Longfield Halt railway station
Encyclopedia
Longfield Halt was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line
which served the settlement of Grubb Street in Kent
, England
.
(SECR) to cut costs and increase revenues on the Gravesend West branch. Longfield Halt was now the first station on the line and was situated ¾ mile from Fawkham Junction
in a chalk cutting just to the south-west of a road bridge carrying Whitehill Road over the line.
The station was constructed entirely of wood, with access being had from a staircase leading down from the overbridge. Its opening coincided with the introduction by the SECR of push-pull train
s, initially worked by H class 0-4-4Ts
with ex-South Eastern Railway
4 wheel coaches, running between Swanley Junction and Gravesend West Street
. Although ultimately never successful, the line began to suffer in the face of competition from local bus services following the Second World War, and freight dropped off. The decision was therefore made to close all stations on the branch line to passenger traffic as from 3 August 1953. In 1959, the line was singled and the platform buildings at Longfield Halt were demolished along with those at neighbouring Southfleet
. The line running through Longfield remained open for freight until 1976, and the track remained even as late as 1985.
(CTRL) which runs from London
through Kent
to the British side of the Channel Tunnel
. Works on the CTRL commenced in 1998 with the lifting of the remaining track on the Gravesend Branch and the excavation of a new trackbed. CTRL services followed the alignment of the Gravesend Branch as far as Fawkham Junction
where they joined the Chatham Main Line
to proceed to Waterloo. CTRL trains ceased using this route in 2007 when trains were diverted to St. Pancras. The line is still occasionally used for empty stock trains.
Gravesend West Line
The Gravesend West Line was a short railway line in Kent that branched off the Swanley to Chatham line at Fawkham Junction and continued for a distance of 5 miles to Gravesend where the railway company constructed a pier to connect trains with steamers...
which served the settlement of Grubb Street in Kent
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
The line was opened 1886 but it was not until 1913 that the station was opened as part of a drive by the South Eastern and Chatham RailwaySouth Eastern and Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...
(SECR) to cut costs and increase revenues on the Gravesend West branch. Longfield Halt was now the first station on the line and was situated ¾ mile from 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...
in a chalk cutting just to the south-west of a road bridge carrying Whitehill Road over the line.
The station was constructed entirely of wood, with access being had from a staircase leading down from the overbridge. Its opening coincided with the introduction by the SECR of push-pull train
Push-pull train
Push–pull is a mode of operation for locomotive-hauled trains allowing them to be driven from either end.A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via some form of remote control, such as multiple-unit train control, to a vehicle equipped with a control cab at the other...
s, initially worked by H class 0-4-4Ts
SECR H Class
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway H Class is a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotive originally designed for suburban passenger work, designed by Harry Wainwright in 1904...
with ex-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...
4 wheel coaches, running between Swanley Junction and Gravesend West Street
Gravesend West railway station
Gravesend West was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which served Gravesend in Kent. It opened in 1886 and was, for some time, a regular destination for boat trains from London which linked with steamers on the station's pier to ferry passengers to a variety of coastal towns and resorts....
. Although ultimately never successful, the line began to suffer in the face of competition from local bus services following the Second World War, and freight dropped off. The decision was therefore made to close all stations on the branch line to passenger traffic as from 3 August 1953. In 1959, the line was singled and the platform buildings at Longfield Halt were demolished along with those at neighbouring Southfleet
Southfleet railway station
Southfleet was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which served the small village of Southfleet in Kent, England.- Opening :...
. The line running through Longfield remained open for freight until 1976, and the track remained even as late as 1985.
Present day
The site of Longfield Halt has been incorporated into the Channel Tunnel Rail LinkChannel 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) which runs from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
through Kent
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...
to the British side of the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
. Works on the CTRL commenced in 1998 with the lifting of the remaining track on the Gravesend Branch and the excavation of a new trackbed. CTRL services followed the alignment of the Gravesend Branch as far as 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...
where they joined 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...
to proceed to Waterloo. CTRL trains ceased using this route in 2007 when trains were diverted to St. Pancras. The line is still occasionally used for empty stock trains.