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Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
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number of claimants to the title "first railway in Britain", including the Middleton Railway, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway and the Surrey Iron Railway amongst others.
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The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England.
Early history
There are a number of claimants to the title "first railway in Britain", including the Middleton Railway, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway and the Surrey Iron Railway amongst others. From the beginning it was a public railway, intended for passengers as well as freight. Indeed, the world's first season ticket was issued for use on the line in 1834, to take Canterbury passengers to the Whitstable beaches for the summer season. Unlike the public Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened four months later, it used cable haulage by stationary steam engines over much of its length, with steam locomotives restricted to the level stretch.
Until the early nineteenth century Canterbury's line of supply for goods had been along the River Stour which flows to Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate on the eastern cost of Kent. Although this is only seventeen miles as the crow flies, the meandering river journey is around seventy miles. The river was continually silting up, and the cost of dredging such a length was prohibitive. Although turnpikes had been built, four or five carts were needed to carry the load of a single barge.
Whitstable, on the coast about seven miles due north, was at that time a small fishing village and port with a trade in iron pyrites from the Isle of Sheppey. The idea for the line came from William James who surveyed the route and produced plans for improving the harbour. The immediate problem was that the land between Whitstable and Canterbury rose to a height of two hundred feet (70m), and railway haulage on steep gradients was technically very difficult at that time. The only alternative would have been a much longer route through Sturry, Herne and Swalecliffe and land acquisition would have been a major cost.
Accordingly the direct route was chosen with three steep gradients, two of them to be worked by ropes from stationary steam engines. Leaving Canterbury, there was a steep incline to near the top of Tyler Hill, followed by an tunnel, then a descent through Clowes Wood to Bogshole Brook. From there the final two miles were substantially level apart from a short incline down to Whitstable. The line received its Act of Parliament in 1825. Construction began in 1828 with George Stephenson as the engineer, with the assistance of John Dixon and Joseph Locke. The line cost far more than predicted and the promoters returned to Parliament three more times to obtain authorisation for the raising of additional funds. The construction of Whitstable Harbour, under the direction of Thomas Telford, was completed in 1832.
The line finally opened on 3 May 1830, with a single track throughout and passing loops at Clowes Wood and the entrance to Tyler Hill tunnel. The track consisted of fifteen foot fish-bellied iron rails on wooden sleepers at three foot intervals, the more usual alternative of stone blocks being considered too expensive. Initially Stephenson had recommended the use of stationary engines for the three inclines, with horses for the level sections. However the promoters insisted on use of a locomotive for the least difficult incline, and Invicta was procured from Robert Stephenson and Company, the twentieth they had produced, and it was brought to Whitstable by sea. Unfortunately the short gradient from Whitstable proved too much for it, and a third stationary engine was installed in 1832.
The line was visited by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1835. The purpose of his visit was to conduct some experiments in order silence some of the criticism he had received in relation to his proposals for the Great Western Railway.
Also in 1835, the "Invicta" was modified in order to improve its performance. The modification was unsuccessful and led to the locomotive being taken out of service, and trains being hauled only by the stationary engines. The C&WR tried to sell the "Invicta" in 1839 in order to clear some of its debts, but no buyers were found. The "Invicta" was later given to the Canterbury City Corporation and for many years stood on a plinth in the Dane John Gardens beside the Riding Gate.
South Eastern Railway
The line was bedevilled by financial problems and was facing bankruptcy when the South Eastern Railway, which had received the Royal Assent in 1844, agreed to take it over, operating it in isolation from their own line. Invicta by now was virtually useless and horse traction was being used.
When the South Eastern Railway's own network eventually reached Canterbury in 1846, it decided to convert the line for use with its own locomotives throughout, after upgrading the track. Under George Stephenson's influence the track had been built to standard gauge, but the loading gauge was small, the height of Tyler Hill Tunnel being only twelve feet and the South Eastern locomotives were modified with shorter chimneys and lowered boilers. Canterbury North Road station closed in 1846, Canterbury West served the line after that date.
The line was never prosperous, even under South Eastern management, and there was a new setback when the London, Chatham and Dover Railway opened in 1860 offering a better passenger service from Whitstable to London. At the turn of the century work started on building a spur line at Whitstable to connect with
the Herne Bay to Faversham line and a bay platform at Whitstable & Tankerton station but the work was never completed. In the early 1900s halts were built at Blean & Tyler Hill, South Street and Tankerton which brought some increased patronage.
Twentieth century operations
In 1923 the line became part of the Southern Railway and like many other lines around the country it suffered from competition from bus services. Passenger services were withdrawn on 1st January 1931. It continued to carry coal, grain and roadstone, with munitions to the harbour during World War II. By 1948, when it became part of British Railways, Whitstable Harbour had fallen into disuse and what was left of the line's trade had disappeared.
Closure and lifting
The line closed with effect from 1 December 1952, albeit with a short reprieve during the floods of February 1953, the line being reopened from 5 February to 1 March. Track was lifted almost immediately and the line has almost completely disappeared apart from the tunnel portals, some embankments and various oddments. All trace of the halts and station at Whitstable Harbour have gone. The site of Canterbury North Lane station later became a goods yard until around 1980 when it was sold for housing development. The original weighbridge house and a level crossing gate into the former goods yard are preserved in the development. Invicta, however, has been preserved and can be seen in the . The locomotive is not in its original form, since various modifications were made around 1836 in an effort to improve its performance. Part of the Tyler Hill tunnel collapsed at the beginning of July 1974, causing severe subsidence to some buildings at the University of Kent at Canterbury that had been built on the hill above. The resulting voids were filled over the next year, using fly-ash from Richborough power station.
Restoration
In 1997, a charity, The Crab and Winkle Line Trust, was formed to reopen the route. In 1999, a footpath and cycleway was opened between Canterbury and Whitstable, running along approximately 40% of the original track. There are plans to allow public access to more of the line.
Bibliography
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