects High Speed 1 with the Kent Rail Network.Originally the Junction was part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway's line to Gravesend West . The intermediate stations were: Longfield Halt, Southfleet, Rosherville Halt and Gravesend West...
with Lady Waterlow being assisted to drive the train to Gravesend where the guests then went on to visit Tilbury Docks. Public services commenced the following Monday. There were stations at Longfield
Longfield
Longfield is a village in the Dartford borough of Kent. It is located four miles south east of Dartford and near Gravesend. It contains several shops, a pub, and a 14th century church...
, Southfleet
Southfleet
Southfleet is a small compact village five miles SW of Gravesend in Kent; it is a civil parish within the borough of Dartford, and includes within its boundaries the hamlet of Betsham, and the even smaller settlement of Northfleet Green. The main village is grouped around a crossroads and many of...
, Rosherville Gardens
Rosherville Gardens
-The Gardens:The gardens were laid out in 1837 by George Jones in one of the disused chalk pits in Northfleet, covering an area of 17 acres...
and Gravesend West Street (later called Gravesend West).
Passenger services
North Kent Line
The North Kent Line is a railway line which connects central and south east London with Dartford and Medway.-Construction:The North Kent Line was the means by which the South Eastern Railway were able to connect its system to London at London Bridge...
. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway ran a rather shorter service in 52 minutes by using a river crossing
Gravesend - Tilbury Ferry
The Gravesend - Tilbury Ferry is a passenger ferry across the River Thames east of London. It links Gravesend and Tilbury, and is the last publicly accessible crossing point before the Thames reaches the sea.-History:see also notes on Tilbury...
. It was from the West Street Pier that the ill-fated sailed on 3 September 1878.
In 1916, at the height of the First World War, the Dutch Batavia Line introduced a steamer
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
service from the West Street Pier to Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. A "Continental Express" boat train service from Victoria was laid on to connect with the steamers, and signs in Dutch began to appear at some intermediate stations; in Dutch, Gravesend West Street was "Heeren" and Rosherville "Gents". The Prince Consort of Holland was said to have occasionally used the service.
Services on the line were later increased to 10 each way on weekdays, 12 on Saturdays and 6 on Sundays. This went up again following the 1923 grouping
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
which saw the Southern Railway take over the line and laying on 12 services per day on weekdays. Five services ran from Swanley Junction
Swanley railway station
Swanley railway station is on the Chatham Main Line, and serves the town of Swanley in north Kent, England. Train services are provided by Southeastern. Swanley Station is 17.4 miles from London Victoria....
, one from Bickley
Bickley railway station
Bickley railway station is in the London Borough of Bromley in south London. It lies between Bromley South and Swanley stations. The station and all trains are operated by Southeastern, and is in Travelcard Zone 5....
, one boat train at 17:45 from Victoria (with intermediate stops at Penge East
Penge East railway station
Penge East railway station is in the London Borough of Bromley in south London. It is in Travelcard Zone 4, and the station and nearly all trains are operated by Southeastern...
, Beckenham Junction, Shortlands
Shortlands railway station
Shortlands railway station is in Shortlands, in the London Borough of Bromley in south London. It serves the southwest part of Bromley, and is 10 miles from London Victoria....
and Bromley South
Bromley South railway station
Bromley South railway station is a major interchange and station in Bromley town centre within the London Borough of Bromley in southeast London. It is in Travelcard Zone 5, and the station and all trains are operated by Southeastern...
), four from Holborn Viaduct
Holborn Viaduct railway station
Holborn Viaduct was a railway terminus in central London.-History:During the 1860s and 1870s, had begun to struggle with increasing numbers of trains. At the time, the LCDR was suffering financial problems, and so was unable to raise capital to expand the station...
, one ordinary service from Victoria and one from Charing Cross
Charing Cross railway station
Charing Cross railway station, also known as London Charing Cross, is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...
via the Chislehurst loop
Chislehurst Junction
Chislehurst Junction is an important railway junction near Chislehurst in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is the point where the South Eastern Main Line and the Chatham Main Line pass over each other, with diversion chords between each line...
.
The closure of Rosherville Pleasure Gardens
Rosherville Gardens
-The Gardens:The gardens were laid out in 1837 by George Jones in one of the disused chalk pits in Northfleet, covering an area of 17 acres...
in 1910 meant that there was not enough traffic to sustain Rosherville which closed in 1933. The Batavia Line service ceased in 1939 following the outbreak of the Second World War and when it resumed its services after the war, it transferred its activities to Tilbury where there were better facilities. The wartime service of five trains each way (three in the morning, two in the evening) continued after the war. The Saturday service remained, however, strong at ten services each way, enabling Farningham Road residents subject to petrol rationing to reach Gravesend. During the late 1940s till 1966, General Steam Navigation ran pleasure trips from the West Street Pier, using a pleasure steamer called the "Royal Daffodil". In more recent years, White Horse Ferries
White Horse Ferries Ltd
White Horse Ferries is a company that operates ferries along the English south coast. They operate the Hythe Ferry and the pier as well....
operated services from the pier using trimaran
Trimaran
A trimaran is a multihulled boat consisting of a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls , attached to the main hull with lateral struts...
s.
Passenger services were withdrawn from Monday 3 August 1953, the last train having run the previous Saturday. There were attempts during the 1960s to have services restored, notably by local authorities, but British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
(BR) rejected these calls on the basis that it would mean electrifying the line and pointing out that it would be a longer and slower service to London than that provided by the North Kent Line. This argument did not take account of the fact that towns such as Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, Orpington
Orpington
Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
and even Rochester have one route to Victoria and another to Charing Cross and Cannon Street
Cannon Street station
Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the City of London, England. It is built on the site of the medieval Steelyard, the trading base in England of the Hanseatic League...
.
Freight
Early freight consisted of fruit and other agricultural produce from Southfleet and from Chambers sidingRail siding
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...
between Fawkham Junction and Southfleet. Coal and cement was also carried. A network of sidings developed around Gravesend West Street principally to serve the Red Lion Chalk and Whiting Company, the Imperial Cement Works Ltd, the Crown and London Cement Works and a paper mill. The post-1918 years saw a decline in the freight traffic and the closure of the industrial sidings. The Southern Railway concentrated goods traffic on the West Branch, thereby relieving Gravesend Central and the North Kent Line. The Southern's programme of electrification in the 1930s did not extend to the line, although an electricity cable did have to be laid under the line from the Central Electricity Board
Central Electricity Board
The United Kingdom Central Electricity Board was set up under The Electricity Act 1926 to standardise the nation's electricity supply. At that time, the industry consisted of more than 600 electricity supply companies and local authority undertakings, and different areas operated at different...
at Northfleet to railway substations at Denton and Fawkham. By the 1950s, freight traffic was down to one service a day, no doubt helping the line win a competition in 1950 for the best-maintained section of track.
In 1959, the line was singled and much of its now surplus equipment, including station buildings and signalboxes, were removed. By 1967, BR's plan to withdraw local wagon load freight facilities was well under way, and later that year the line lost its regular freight service. On 24 March 1968 the freight service entirely ceased and the line closed; the last service to run had been that of the Locomotive Club of Great Britain on 3 March as part of their "Invicta" railtour. The north end of the line was physically disconnected from the rest of the branch and by September only 1100 yards (1,005.8 m) remained beyond Southfleet. The extant section of the line briefly reopened between 1972 and 1976 to serve APCM's coal concentration depot at Southfleet.
Attempted preservation
It was the chance discovery in 1980 that the track remained intact that led to an attempt to reopen the Gravesend West Branch as a heritage railwayHeritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
. Notices were placed in the local press which eventually led to the setting up of the North Downs Steam Railway Society to operate a section from Fawkham Junction to Southfleet as a steam-worked line. The scheme attracted support and membership of the Society grew to over 500. Negotiations were opened with the British Railways Property Board for the grant of a lease and purchase of the track; it was not possible for the Society to purchase the route of the line due to the presence of an electricity supply cable. The former goods yard at Higham was used as a depot from March 1981 where the pride of the Society's collection, a Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns
Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Ltd was a locomotive builder with works in North East England.-History:The company was formed in September 1937 when Robert Stephenson and Company, which was based in Darlington took over the locomotive building department of Hawthorn Leslie and Company, based in...
' 0-6-0
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
T No. 7846 of 1955, was stabled. To keep up Chatham traditions, an LCDR 3rd class carriage, 4 wheel coach body, from 1870 was also acquired. A magazine, "The Downs Line", was published regularly and meetings were held at St. Mark's Church Centre in Rosherville.
In November 1982 BR asked for a down payment of £25,000 for the track, with £5,000 to be paid up front as an indication of the Society's intention to lease the land. The Society raised £2,500 from its members and its bank agreed to loan a further £5,000 if certain points in the lease were settled. A cheque for £2,500 was sent to BR who promptly returned it and terminated negotiations. Around the same time, the Society received notice to quit Higham by 31 May 1983. It now sought to relocate to Southfleet.
Unknown to the Society, a third party - Resco (Railways) Ltd - a professional restoration company, had been looking to set up a museum in the Kent area which would feature exhibits of rural transport around 1914. Attracted by the presence of a ready-established preservation society on the Gravesend Branch, Resco began negotiations with BR for the purchase of the track and an option for a lease on the land, subject to them obtaining a Light Railway Order
Light Railways Act 1896
The Light Railways Act 1896 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Before the Act each new railway line built in the country required a specific Act of Parliament to be obtained by the company that wished to construct it, which greatly added to the cost...
. Resco met with the Society on 9 March 1983 when it invited the Society to run the line on its behalf. The Society, fearing a loss of identity if it proceeded, put the question to an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 15 April at which Resco's Managing Director emphasised that the Society had not been 'gazumped
Gazumping
Gazumping is a term used in the UK and Australia when a seller accepts a verbal offer of the asking price from one potential buyer, but then accepts a higher offer from someone else. It can also refer to the seller raising the asking price at the last minute, after previously verbally agreeing to...
'. In the event, the Society voted 2 to 1 not to join the Resco scheme and relocated its activities to Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
. It later found a permanent home at Tunbridge Wells West
Tunbridge Wells West railway station
Tunbridge Wells West is a railway station located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. It is one of two railway stations in Tunbridge Wells constructed by rival companies. The other, Tunbridge Wells Central was opened in 1845 by the South Eastern Railway . Tunbridge Wells West was closed to mainline...
where it amalgamated with the Tunbridge Wells and Eridge Preservation Society in 1996 and operates services as the Spa Valley Railway
Spa Valley Railway
The Spa Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway that runs between Tunbridge Wells, High Rocks, Groombridge, and Eridge railway station, where it links with the Oxted Line. En route it crosses the Kent and East Sussex border, a distance of 5 miles , along the former Three Bridges to...
.
Resco now began discussions with Southfleet Parish Council which had reservations about the effects of a heritage railway on the area, particularly concerning the likelihood of increased traffic on the country lanes around Southfleet. The project made no further progress.
The line today
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
High Speed 1 , officially known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and originally as the Continental Main Line , is a high-speed railway line running from London through Kent to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.The line was built to carry international passenger traffic from the United Kingdom...
(CTRL) the remaining rails on the Gravesend West Branch around Southfleet were lifted during the autumn of 1998 and works began to excavate a new track bed. CTRL services would follow a route running alongside the M2 and A2
A2 road (Great Britain)
The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe...
as far as Pepper Hill between Gravesend and Southfleet before curving south on a spur just before the B262 Station Road to join the alignment of the Gravesend Line along as far as Fawkham Junction where it joins the Chatham Main Line and proceeds to Waterloo.
The trackbed to the north of the CTRL spur remains traceable as far as Vale Road when it is taken over by the A2260
A226 road
The A226 road travels in a west-east direction, from Crayford in the London Borough of Bexley, along north Kent through Gravesend to the Medway Towns. It is about 11 miles in length. Before road numbering began in the United Kingdom, the road was part of the major route between London and Dover,...
Thames Way. Gravesend Borough Council has announced in its local plan its attention to seek agreement with BR to convert the remaining section of the line within the town into recreational use.
The station buildings have, in the main part, been swept away in subsequent redevelopments of the area. Only the stationmaster's house at Southfleet and the Gravesend West Pier now remains. The majority of Gravesend West itself was demolished in 1991, with the remaining section of viaduct and bridge over West Street going in September 2006, having previously been reprieved in 2001. The North Downs Railway Society managed, however, to recover the platform canopy from Gravesend West station and this has been installed at Groombridge
Groombridge railway station
Groombridge railway station is a station on the Spa Valley Railway in Groombridge, East Sussex, England. Once a busy station serving four directions, it closed in 1985 to British Rail services...
. In addition, some track materials were recovered from the line in 1988 by the Kent and East Sussex Railway
Kent and East Sussex Railway
The Kent & East Sussex Railway refers to both an historical private railway company in Kent and Sussex in England, as well as a heritage railway currently running on part of the route of the historical company.-Historical Company:-Background:...
.
Regular passenger services ceased in 2007 over the Channel Tunnel Rail Link between Fawkham Jn and Pepper Hill (occupying the former Gravesend West Line) when phase 2 of the CTRL route to St. Pancras International was opened. The route is still maintained for occasional empty stock trains.