South Eastern and Chatham Railway - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC), known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR) was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, 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) and 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...

(LC&DR), that operated services between London and Southeast England. Between 1899 and 1923 the SE&CR had an effective monopoly of the railway service in Kent, and several of the main Channel ports for ferries to France and Belgium.

The companies had competed extensively over the same area, with some of the bitterest conflicts ever seen between British railway companies. Competing routes to the same destination were built; thus many towns in Kent were served by both companies, and left with a legacy of two stations and services to multiple London termini.

Formation

By the end of the 19th century the SER and LC&DR had fought over a small and not particularly lucrative territory for 40 years. Both were notorious for the poor quality of their services and decrepitude of their stock, and the struggles had driven both companies to the verge of bankruptcy. It became inevitable that they must combine or succumb.

The SE&CR was formed on 1 January 1899, when the SER and LC&DR formed a "managing committee" comprising the directors of both companies. This effectively merged the two companies, although officially they remained separate, with the receipts split 59% to SER and 41% LC&DR, until the Grouping; this was to avoid the financial costs and risks of a formal merger.

Integration

The SE&CR instituted numerous connections between the two largely separate networks. New services were introduced to reap the benefits of joint working. The most significant step was the construction of a junction where the SER and LC&DR's respective mainlines crossed near Bickley and St Mary Cray, east of Bromley (circa 1902-04). LC&DR's terminating line via Maidstone to Ashford was connected to the SER hub at Ashford. The SER branch from Strood to Chatham alongside the LC&DR's main line to Chatham was closed prior to World War One. Later the overlapping network on the Isle of Thanet (Margate-Broadstairs-Ramsgate) was extensively rationalised by the Southern Railway. Service cuts under BR saw Gravesend lose its second station.

Further development

After the formation of the SE&CR, three minor lines were built before the SE&CR became one of the constituent parts of the Southern Railway in 1923. They were:

Tattenham Corner Line
Tattenham Corner Line
The Tattenham Corner Line is a railway line in Southern England. It was opened in two parts: from Purley to Tadworth as the Chipstead Valley Railway in 1893, and to Tattenham Corner as the Epsom Downs Extension Railway in 1894. Both companies were then acquired by the South Eastern Railway...

- Kingswood
Kingswood railway station
Kingswood railway station is in the county of Surrey. It is a late-Victorian station on the Tattenham Corner Line. Train services and the station are operated by Southern....

to Tattenham Corner
Tattenham Corner railway station
Tattenham Corner railway station is in Surrey, in England. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern, and it is the terminus of the Tattenham Corner Line. London-bound trains head south as far as Tadworth, then turn east and finally north....

, in 1901.
The Sheppey Light Railway
Sheppey Light Railway
The Sheppey Light Railway was a railway on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England which ran from Leysdown to Queenborough, where it connected with the South Eastern and Chatham Railway's Sheerness Line. It was engineered by Holman Fred Stephens and opened in 1901 and closed on December 4, 1950...

- branch off the Sheerness Line
Sheerness Line
The Sheerness Line connects Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent with Sittingbourne on the mainland, and with the Chatham Main Line for trains to London and elsewhere in Kent. It opened on 19 July 1860....

, in 1901 (closed 1950).
Bexhill branch off the Hastings Line
Hastings Line
The Hastings Line is a railway line in Kent and East Sussex linking Hastings with the main town of Tunbridge Wells, and from there into London via Sevenoaks.-Openings:The line was opened by the South Eastern Railway in main three stages: – :...

- Crowhurst
Crowhurst railway station
Crowhurst railway station is on the main London - Tunbridge Wells - Hastings line in East Sussex in England, and serves Crowhurst. Train services are provided by Southeastern.- History :...

and Bexhill West, in 1902 (now closed).

SE&CR locomotives

The LC&DR's works at Longhedge

Longhedge Railway Works (Battersea)

Longhedge railway works was a locomotive and carriage works built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in the borough of Battersea, South London to serve their new London terminus at Victoria...

, Battersea

Battersea

Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...

was closed in 1911 and production was concentrated at Ashford

Ashford railway works

Ashford railway works was in the town of Ashford in the county of Kent in England.-South Eastern Railway:Ashford locomotive works was built by the South Eastern Railway on a new site in 1847, replacing an earlier locomotive repair facility at New Cross in London...

. Harry Wainwright

Harry Wainwright

Harry Smith Wainwright was the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1899 to 1913. He is best known for a series of simple but competent locomotives produced under his direction at the company's Ashford railway works in the early years of the...

was replaced by Richard Maunsell

Richard Maunsell

Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell held the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1913 until the 1923 Grouping and then the post of CME of the Southern Railway in England until 1937....

as Locomotive Superintendent in 1913.

List of locomotives

Electrification

Prior to grouping, with the development and implementation by competitors (notably L&SWR

London and South Western Railway

The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

, LB&SCR

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...

, various "Tube

London Underground

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

" companies) and electric trams) of electric traction

Railway electric traction

Railway electric traction describes the various types of locomotive and multiple units that are used on electrification systems around the world.-History:...

in the early twentieth century, SECR planned to start electrifying

Railway electrification in Great Britain

Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...

its lines. The proposed method of electrification

Railway electrification system

A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...

was 1500V DC using two additional rails - i.e. four rails (like London Underground and L&NWR

London and North Western Railway

The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...

), this very high voltage (for rail track level systems) was only used in elsewhere on the L&YR's 1200V DC side contact third rail line from Manchester Victoria to Bury. 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...

in 1923 led to Southern Railway's

Southern Railway (Great Britain)

The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...

adopting L&SWR's standard of 660V DC third rail over SECR's network.

Ships

The SE&CR operated a number of ships on cross channel services.

Ex South Eastern Railway

South Eastern Railway (UK)

ships.

Launched	Tonnage (GRT)	Notes
1880	814	Scrapped 1899.
1878	407	Sold in 1903 to British Central Africa Co Ltd.
1895	996	Scrapped in 1904
1878	398	Scrapped in 1903.
1880	818	Scrapped in 1899.
1882	803	Scrapped in 1900
1898	1,009	Sold in 1910 to Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... , renamed Río Uruguay.

Ex London, Chatham and Dover Railway

London, Chatham and Dover Railway

ships.

Launched	Tonnage (GRT)	Notes
1863	385	Scrapped in 1899.
1896	979	Sold in 1911 to Hattemer, Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer -Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city.... , renamed Au Revoir.
1889	1,212	Sold in 1900 to Liverpool & Douglas Steamers.
1896	979	Scrapped in 1911.
1887	1,213	Scrapped in 1906
1862	495	Scrapped in 1901.
1864	365	Scrapped in 1899.
1882	1,282	Scrapped in 1899.
1896	979	Scrapped in 1911.
1862	503	Scrapped in 1899.
1864	338	Scrapped in 1899.
1861	336	Scrapped in 1899.
1886	1,042	Scrapped in 1904
1863	385	Scrapped in 1899

Ships built for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway.

Launched	Tonnage (GRT)	Notes
1914	2,495	Scrapped in 1949 at Dover Dover Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings... .
1900	561	Sold in 1926 to W E Guinness Walter Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne Walter Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne DSO & Bar PC was a Anglo-Irish politician and businessman. He served as the British minister of state in the Middle East until November 1944, when he was assassinated by the militant Jewish Zionist group Lehi... , renamed Arpha. Sold in 1938 to Sark Motorships Ltd. Requisitioned by the Royal Navy Royal Navy The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service... in 1939 as . Sold in 1946 to Shell Caribbean Petroleum Ltd, renamed Coriano. Sold in 1951 to J M Perez Hernandez. Scrapped sometime after 1955.
1907	1,689	Requisitioned by Royal Navy Royal Navy The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service... in 1914, sold to France in 1923. Scrapped at Dunkirk in 1933.
1911	1,676	Requisitioned by Royal Navy in 1914, returned in 1920. Sold in 1933 to Philippines and renamed Corregidor. Struck a mine Naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel... and sank on 17 December 1941.
1905	1,680	Sold in 1923 to France. Scrapped in 1932.
1899	1,289	Scrapped in 1909.
1918	2,384	Torpedoed on 28 June 1944 and sunk.
1905	1,671	Caught fire in 1918 at Folkestone and sank. Salvaged in 1920, sold to Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and rebuilt as Mona's Isle, the fourth IoMSPCo ship to carry that name. Scrapped in November 1948 at Milford Haven Milford Haven Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name... , Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered.... .
1911	1,674	Requisitioned by Royal Navy in 1914, returned in 1920. Sold in 1932 to Burns & Laird Lines Ltd, renamed Laird's Isle. Scrapped in October 1957 at Troon Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire. It is situated on the west coast of Scotland, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight and ferry services... , Ayrshire Ayrshire Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the... .
1903	1,676	Captured on 26 October 1916 by German destroyer S-60 and sunk.
1907	1,689	Sold in 1928 to Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Scrapped in January 1957 at Barrow in Furness.

Other ships operated by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway

Ship	Launched	Tonnage (displacement)	Notes
	1878	1,130	Used as an accommodation ship at from 1900-03.

Sources

A potted history of the SECR

External links

The South Eastern & Chatham Railway Society (SECSOC)

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