Hundred of Hoo Railway
Encyclopedia
The Hundred of Hoo Railway is a railway
line
in Kent
, England, following the North Kent Line
from Gravesend
before diverging at Hoo Junction
near Shorne Marshes
and continuing in an easterly direction across the Hoo Peninsula
, passing near the villages of Cooling
, High Halstow
, Cliffe
and Stoke
before reaching the Isle of Grain
and the container port on its eastern tip, Thamesport
. There used to be a short branch line leading from Stoke Junction to the coastal town of Allhallows
but this closed from 4 December 1961, the same date on which the Hundred of Hoo line was closed to passenger services.
's Gravesend - Strood
line near Shorne Marshes. The line would head eastwards across land north of Cliffe
to reach Allhallows, continuing to the Isle of Grain. However, the major railway companies operating in the area, South Eastern Railway (SER) and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
(LCDR) were not interested in the project and as a result it failed to secure the necessary funding.
The opening of Queenborough railway station
on 15 May 1876 by the LCDR which offered a sea link to the Dutch town of Flushing
prompted the SER to investigate possibilities for a rival link to the continent. On 16 April 1878 the SER's engineer, Francis Brady, reported back to his employer on the feasibility of constructing a railway from a point near Gravesend and the North Kent Line to the village of Stoke, a distance of 9 miles. The estimated cost was £72,000. A 5% return was projected, the belief being that Gravesend's proximity to London would make it a more desirable outlet for the distribution of goods intended for the Kent area, rather than the LCDR's Chatham
station.
The Hundred of Hoo Railway Company was therefore formed and a second authorisation for the line obtained in the form of the Hundred of Hoo Railway Act which received royal assent
on 21 July 1879.
outlets. The SER was hopeful that its service would be preferred over that of the LCDR, the proposed route from Charing Cross
to the new port was 40 miles, some 12 miles less than the LCDR's Victoria to Queenborough or Sheerness service.
The Hundred of Hoo Railway (Extension) Act was passed by the House of Lords
on 14 July 1880 authorising an extension of 3 miles from Stoke to the new Victoria Port where a pier would be constructed. Following a call for tenders, the quotation of a certain Thomas Walker was accepted, he having proposed £14,421 for the railway extension (including a bridge over Higham Canal) and £18,953 for the pier. The Railway Company was absorbed into SER in August 1880.
When the line opened, the scope for passenger services was limited - the entire population of the sparsely populated Hoo Peninsula was only 3,405. Nevertheless, in October 1891 there were 9 daily trains, approximately one every two hours from 6am on weekdays and Saturdays, and three on Sundays. The total journey time was 1 hour. Down trains would depart from Gravesend and call at Sharnal Street and Port Victoria, before a steamer
would take passengers across the River Medway
on to Sheerness. From Sheerness passengers could take the Medway Ferry Service to Folkestone
and then on to the continent.
The ferry service was intermittent. It was discontinued in 1895 due to dwindling returns and then reinstated some years later; when there was no service to Port Victoria, trains terminated at Sharnal Street. The initial returns for the line as a whole were below expectations: without a direct ferry connection to the continent there was little to attract customers to this remote region. Nevertheless, the farming community on Hoo took well to the new railway and Sharnal Street station saw good business.
(SECR) began to look for new opportunities to bring in revenue. In July of that year seven wooden halts were constructed: Milton Road, Milton Range, Denton, Uralite, Beluncle, Middle Stoke and Grain Crossing. Uralite halt was named after the nearby British Uralite plc complex which had opened in 1899 and manufactured drainage pipes from wet asbestos
paste. On 1 May 1915, the little-used Milton Road Halt was closed. The branch line to Allhallows-on-sea was opened on 16 May 1932 followed on 17 July 1932 by opening of another halt at Stoke Junction. A new station opened at Grain on 3 September 1951, replacing Grain Crossing Halt, which closed to rail traffic on 11 July 1951 and passengers on 3 September 1951 - a bus service being provided between those dates.
The station became popular with the Royal Family
due to the fact that it was relatively secluded with no roads leading to the port. Both the Royal Train
and the Royal Yacht were regular visitors to the line.
s having infested the wooden piles. Extensive works were untaken only for the pier to be damaged again, this time by a heavy storm on 28 November 1896. Further repairs were necessary and the service to Victoria Port became intermittent, closing in the winter months with trains terminating at Sharnal Halt. In 1901 the wooden piles of the pier were encased in concrete in an attempt to prevent further infestation, however problems continued after the area around the pier was dredged, thereby exposing the uncased parts of the piers to investigation.
Following the outbreak of the First World War
, the Admiralty
took over Port Victoria on 11 August 1914 at a rent of £200 per annum for a lease of 14 years. A siding to Yantlet Creek was laid and artillery testing was carried out there. The Royal Naval Air Service
took over the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
's headquarters which were located near the pier.
In 1932 further concerns about the stability of the pier led to the buffer
being brought further forward so that only 93 ft of railway covered the 400 ft pier. The station was replaced the same year by a modest structure at a cost of £395. The following year the old station buildings on the pier were demolished and new fencing was erected to create a gangway on the pier in order to provide access to the navigation lights. The 1930s also saw the demolition of the old Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.
The end finally came in 1941 when its seaward end (measuring some 516 ft) was demolished and sold for scrap to the Admiralty for £841 5s. Only a short length at the shore end now remained. Both Port Victoria Station and the previous station, Grain Crossing Halt, closed to rail traffic (but not passengers) on 11 June 1951. A new station, called "Grain", which became the line's terminus, was constructed in their place. The Port Victoria Hotel was one of the last pier buildings to be swept away in 1951.
, Torquay
and Blackpool
had long been popular with seasiders since the mid-19th century, but it was only with the arrival of the railway that factory workers in London could enjoy the privileges previously reserved for the richer classes and use their free weekends to escape from their urban environment.
The Southern Railway
(SR), which had taken over the SECR's activities in 1923 following the grouping ordered by the Railways Act 1921
, sought to profit from this new market by offering a seaside destination within easy reach of London which would rival the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
's line to Southend-on-Sea
. The small village of Allhallows
, population 261 in the 1880s, was identified as the only feasible location for a new seaside resort in North Kent - Herne Bay
being judged too far from London and Leysdown-on-Sea
on the Isle of Sheppey
not having a direct rail service.
An article published in April 1932 in the Southern Railway Magazine indicated the SR's aspirations for the line: "[n]ear the small village of Allhallows, amid fields where cattle graze and the ploughman walks his furrow, workmen are busy constructing roads and laying the main drains and conduits for the gas, water, telephone and electric light services to houses of which not a brick has yet been laid. In contrast to the urban development of an earlier day, the prospective house-purchaser (and season-ticket holder) at Allhallows will approach his future home from a modern reinforced concrete carriageway, instead of stumbling through the ruts of an unmade road."
The Allhallows-on-Sea Estate Company was incorporated with the intention of transforming the flat, featureless, windswept marshland in the area into a new holiday resort. The SR had a financial interest in the new company and worked closely with it in the construction of the line. The new company 'donated' land for use as railway and contributed £20,000 towards the construction of the line.
The ceremonial opening of the extension took place on Whit Saturday
14 May 1932 when 700 day-trippers made the journey to Allhallows on SECR R1 Class 0-4-4T No. 380, a special train laid on from London. The first passenger trains ran on the following bank holiday
Monday, 16 May, with local trains starting from and returning to Gravesend Central. Cheap day return tickets from Charing Cross were offered at 5s 3d - the cheapest ticket to a Kentish seaside resort. To coincide with the opening of the new connection, other parts of the line were upgraded. At Stoke Junction, where the line to Allhallows branched off, a new halt was opened on 17 July 1932. At Cliffe and Sharnal Street, platforms were constructed, whilst at Uralite, High Halstow, Beluncle and Middle Stoke halts, concrete platforms replaced the timber ones.
Two daily express services from Allhallows to Charing Cross were laid on at 7.36am and 8.28am, returning in the early evenings on weekdays and at midday on Saturdays, as if to demonstrate the village's potential as a commuter hub. The services were hardly used, the envisaged commuter town not having yet been constructed, and the SR ran them until September, planning to re-introduce them permanently when the town was ready.
The line became increasingly popular for daytrips: on Sundays during July, August and September 1934 alone, 72,557 passengers used the line, compared with 62,120 for the same period in 1933. On Bank Holiday Sunday 5 August 1934, over 9,500 passengers made the journey to and from Allhallows. It became necessary to double the line between Allhallows and Stoke Junction, the single platform at Allhallows becoming an island
with an extended platform canopy. The platform at Allhallows could accommodate ten-coach trains, and goods facilities were provided in the shape of goods sidings, a large goods shed and a turntable - none of which saw much use.
By 1939 between ten and twelve trains were laid on each way on weekdays from Gravesend, and there was an excursion from Maze Hill
in August. On Sundays, seven trains were provided, with six extra during the peak holiday season.
that had been expected.
In the frugal years that followed the end of the war, Allhallows, like Leysdown-on-Sea, began to experience lean times as passenger numbers fell. Allhallows with its single Charringtons
pub, concrete road, two small refreshment stands (closed in winter) and block of four small shops (which never saw any real use and were eventually bricked up) was no match for Brighton, the attractions of which could be enjoyed by rail for an extra 1s 9d when compared to the price of an Allhallows ticket (then 5s 9d). In an attempt to stem losses, the new operator, British Railways (Southern Region)
(BR), misguidedly tried out an ACV lightweight diesel railcar in late 1953, its noise and general lack of comfort probably serving however to drive away more passengers.
In the February 1954 edition of Trains Illustrated, T.J. Norris noted that many of the trains from Allhallows carried a score or so of passengers, most of whom went only as far as Cliffe. Whilst Summer and bank holidays saw some patronage of the line - an excursion train from London ran three days each week, with extra trains on Sundays and bank holidays, Winter presented a different picture with trains continuing beyond Sharnal Street being almost completely empty.
Nevertheless, BR still tried to promote the area for holiday-makers and potential residents as its Holiday Haunts guide for 1955 demonstrates: "[t]he open fields, the views, the sands and the safe bathing attract may day and weekend visitors. Undoubtedly, Allhallows has a future; roads have been laid out and it is certain that the place will develop as a pleasant, rural type of resort."
By 1955 eleven trains ran each way on weekdays, with twelve down and thirteen up on Saturdays and thirteen up and down on Sundays. In 1957, the line between Stoke Junction and Allhallows was reduced to a single track and in 1959, the Hundred of Hoo line was excluded from the Kent Coast electrification programme which saw the North Kent Line electrified.
In March 1960 the proposed withdrawal of passenger services was announced, the main line from Gravesend to Grain remaining unaffected by the changes. The closure proposal was rejected by the South Eastern Area Transport Users Consultative Committee, whose consent was required in accordance with the Transport Act 1947
, on the basis that replacement bus services would be inadequate. A new proposal was made by BR a few months later, which it backed up with new figures showing that passenger numbers had further declined since Winter 1959/60 and that savings would even higher - £43,324 per annum.
and Strood Rural District Council which challenged BR's method of calculating passenger numbers and losses. They argued that the figures (i) failed to consider cheaper methods of running the line such as using diesel traction units, closing minor halts, eliminating unnecessary journeys, the operation of direct summer excursions from London to Allhallows and the combination of passenger and goods services, (ii) took into account costs incurred for the line between Gravesend and Grain which would remain open for freight, (iii) included a figure of £5,000 which would be paid to Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd
for replacement bus services, (iv) failed to take into account holiday traffic - 2,812 passengers having used Allhallows on the Whitsun holiday of 3/6 June 1960, and (v) failed to record the 25% increase in passenger numbers or take into account the ongoing residential development in the area.
It was also pointed out that the four replacement bus services - routes 17 (Gillingham - Cliffe, hourly), 19 and 65 (Gillingham - Grain, every 80 mins) and 47 (Gravesend to Cliffe, 10 per day) - were inadequate and would cause hardship to the local community as their timings would not allow passengers the same the ease or flexibility of use as that offered by rail transport. For example, the journey time of workers going to Uralite Halt from Gravesend by rail was 6 minutes, as opposed to 29 minutes by bus, while the journey from Gravesend to Allhallows was 34 minutes by rail and 1 hour 16 minutes by bus. The buses would also be oversubscribed at peak-times by schoolchildren.
BR accepted that substituting the existing units with diesel rail buses would cut losses on the line, but argued that losses would not be completely eradicated and that rail buses would be unable to deal with Summer Sunday traffic.
KCC, announcing its intention to resist the proposed closure "strongly", reminded BR that planning permission
for the construction of 1,200 houses on the Isle of Grain had been granted, possibly leading to an extra 4,000 potential users of the line. This was dismissed by BR which believed that many of these users would work locally and not need the railway. KCC also pointed out that bus users would have to find an extra 1s 10d per day to travel by bus from Allhallows to Gravesend by comparison with rail travel (a cheap day fare being 3s 6d), and the increased journey times would mean that schoolchildren would be away from home for 10¼ hours per day (by bus) as opposed to 8¾ hours (by train).
British Uralite predicted that the region would undergo "substantial" industrial development in the future which would generate extra traffic and that the railway, once taken away, would never be put back. BR replied that ownership of the land between Stoke Junction and Allhallows would be retained for a period of 10 years so that it could be returned to railway, were circumstances to warrant it.
will make."
Peter Kirk
, the Conservative
MP
for Gravesend
, criticised the TUCC's handling of the matter and tried to discuss it with Ernest Marples
, the Minister of Transport
. A Ministry of Transport
memorandum of 14 April 1961 states that "it would not be proper for the Minister to see Mr Kirk at this stage [...] It may well be that Mr Kirk wished to put forward further representations at this late stage [...] Mr Kirk may, for example, wish to make some criticism of the way in which the proposals have been heard by the Consultative Committees." Access to the Minister was therefore refused.
A further memorandum dated 9 June 1961 admitted that "no doubt there will be a comeback from Mr Kirk MP who clearly has views on the merits of the proposal as well as the procedure adopted by the Consultative Committees" but stated that "the sooner the passenger service is closed, the greater the economy will be for the Railways who must already have lost a substantial amount during the last six months of argument."
The announcement was made that passenger services on the line would cease as from Monday 4 December 1961, and that the last weekend of operation would be the 2/3 December.
A number of enthusiasts turned out for the final days of operation and the Railway Magazine described the activity on the 10.32am Saturday morning service (an "H" class 0-4-4T 31324
): "[...] practically every seat was occupied throughout the journey to Allhallows. Photographers were much in evidence, and at least one had come equipped with a ciné camera and a portable tape recorder."
The last passenger train, hauled by C class
0-6-0
31689 formed of seven coaches, left Allhallows at 8.38pm on Sunday, 3 December. The last goods train had run the previous day.
The reasons for the commercial failure of Allhallows were neatly described by F. Oliver Randall in the November 1956 edition of the Railway Observer: "[...] the place falls sadly between two stools in that it lacks the most commonplace amenities associated with a seaside resort, yet has completely lost the rural charm and remoteness which it must have [...] possessed prior to its attempted exploitation."
since 1891 where there was a School of Military Engineering and barracks. A narrow gauge track was laid between 1873 and 1905 - the Chattenden and Upnor Railway
- to transport men and munitions to and from the School. An armament depot was constructed in 1902 in order to supply the fleet
and in 1905 the narrow gauge
track was extended northwards to connect with the Hundred of Hoo line at Sharnal Street. By the end of the 1920s the line saw regular freight services to and from the depot, a service which continued until the narrow gauge track was lifted in December 1965.
was identified as the new location for this new industry.
The first oil refinery on the Hoo Peninsula was opened at Kingsnorth
by Berry Wiggins and Co Ltd in 1932. The refinery had its own standard gauge railway which connected with the line at Hoo Junction via a spur which was separated from the main line by a wooden gate.
The Medway Oil and Storage Company (later Power Petroleum) had opened a depot on Grain in 1928, this had been acquired by Shell-Mex & BP Ltd
in 1934. During the Second World War the terminal had served as the base of operations for Operation Pluto
, a scheme to construct undersea oil pipelines
under the English Channel
between England and France.
In 1948 work started on the construction of a oil refinery
, then one of the largest in the country, on the Isle of Grain by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
, which became part of BP in 1956. By 1961 the site boasted more than 3,000 workers and could refine 11 million tons of crude oil per year. A new station, Grain, was opened on 3 September 1951 to serve the refinery (a concrete platform being installed for workers) and the line east of this halt, including Grain Crossing Halt and Port Victoria station, was closed and dismantled in order to make space for the refinery's coastal operations.
The refineries generated significant goods traffic for the line.
. The site was taken over by the British Portland Cement Company in 1900 and works continued until 1920. In 1910 the Alpha Cement Works was constructed by the Thames Portland Cement Company. The site was exhausted by 1950 and was flooded as quarrying activities exceeded the depth of the water table
. A second quarry was begun to the north of Salt Lane on the edge of the marshes.
By the late 1950s the cement industry in the area was under the control of the APCM (Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd). A new siding was laid to serve the works (the APCM having switched the transport of their cement freight (around 1,000 tons per week) and delivery of coal from river and road to rail) which remained in use until 1969 when the chalk pits were again exhausted and flooded. In 1970 Marinex Gravel took over the site and used it as a base to receive gravel which had been dredged from the River Thames sea bed.
the following year which manufactured drainage pipes from wet asbestos
paste. The factory was served by its own station, Uralite Halt, which opened in 1906 and, although open to the public, was primarily intended for Uralite's workforce. The works have now closed and the site is part of the Canal Road Industrial Estate.
, a quarrying and asphalt company, opened a gravel terminal at Grain in 1988 from which it could transport overseas the stone quarried at Glensanda near Oban
. The firm had first been involved in the area during the construction of the Channel Tunnel
for which it supplied stone. The terminal was part of the concrete works site of TransManche Link
, the Anglo-French engineering consortium which took over the land formerly occupied by the BP refinery. The Grain terminal receives annually 2 million tonnes of stone by sea from Glensanda. The completion of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 led to the dissolution of TransManche Link, and the gravel terminal was incorporated into the new Thamesport
in 1990.
before reaching Milton Road Halt (½ mile). Here there is a road overbridge for Mark Lane (which was once a level crossing
). The line then passes Denton Halt (1¼ miles), following the course of the Thames and Medway Canal
before arriving at Milton Range Halt. This was originally intended to serve the nearby rifle range, but was more often used by railway workmen who used this desolate spot to leave their tools. Continuing onwards to Hoo Junction, the line forks: the North Kent Main Line continuing south-east to Higham and the Hundred of Hoo railway swinging leftwards onto a single track, arriving soon after at Uralite Halt (3½ miles).
The line now rises at a 1:120 gradient, passing over the Thames and Medway Canal and crossing Higham Marsh. Climbing on a 1:60 gradient, the line passes under two road bridges before reaching Cliffe (5¾ miles) which was located over a mile from the actual village. Departing Cliffe, the line rises again on a 1:190 gradient onto the embankment at Cooling Street, becoming a 1:66 gradient and then descending on a 1:160 gradient to Wyborne's farm siding and High Halstow Halt (8¼ miles). The next stop was Sharnal Street (9¼ miles), located two miles from the nearest town, Hoo
. Passing under a road bridge just outside the station, there was a connection with the Chattenden and Upnor Railway
, a narrow gauge line.
Descending on a 1:165 gradient, the line reaches Beluncle Halt (10¼ miles) before passing under another bridge and continuing on a level towards Middle Stoke Halt (12½ miles), located half a mile from Stoke Wharf. Nearly a mile further on was Stoke Crossing (later to become Stoke Junction Halt) and its level crossing (13 miles). Heading gently southwards towards the River Medway and Port Victoria, the line crosses over Grain Bridge to reach the Isle of Grain. Here we have Grain Crossing Halt (14⅓ miles) together with its level crossing, later replaced by Grain (14¾ miles). Finally, the train would pull into its terminus - Port Victoria (16 miles) where passengers would descend onto the wooden pier, walking down to the lower platform to board their ferry if the tide was out, or continuing to the end of the upper platform when the tide was in. The train would then be prepared for its return journey on the turntable
just outside the pier.
in Essex
. The line encountered no major construction problems: for the greater part of its length it passed through low-lying pasture fields and ditches which necessitated the construction of ten culvert
s. The return journey from Allhallows generally saw the train continue as far as Stoke Junction where it would reverse to Grain before retracing its steps and continuing to Gravesend Central.
The line is freight-only and services run from Monday to Friday, with occasional weekend enthusiasts excursions or Serco test trains. Approximately one train per hour runs on weekdays throughout the line. Currently the line sees use from: EWS
and GB rail freight ballast from Foster Yeoman's aggregate terminal at Grain where an 08 shunter
can usually be found, Freightliner services to and from Thamesport and a Fastline
intermodal
service to Thamesport.
As well as the Fastline 56
locomotives, Class 66s
are predominantly to be seen on the line, with occasional sightings of 59s
and 60s
.
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
line
Branch
A branch or tree branch is a woody structural member connected to but not part of the central trunk of a tree...
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, following the North Kent Line
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...
from Gravesend
Gravesend railway station
Gravesend railway station serves the town of Gravesend in north Kent; train services are operated by Southeastern. The station is 24 miles from London Charing Cross...
before diverging at Hoo Junction
Hoo Junction
Hoo Junction is a rail yard on the North Kent Line. It is located near the village of Higham, Kent and also Shorne Marshes; it is operated by EWS...
near Shorne Marshes
North Kent Marshes
The North Kent Marshes, located in the north of the county of Kent on the Thames Estuary in south-east England, is one of 22 Environmentally Sensitive Areas recognised by the UK government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...
and continuing in an easterly direction across the Hoo Peninsula
Hoo Peninsula
The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in England separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of sand and clay hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The name Hoo is the Old English word for spur of land.-History:The Romans...
, passing near the villages of Cooling
Cooling, Kent
Cooling is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula, overlooking the North Kent Marshes. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 209....
, High Halstow
High Halstow
High Halstow is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula in the borough of Medway in northern Kent, England. The parish had a population of 1,781 according to the 2001 census....
, Cliffe
Cliffe, Kent
Cliffe is a village on the Hoo peninsula in Kent, England, reached from the Medway Towns by a three-mile journey along the B2000. Situated upon a low chalk escarpment overlooking the Thames marshes, Cliffe offers the adventurous rambler views of Southend-on-Sea and London...
and Stoke
Stoke, Kent
Stoke is a civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England, to the south of Allhallows, on the north of the Medway Estuary. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,063....
before reaching the Isle of Grain
Isle of Grain
The Isle of Grain, in the north of Kent, England, is the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula. No longer an island, the Isle is almost all marshland and the Grain Marshes are an important habitat for birdlife...
and the container port on its eastern tip, Thamesport
Thamesport
London Thamesport is a container seaport on the River Medway, serving the North Sea. It is on the Isle of Grain, in the Medway unitary authority, Kent, England in the United Kingdom. It is sited on the former Port Victoria.-History:...
. There used to be a short branch line leading from Stoke Junction to the coastal town of Allhallows
Allhallows, Kent
Allhallows is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England. Situated in the northernmost part of Kent, and covering an area of 23.99 km², the parish is bounded on the north side by the River Thames, and in the east by the course of Yantlet creek, now silted up...
but this closed from 4 December 1961, the same date on which the Hundred of Hoo line was closed to passenger services.
Authorisation
The first authorisation to construct a railway on the Hoo Peninsula was obtained by a group of local businessmen who sponsored the passing of the North Kent Railway Extension Railway Act in 1865 which provided for the construction of a branch line leaving the South Eastern RailwaySouth 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...
's Gravesend - Strood
Strood railway station
Strood Railway Station serves the town of Strood in Medway. It is on the North Kent Line and is a terminus for the Medway Valley Line. Train services are operated by Southeastern.-History:...
line near Shorne Marshes. The line would head eastwards across land north of Cliffe
Cliffe, Kent
Cliffe is a village on the Hoo peninsula in Kent, England, reached from the Medway Towns by a three-mile journey along the B2000. Situated upon a low chalk escarpment overlooking the Thames marshes, Cliffe offers the adventurous rambler views of Southend-on-Sea and London...
to reach Allhallows, continuing to the Isle of Grain. However, the major railway companies operating in the area, South Eastern Railway (SER) and 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) were not interested in the project and as a result it failed to secure the necessary funding.
The opening of Queenborough railway station
Queenborough railway station
Queenborough railway station is on the Sheerness Line, on the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, and serves the town of Queenborough. Train services are provided by Southeastern.-Services:...
on 15 May 1876 by the LCDR which offered a sea link to the Dutch town of Flushing
Flushing, Netherlands
Vlissingen is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315. In the 17th century...
prompted the SER to investigate possibilities for a rival link to the continent. On 16 April 1878 the SER's engineer, Francis Brady, reported back to his employer on the feasibility of constructing a railway from a point near Gravesend and the North Kent Line to the village of Stoke, a distance of 9 miles. The estimated cost was £72,000. A 5% return was projected, the belief being that Gravesend's proximity to London would make it a more desirable outlet for the distribution of goods intended for the Kent area, rather than the LCDR's Chatham
Chatham railway station
Chatham railway station is situated in Chatham, one of the Medway Towns in Kent, England. It is on the Chatham Main Line between Rochester and Gillingham, and is 34.3 miles from London Victoria...
station.
The Hundred of Hoo Railway Company was therefore formed and a second authorisation for the line obtained in the form of the Hundred of Hoo Railway Act which received royal assent
Royal 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 21 July 1879.
Extension to Port Victoria
Seizing the opportunity to provide a sea outlet for goods to Europe, the SER announced its intention to open a new port on the Isle of Grain with a service to Belgium. This new service would compete with the LCDR's own Queenborough and SheernessSheerness-on-Sea railway station
Sheerness-on-Sea railway station is on the Sheerness Line in north Kent, and serves the town of Sheerness. Train services are provided by Southeastern.The only platform now used is platform 1.-History:...
outlets. The SER was hopeful that its service would be preferred over that of the LCDR, the proposed route 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...
to the new port was 40 miles, some 12 miles less than the LCDR's Victoria to Queenborough or Sheerness service.
The Hundred of Hoo Railway (Extension) Act was passed by the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on 14 July 1880 authorising an extension of 3 miles from Stoke to the new Victoria Port where a pier would be constructed. Following a call for tenders, the quotation of a certain Thomas Walker was accepted, he having proposed £14,421 for the railway extension (including a bridge over Higham Canal) and £18,953 for the pier. The Railway Company was absorbed into SER in August 1880.
Opening and initial services
A single track line as far as Sharnal Street opened on Friday 31 March 1882. The remainder of the line to Port Victoria officially opened on Monday 11 September 1882.When the line opened, the scope for passenger services was limited - the entire population of the sparsely populated Hoo Peninsula was only 3,405. Nevertheless, in October 1891 there were 9 daily trains, approximately one every two hours from 6am on weekdays and Saturdays, and three on Sundays. The total journey time was 1 hour. Down trains would depart from Gravesend and call at Sharnal Street and Port Victoria, before a steamer
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
would take passengers across the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
on to Sheerness. From Sheerness passengers could take the Medway Ferry Service to Folkestone
Folkestone
Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...
and then on to the continent.
The ferry service was intermittent. It was discontinued in 1895 due to dwindling returns and then reinstated some years later; when there was no service to Port Victoria, trains terminated at Sharnal Street. The initial returns for the line as a whole were below expectations: without a direct ferry connection to the continent there was little to attract customers to this remote region. Nevertheless, the farming community on Hoo took well to the new railway and Sharnal Street station saw good business.
New stations
By 1906 it had become clear that Port Victoria would not develop into a major continental sea port and 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) began to look for new opportunities to bring in revenue. In July of that year seven wooden halts were constructed: Milton Road, Milton Range, Denton, Uralite, Beluncle, Middle Stoke and Grain Crossing. Uralite halt was named after the nearby British Uralite plc complex which had opened in 1899 and manufactured drainage pipes from wet asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
paste. On 1 May 1915, the little-used Milton Road Halt was closed. The branch line to Allhallows-on-sea was opened on 16 May 1932 followed on 17 July 1932 by opening of another halt at Stoke Junction. A new station opened at Grain on 3 September 1951, replacing Grain Crossing Halt, which closed to rail traffic on 11 July 1951 and passengers on 3 September 1951 - a bus service being provided between those dates.
Port Victoria and pier
Construction
Port Victoria station was located at the head of the 400 ft long pier. Ships of up to 18 ft draught were able to draw-up alongside to take passengers and goods, irrespective of the tides, thanks to the pier's deep water front. A 'temporary' hotel was constructed near the pier at a cost of £1,900.The station became popular with the Royal Family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
due to the fact that it was relatively secluded with no roads leading to the port. Both the Royal Train
Royal Train
A royal train is a set of carriages dedicated for the use of the monarch or other members of that particular royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages.-Australia:...
and the Royal Yacht were regular visitors to the line.
Maintenance
In 1896 it was discovered that the pier needed urgent remedial works, marine wormMarine worm
Any worm that lives in a marine environment is considered a marine worm. Marine worms are found in several different phyla, including the Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida , Chaetognatha, Hemichordata, and Phoronida....
s having infested the wooden piles. Extensive works were untaken only for the pier to be damaged again, this time by a heavy storm on 28 November 1896. Further repairs were necessary and the service to Victoria Port became intermittent, closing in the winter months with trains terminating at Sharnal Halt. In 1901 the wooden piles of the pier were encased in concrete in an attempt to prevent further infestation, however problems continued after the area around the pier was dredged, thereby exposing the uncased parts of the piers to investigation.
1899-1918
Following the merger of the SER and LCDR in 1899, Port Victoria found itself firmly in second place behind Queenborough for traffic to the continent. It was only when Queenborough was unavailable that Port Victoria saw regular sustained use. This was the case when a fire caused serious damage to Queenborough on 19 July 1900 and services were diverted via Port Victoria for the best part of the next three years - the busiest period in its history.Following the outbreak of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
took over Port Victoria on 11 August 1914 at a rent of £200 per annum for a lease of 14 years. A siding to Yantlet Creek was laid and artillery testing was carried out there. The Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
took over the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club was founded at Erith, Kent in 1872. Over the years, it has operated from a number of locations but now exists with a northern and southern branch at Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, and at Cowes, Isle of Wight respectively....
's headquarters which were located near the pier.
Decline
As the popularity of the new extension to Allhallows, opened in 1932, began to grow, the further decline of Port Victoria became ever more pronounced. During the 1930s, it saw only two trains per day, mainly for the workmen at the refineries on the Isle of Grain - the Medway Oil and Storage Company had been based at Elphinstone Point at the entrance to Colemouth Creek since 1923. Nevertheless, the Flushing Night Mail continued to dock at the port.In 1932 further concerns about the stability of the pier led to the buffer
Buffer stop
A buffer stop or bumper is a device to prevent railway vehicles from going past the end of a physical section of track.The design of the buffer stop is dependent in part upon the kind of couplings that the railway uses, since the coupling gear is the first part of the vehicle that the buffer stop...
being brought further forward so that only 93 ft of railway covered the 400 ft pier. The station was replaced the same year by a modest structure at a cost of £395. The following year the old station buildings on the pier were demolished and new fencing was erected to create a gangway on the pier in order to provide access to the navigation lights. The 1930s also saw the demolition of the old Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.
The end finally came in 1941 when its seaward end (measuring some 516 ft) was demolished and sold for scrap to the Admiralty for £841 5s. Only a short length at the shore end now remained. Both Port Victoria Station and the previous station, Grain Crossing Halt, closed to rail traffic (but not passengers) on 11 June 1951. A new station, called "Grain", which became the line's terminus, was constructed in their place. The Port Victoria Hotel was one of the last pier buildings to be swept away in 1951.
Historical context
With the failure of Port Victoria to become the valuable European seaport that had been expected, alternative means of increasing the revenue from the line were sought. Such an opportunity seemed to present itself in the early 1920s with the popularity of seaside resorts as holiday destinations for middle and working class families with the financial means to take an annual holiday or weekend breaks. Resorts such as BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Torquay
Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
and Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
had long been popular with seasiders since the mid-19th century, but it was only with the arrival of the railway that factory workers in London could enjoy the privileges previously reserved for the richer classes and use their free weekends to escape from their urban environment.
The Southern Railway
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...
(SR), which had taken over the SECR's activities in 1923 following the grouping ordered by the Railways Act 1921
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...
, sought to profit from this new market by offering a seaside destination within easy reach of London which would rival the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
's line to Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
. The small village of Allhallows
Allhallows, Kent
Allhallows is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England. Situated in the northernmost part of Kent, and covering an area of 23.99 km², the parish is bounded on the north side by the River Thames, and in the east by the course of Yantlet creek, now silted up...
, population 261 in the 1880s, was identified as the only feasible location for a new seaside resort in North Kent - Herne Bay
Herne Bay, Kent
Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, South East England, with a population of 35,188. On the south coast of the Thames Estuary, it is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government district...
being judged too far from London and Leysdown-on-Sea
Leysdown-on-Sea
Leysdown-on-Sea is a coastal village on the east side of the Isle of Sheppey in the Borough of Swale in Kent, England.-History:It was noted in the Domesday book as being called Legesdun and the name is thought to be derived from the Saxon words "Leswe" and "Dun" .A very small hamlet up to late...
on the Isle of Sheppey
Isle of Sheppey
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some to the east of London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale...
not having a direct rail service.
Authorisation and construction
In June 1929, a Ministry of Transport railway order was obtained by the SR and construction began in August 1931. The branch line to Allhallows was 1¾ miles long, joining the existing line between Middle Stoke and Grain Crossing Halts. Like the line to Port Victoria, the connection with Allhallows would also consist of a single track.An article published in April 1932 in the Southern Railway Magazine indicated the SR's aspirations for the line: "[n]ear the small village of Allhallows, amid fields where cattle graze and the ploughman walks his furrow, workmen are busy constructing roads and laying the main drains and conduits for the gas, water, telephone and electric light services to houses of which not a brick has yet been laid. In contrast to the urban development of an earlier day, the prospective house-purchaser (and season-ticket holder) at Allhallows will approach his future home from a modern reinforced concrete carriageway, instead of stumbling through the ruts of an unmade road."
The Allhallows-on-Sea Estate Company was incorporated with the intention of transforming the flat, featureless, windswept marshland in the area into a new holiday resort. The SR had a financial interest in the new company and worked closely with it in the construction of the line. The new company 'donated' land for use as railway and contributed £20,000 towards the construction of the line.
Opening and early days
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
14 May 1932 when 700 day-trippers made the journey to Allhallows on SECR R1 Class 0-4-4T No. 380, a special train laid on from London. The first passenger trains ran on the following bank holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
Monday, 16 May, with local trains starting from and returning to Gravesend Central. Cheap day return tickets from Charing Cross were offered at 5s 3d - the cheapest ticket to a Kentish seaside resort. To coincide with the opening of the new connection, other parts of the line were upgraded. At Stoke Junction, where the line to Allhallows branched off, a new halt was opened on 17 July 1932. At Cliffe and Sharnal Street, platforms were constructed, whilst at Uralite, High Halstow, Beluncle and Middle Stoke halts, concrete platforms replaced the timber ones.
Two daily express services from Allhallows to Charing Cross were laid on at 7.36am and 8.28am, returning in the early evenings on weekdays and at midday on Saturdays, as if to demonstrate the village's potential as a commuter hub. The services were hardly used, the envisaged commuter town not having yet been constructed, and the SR ran them until September, planning to re-introduce them permanently when the town was ready.
The line became increasingly popular for daytrips: on Sundays during July, August and September 1934 alone, 72,557 passengers used the line, compared with 62,120 for the same period in 1933. On Bank Holiday Sunday 5 August 1934, over 9,500 passengers made the journey to and from Allhallows. It became necessary to double the line between Allhallows and Stoke Junction, the single platform at Allhallows becoming an island
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
with an extended platform canopy. The platform at Allhallows could accommodate ten-coach trains, and goods facilities were provided in the shape of goods sidings, a large goods shed and a turntable - none of which saw much use.
By 1939 between ten and twelve trains were laid on each way on weekdays from Gravesend, and there was an excursion from Maze Hill
Maze Hill railway station
Maze Hill railway station, in the Maze Hill area of Greenwich, London, is the closest railway station to Greenwich Park, being about two minutes walk from the north-east corner of the park....
in August. On Sundays, seven trains were provided, with six extra during the peak holiday season.
Decline
Allhallows' popularity continued up until the outbreak of the Second World War, with 12 trains making the journey to and from Gravesend during weekdays while extra services were laid on for Sundays - 14 down and 11 up. At this time the SR considered electrification of the entire Hundred of Hoo line but ultimately decided against it. Looking back now, there is now little doubt that, had this been done, Allhallows would finally have developed into the resort and/or commuter townCommuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
that had been expected.
In the frugal years that followed the end of the war, Allhallows, like Leysdown-on-Sea, began to experience lean times as passenger numbers fell. Allhallows with its single Charringtons
Charringtons
Charrington United Breweries Ltd was an English brewery company founded in 1738 which merged with Bass in 1967.-History:Robert Westfield, a member of the Brewers' Company from 1738, owned a brewery in Bethnal Green, London, prior to 1757, when he took Joseph Moss into partnership and moved to new...
pub, concrete road, two small refreshment stands (closed in winter) and block of four small shops (which never saw any real use and were eventually bricked up) was no match for Brighton, the attractions of which could be enjoyed by rail for an extra 1s 9d when compared to the price of an Allhallows ticket (then 5s 9d). In an attempt to stem losses, the new operator, British Railways (Southern Region)
Southern Region of British Railways
The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex...
(BR), misguidedly tried out an ACV lightweight diesel railcar in late 1953, its noise and general lack of comfort probably serving however to drive away more passengers.
In the February 1954 edition of Trains Illustrated, T.J. Norris noted that many of the trains from Allhallows carried a score or so of passengers, most of whom went only as far as Cliffe. Whilst Summer and bank holidays saw some patronage of the line - an excursion train from London ran three days each week, with extra trains on Sundays and bank holidays, Winter presented a different picture with trains continuing beyond Sharnal Street being almost completely empty.
Nevertheless, BR still tried to promote the area for holiday-makers and potential residents as its Holiday Haunts guide for 1955 demonstrates: "[t]he open fields, the views, the sands and the safe bathing attract may day and weekend visitors. Undoubtedly, Allhallows has a future; roads have been laid out and it is certain that the place will develop as a pleasant, rural type of resort."
By 1955 eleven trains ran each way on weekdays, with twelve down and thirteen up on Saturdays and thirteen up and down on Sundays. In 1957, the line between Stoke Junction and Allhallows was reduced to a single track and in 1959, the Hundred of Hoo line was excluded from the Kent Coast electrification programme which saw the North Kent Line electrified.
Proposal
In Winter 1959/60, against a background of a continuing drop in passenger numbers, a study was undertaken to determine the actual numbers using the line and the savings to be made by closing it to passenger traffic. The results showed that 321 passengers per day were using the Allhallows line to travel to and from Gravesend, and that a saving of £25,500 per year would be made, were the line closed.In March 1960 the proposed withdrawal of passenger services was announced, the main line from Gravesend to Grain remaining unaffected by the changes. The closure proposal was rejected by the South Eastern Area Transport Users Consultative Committee, whose consent was required in accordance with the Transport Act 1947
Transport Act 1947
The Transport Act 1947 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under it the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the state and handed over to a new British Transport Commission for operation...
, on the basis that replacement bus services would be inadequate. A new proposal was made by BR a few months later, which it backed up with new figures showing that passenger numbers had further declined since Winter 1959/60 and that savings would even higher - £43,324 per annum.
Opposition
Objections were made against the closure, notably from the Kent County CouncilKent County Council
Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...
and Strood Rural District Council which challenged BR's method of calculating passenger numbers and losses. They argued that the figures (i) failed to consider cheaper methods of running the line such as using diesel traction units, closing minor halts, eliminating unnecessary journeys, the operation of direct summer excursions from London to Allhallows and the combination of passenger and goods services, (ii) took into account costs incurred for the line between Gravesend and Grain which would remain open for freight, (iii) included a figure of £5,000 which would be paid to Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd
Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd
Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd was a bus company based in Maidstone, Kent. The company operated bus and coach services in Mid and West Kent and East Sussex from 1911 until 1998. The company's surviving operations were absorbed into Arriva Southern Counties.-Early years:In 1908 a hired...
for replacement bus services, (iv) failed to take into account holiday traffic - 2,812 passengers having used Allhallows on the Whitsun holiday of 3/6 June 1960, and (v) failed to record the 25% increase in passenger numbers or take into account the ongoing residential development in the area.
It was also pointed out that the four replacement bus services - routes 17 (Gillingham - Cliffe, hourly), 19 and 65 (Gillingham - Grain, every 80 mins) and 47 (Gravesend to Cliffe, 10 per day) - were inadequate and would cause hardship to the local community as their timings would not allow passengers the same the ease or flexibility of use as that offered by rail transport. For example, the journey time of workers going to Uralite Halt from Gravesend by rail was 6 minutes, as opposed to 29 minutes by bus, while the journey from Gravesend to Allhallows was 34 minutes by rail and 1 hour 16 minutes by bus. The buses would also be oversubscribed at peak-times by schoolchildren.
December 1960 meeting
A meeting was held on 15 December 1960 between representatives of BR, the Kent County Council (KCC), Maidstone & District Motor Services, British Uralite and Strood Rural District Council. BR outlined its case for closure, giving three main reasons: electrification of the Hundred of Hoo line with the exception of the Allhallows branch would leave this latter part as an isolated pocket of diesel activity which would be difficult to service and maintain, replacement bus services would provide a reasonable alternative to trains, and the Allhallows branch did not merit investment with capital from the Modernisation Programme owing to the minimal numbers of passengers using the line and the siting of stations away from residential areas.BR accepted that substituting the existing units with diesel rail buses would cut losses on the line, but argued that losses would not be completely eradicated and that rail buses would be unable to deal with Summer Sunday traffic.
KCC, announcing its intention to resist the proposed closure "strongly", reminded BR that planning permission
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
for the construction of 1,200 houses on the Isle of Grain had been granted, possibly leading to an extra 4,000 potential users of the line. This was dismissed by BR which believed that many of these users would work locally and not need the railway. KCC also pointed out that bus users would have to find an extra 1s 10d per day to travel by bus from Allhallows to Gravesend by comparison with rail travel (a cheap day fare being 3s 6d), and the increased journey times would mean that schoolchildren would be away from home for 10¼ hours per day (by bus) as opposed to 8¾ hours (by train).
British Uralite predicted that the region would undergo "substantial" industrial development in the future which would generate extra traffic and that the railway, once taken away, would never be put back. BR replied that ownership of the land between Stoke Junction and Allhallows would be retained for a period of 10 years so that it could be returned to railway, were circumstances to warrant it.
TUCC approval
In September 1960 the South Eastern Area Transport Users Consultative Committee (TUCC) approved the closure proposal on the basis of new financial information provided to them by BR. Objectors had no access to the figures used by BR to arrive at its conclusions, and there were suspicions that the TUCC was not acting as impartially as it should have done and was simply trying to find ways around the objections raised in order to facilitate BR's plans for the line. With regard to the difference in journey times from Allhallows to Gravesend caused by the withdrawal of rail services, the TUCC concluded hat "this inconvenience is outweighed by the savings the CommissionBritish Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
will make."
Peter Kirk
Peter Michael Kirk
Sir Peter Michael Kirk, was a British Conservative politician and a junior minister in the governments of Alec Douglas-Home and Edward Heath....
, the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP
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....
, criticised the TUCC's handling of the matter and tried to discuss it with Ernest Marples
Ernest Marples
Alfred Ernest Marples, Baron Marples PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Postmaster General and Minister of Transport. After his retirement from active politics in 1974 Marples was elevated to the peerage...
, the Minister of Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
. A Ministry of Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
memorandum of 14 April 1961 states that "it would not be proper for the Minister to see Mr Kirk at this stage [...] It may well be that Mr Kirk wished to put forward further representations at this late stage [...] Mr Kirk may, for example, wish to make some criticism of the way in which the proposals have been heard by the Consultative Committees." Access to the Minister was therefore refused.
A further memorandum dated 9 June 1961 admitted that "no doubt there will be a comeback from Mr Kirk MP who clearly has views on the merits of the proposal as well as the procedure adopted by the Consultative Committees" but stated that "the sooner the passenger service is closed, the greater the economy will be for the Railways who must already have lost a substantial amount during the last six months of argument."
Final decision
A number of enthusiasts turned out for the final days of operation and the Railway Magazine described the activity on the 10.32am Saturday morning service (an "H" class 0-4-4T 31324
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...
): "[...] practically every seat was occupied throughout the journey to Allhallows. Photographers were much in evidence, and at least one had come equipped with a ciné camera and a portable tape recorder."
The last passenger train, hauled by C class
SECR C Class
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway C Class is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive, designed by Harry Wainwright and built between 1900 and 1908. They were designed for freight duties, although occasionally used for passenger trains. They operated over the lines of the railway in London and...
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...
31689 formed of seven coaches, left Allhallows at 8.38pm on Sunday, 3 December. The last goods train had run the previous day.
The reasons for the commercial failure of Allhallows were neatly described by F. Oliver Randall in the November 1956 edition of the Railway Observer: "[...] the place falls sadly between two stools in that it lacks the most commonplace amenities associated with a seaside resort, yet has completely lost the rural charm and remoteness which it must have [...] possessed prior to its attempted exploitation."
Attempted revival
In 1974 a campaign was begun by Stoke Parish Council to re-open the line to passenger traffic. This proposal was opposed by BR on the grounds that as the line was single track only, a passenger service would interfere with the line's freight operations. There were also signalling complications.New freight opportunities
The failure of Allhallows to develop as a viable seaside resort and of Port Victoria as a commercial seaport was offset to some extent by the development of the Hoo Peninsula as a centre of industry.The Admiralty
The Admiralty had been based near ChattendenChattenden
Chattenden is a small village in Hoo Parish, in Medway in Kent, UK. It lies to the north of the A228 and the village of Wainscott, at the top of Four Elms Hill.Chattenden means 'Forest Settlement' from the elements ceto and ham dun...
since 1891 where there was a School of Military Engineering and barracks. A narrow gauge track was laid between 1873 and 1905 - the Chattenden and Upnor Railway
Chattenden and Upnor Railway
The Chattenden and Upnor Railway was a narrow gauge railway serving the military barracks and depot at Upnor and associated munitions and training depots...
- to transport men and munitions to and from the School. An armament depot was constructed in 1902 in order to supply the fleet
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...
and in 1905 the narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
track was extended northwards to connect with the Hundred of Hoo line at Sharnal Street. By the end of the 1920s the line saw regular freight services to and from the depot, a service which continued until the narrow gauge track was lifted in December 1965.
Oil refineries
The Second World War exposed weaknesses in Britain's industrial capacity, amongst which was the ability to process crude oil. Post-war governments looked to remedy this vulnerability and the Thames estuaryThames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
was identified as the new location for this new industry.
The first oil refinery on the Hoo Peninsula was opened at Kingsnorth
Kingsnorth (Medway)
Kingsnorth is a place in Kent, England, on the south side of the Hoo Peninsula. It is distinct from the village of Kingsnorth, also in Kent, near Ashford. The nearest village is Hoo St Werburgh and the nearest town Rochester, Kent....
by Berry Wiggins and Co Ltd in 1932. The refinery had its own standard gauge railway which connected with the line at Hoo Junction via a spur which was separated from the main line by a wooden gate.
The Medway Oil and Storage Company (later Power Petroleum) had opened a depot on Grain in 1928, this had been acquired by Shell-Mex & BP Ltd
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
in 1934. During the Second World War the terminal had served as the base of operations for Operation Pluto
Operation Pluto
Operation Pluto was a World War II operation by British scientists, oil companies and armed forces to construct undersea oil pipelines under the English Channel between England and France. The scheme was developed by Arthur Hartley, chief engineer with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company...
, a scheme to construct undersea oil pipelines
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
under the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
between England and France.
In 1948 work started on the construction of a oil refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
, then one of the largest in the country, on the Isle of Grain by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
Anglo-Persian Oil Company
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was founded in 1908 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Iran. It was the first company to extract petroleum from the Middle East...
, which became part of BP in 1956. By 1961 the site boasted more than 3,000 workers and could refine 11 million tons of crude oil per year. A new station, Grain, was opened on 3 September 1951 to serve the refinery (a concrete platform being installed for workers) and the line east of this halt, including Grain Crossing Halt and Port Victoria station, was closed and dismantled in order to make space for the refinery's coastal operations.
The refineries generated significant goods traffic for the line.
APCM cement works
A cement industry had been established in the Cliffe area since 1860 when Francis and Co. opened the Nine Elms Cement Works on Cliffe Marsh, to the west of the village where the chalk cliffs came almost to within a mile of the River ThamesRiver Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. The site was taken over by the British Portland Cement Company in 1900 and works continued until 1920. In 1910 the Alpha Cement Works was constructed by the Thames Portland Cement Company. The site was exhausted by 1950 and was flooded as quarrying activities exceeded the depth of the water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
. A second quarry was begun to the north of Salt Lane on the edge of the marshes.
By the late 1950s the cement industry in the area was under the control of the APCM (Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd). A new siding was laid to serve the works (the APCM having switched the transport of their cement freight (around 1,000 tons per week) and delivery of coal from river and road to rail) which remained in use until 1969 when the chalk pits were again exhausted and flooded. In 1970 Marinex Gravel took over the site and used it as a base to receive gravel which had been dredged from the River Thames sea bed.
Cellactite and British Uralite Ltd
British Uralite was formed in 1899 and opened a factory at HighamHigham, Kent
Higham is a small village bordering the Hoo Peninsula, in Kent, between Gravesend and Rochester. The civil parish of Higham is in Gravesham district and as at the 2001 UK Census, had a population of 3,938.-History:...
the following year which manufactured drainage pipes from wet asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
paste. The factory was served by its own station, Uralite Halt, which opened in 1906 and, although open to the public, was primarily intended for Uralite's workforce. The works have now closed and the site is part of the Canal Road Industrial Estate.
Foster Yeoman terminal
Foster YeomanFoster Yeoman
Foster Yeoman Limited, based in the United Kingdom, is one of Europe's largest quarrying and asphalt companies, owned by Swiss construction materials conglomerate Holcim.-Company history:...
, a quarrying and asphalt company, opened a gravel terminal at Grain in 1988 from which it could transport overseas the stone quarried at Glensanda near Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
. The firm had first been involved in the area during the construction 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...
for which it supplied stone. The terminal was part of the concrete works site of TransManche Link
TransManche Link
TransManche Link or TML was a British-French construction consortium responsible for building the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel between Cheriton in Kent, United Kingdom, and Sangatte in France.-History:...
, the Anglo-French engineering consortium which took over the land formerly occupied by the BP refinery. The Grain terminal receives annually 2 million tonnes of stone by sea from Glensanda. The completion of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 led to the dissolution of TransManche Link, and the gravel terminal was incorporated into the new Thamesport
Thamesport
London Thamesport is a container seaport on the River Medway, serving the North Sea. It is on the Isle of Grain, in the Medway unitary authority, Kent, England in the United Kingdom. It is sited on the former Port Victoria.-History:...
in 1990.
Thamesport
In 1990 Maritime Transport Services Ltd constructed a container port on the southern coastline of the Isle of Grain, taking over the area previously occupied by BP. In 1998 Thamesport was sold to Hutchison Ports (UK) which then sold it again in 2001 to Maritime Transport.Gravesend to Port Victoria
Departing Gravesend Central, the line passes beneath a bridge carrying the A226A226 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,...
before reaching Milton Road Halt (½ mile). Here there is a road overbridge for Mark Lane (which was once a level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
). The line then passes Denton Halt (1¼ miles), following the course of the Thames and Medway Canal
Thames and Medway Canal
The Thames and Medway Canal is a disused canal in Kent, south east England, also known as the Gravesend and Rochester Canal. It was originally some long and cut across the neck of the Hoo peninsula, linking the River Thames at Gravesend with the River Medway at Strood...
before arriving at Milton Range Halt. This was originally intended to serve the nearby rifle range, but was more often used by railway workmen who used this desolate spot to leave their tools. Continuing onwards to Hoo Junction, the line forks: the North Kent Main Line continuing south-east to Higham and the Hundred of Hoo railway swinging leftwards onto a single track, arriving soon after at Uralite Halt (3½ miles).
The line now rises at a 1:120 gradient, passing over the Thames and Medway Canal and crossing Higham Marsh. Climbing on a 1:60 gradient, the line passes under two road bridges before reaching Cliffe (5¾ miles) which was located over a mile from the actual village. Departing Cliffe, the line rises again on a 1:190 gradient onto the embankment at Cooling Street, becoming a 1:66 gradient and then descending on a 1:160 gradient to Wyborne's farm siding and High Halstow Halt (8¼ miles). The next stop was Sharnal Street (9¼ miles), located two miles from the nearest town, Hoo
Hoo St Werburgh
Hoo St Werburgh is one of several villages on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England, to bear the name Hoo. It constitutes a civil parish in the borough of Medway, with a population of 7,356 at the 2001 census.- History :...
. Passing under a road bridge just outside the station, there was a connection with the Chattenden and Upnor Railway
Chattenden and Upnor Railway
The Chattenden and Upnor Railway was a narrow gauge railway serving the military barracks and depot at Upnor and associated munitions and training depots...
, a narrow gauge line.
Descending on a 1:165 gradient, the line reaches Beluncle Halt (10¼ miles) before passing under another bridge and continuing on a level towards Middle Stoke Halt (12½ miles), located half a mile from Stoke Wharf. Nearly a mile further on was Stoke Crossing (later to become Stoke Junction Halt) and its level crossing (13 miles). Heading gently southwards towards the River Medway and Port Victoria, the line crosses over Grain Bridge to reach the Isle of Grain. Here we have Grain Crossing Halt (14⅓ miles) together with its level crossing, later replaced by Grain (14¾ miles). Finally, the train would pull into its terminus - Port Victoria (16 miles) where passengers would descend onto the wooden pier, walking down to the lower platform to board their ferry if the tide was out, or continuing to the end of the upper platform when the tide was in. The train would then be prepared for its return journey on the turntable
Turntable (railroad)
A railway turntable is a device for turning railroad rolling stock. When steam locomotives were still in wide use, many railroads needed a way to turn the locomotives around for return trips as their controls were often not configured for extended periods of running in reverse and in many...
just outside the pier.
Allhallows branch
The branch line to Allhallows (14¾ miles) diverged from the main line to Port Victoria between Middle Stoke and Grain Crossing Halts and headed north for 1½ miles on an embankment averaging 3 ft in height. The final quarter of a mile was carried in a shallow cutting with a maximum depth of 7 ft. The line terminated a quarter of a mile from the seashore, almost directly opposite Westcliff-on-SeaWestcliff-on-Sea
Westcliff-on-Sea is a suburb of Southend-on-Sea, a seaside resort in the East of England and unitary authority in Essex. It is situated on the northern bank of the Thames Estuary and about 34 miles east of London.-Geography:...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. The line encountered no major construction problems: for the greater part of its length it passed through low-lying pasture fields and ditches which necessitated the construction of ten culvert
Culvert
A culvert is a device used to channel water. It may be used to allow water to pass underneath a road, railway, or embankment. Culverts can be made of many different materials; steel, polyvinyl chloride and concrete are the most common...
s. The return journey from Allhallows generally saw the train continue as far as Stoke Junction where it would reverse to Grain before retracing its steps and continuing to Gravesend Central.
The line today
Although the Berry Wiggins refinery and APCM cement works closed in 1972 and the BP refinery in 1997, Grain remains an active railway terminal as the forwarding point for granite shipped from Scotland.The line is freight-only and services run from Monday to Friday, with occasional weekend enthusiasts excursions or Serco test trains. Approximately one train per hour runs on weekdays throughout the line. Currently the line sees use from: EWS
EWS
DB Schenker Rail , before 2009 known as English, Welsh and Scottish Railway is a British rail freight company. EWS was established by a consortium led by Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation in 1996 by acquisition of five of the six freight companies created by the privatisation of British...
and GB rail freight ballast from Foster Yeoman's aggregate terminal at Grain where an 08 shunter
British Rail Class 08
The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. From 1953 to 1962, 996 locomotives were produced, making it the most numerous of all British locomotive classes....
can usually be found, Freightliner services to and from Thamesport and a Fastline
Fastline
Fastline was a railway freight operator. It was part of Jarvis plc. It ceased trading when Jarvis plc entered administration and subsequently ceased trading in late March 2010. The company is in administration with N.G. Edwards, N.B. Kahn, P.S. Bowers and I. Brown of Deloitte LLP.They operated a...
intermodal
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
service to Thamesport.
As well as the Fastline 56
British Rail Class 56
The British Rail Class 56 is a type of diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight work. It is a Type 5 locomotive, with a Ruston-Paxman power unit developing 3,250 bhp , and has a Co-Co wheel arrangement...
locomotives, Class 66s
British Rail Class 66
The Class 66 is a six axle diesel electric freight locomotive developed in part from the British Rail Class 59, for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies...
are predominantly to be seen on the line, with occasional sightings of 59s
British Rail Class 59
The Class 59 Co-Co diesel locomotives were built and introduced between 1985 and 1995 by Electro-Motive Division of General Motors for private British companies, initially Foster Yeoman...
and 60s
British Rail Class 60
The British Rail Class 60 is a class of Co-Co heavy freight diesel-electric locomotives built by Brush Traction. They are nicknamed Tugs by Rail Enthusiasts.-History:...
.