The
South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC), known by its shorter name of the
South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR) was a working amalgamation of two neighbouring rival railways, the
South Eastern RailwaySouth Eastern Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom, which linked London with Kent.The company was formed from the London and Greenwich Railway and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway...
(SER) and
London, Chatham and Dover RailwayThe London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
(LC&DR), that operated services between London and Southeast England. Between 1899 and 1923 the SE&CR had an effective monopoly of the railway service in Kent, and several of the main Channel ports for ferries to France and Belgium.
The companies had competed extensively over the same area, with some of the bitterest conflicts ever seen between British railway companies.
The
South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC), known by its shorter name of the
South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR) was a working amalgamation of two neighbouring rival railways, the
South Eastern RailwaySouth Eastern Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom, which linked London with Kent.The company was formed from the London and Greenwich Railway and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway...
(SER) and
London, Chatham and Dover RailwayThe London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
(LC&DR), that operated services between London and Southeast England. Between 1899 and 1923 the SE&CR had an effective monopoly of the railway service in Kent, and several of the main Channel ports for ferries to France and Belgium.
The companies had competed extensively over the same area, with some of the bitterest conflicts ever seen between British railway companies. Competing routes to the same destination were built; thus many towns in Kent were served by both companies, and left with a legacy of two stations and services to multiple London termini.
Formation
By the end of the 19th century the SER and LC&DR had fought over a small and not particularly lucrative territory for 40 years. Both were notorious for the poor quality of their services and decrepitude of their stock, and the struggles had driven both companies to the verge of bankruptcy. It became inevitable that they must combine or succumb.
The SE&CR was formed on 1 January 1899, when the SER and LC&DR formed a "managing committee" comprising the directors of both companies. This effectively merged the two companies, although officially they remained separate, with the receipts split 59% to SER and 41% LC&DR, until the Grouping; this was to avoid the financial costs and risks of a formal merger.
Integration
The SE&CR instituted numerous connections between the two largely separate networks. New services were introduced to reap the benefits of joint working. The most significant step was the construction of a junction where the SER and LC&DR's respective mainlines crossed near Bickley and St Mary Cray, east of Bromley (circa 1902-04). LC&DR's terminating line via Maidstone to Ashford was connected to the SER hub at Ashford. The SER branch from Strood to Chatham alongside the LC&DR's main line to Chatham was closed prior to World War One. Later the overlapping network on the Isle of Thanet (Margate-Broadstairs-Ramsgate) was extensively rationalised by the Southern Railway. Service cuts under BR saw Gravesend lose its second station.
Further development
After the formation of the SE&CR, three minor lines were built before the SE&CR became one of the constituent parts of the Southern Railway in 1923. They were:
- Tattenham Corner Line
The Tattenham Corner Line is a railway line in Southern England. It was opened in two parts: from Purley to Tadworth as the Chipstead Valley Railway in 1893, and to Tattenham Corner as the Epsom Downs Extension Railway in 1894. Both companies were then acquired by the South Eastern Railway...
- KingswoodKingswood railway station is in the county of Surrey. It is a late-Victorian station on the Tattenham Corner Line. Train services and the station are operated by Southern....
to Tattenham CornerTattenham Corner railway station is in Surrey, in England. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern, and it is the terminus of the Tattenham Corner Line. London-bound trains have to head south as far as Tadworth, then turn east and finally north.It is the closest station for...
, in 1901.
- The Sheppey Light Railway
|}The Sheppey Light Railway was a railway on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England which ran from Leysdown to Queenborough, where it connected with the South Eastern and Chatham Railway's Sheerness Line. It was engineered by Holman Fred Stephens and opened in 1901 and closed on December 4 1950...
- branch off the Sheerness Line|}The Sheerness Line connects Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent with Sittingbourne on the mainland, and with the Chatham Main Line for trains to London and elsewhere in Kent...
, in 1901 (closed 1950).
- Bexhill branch off the Hastings Line
The Hastings Line is a railway line in Kent and East Sussex linking Hastings with the main town of Tunbridge Wells, and from there into London via Sevenoaks.-Openings:The line was opened by the South Eastern Railway in main three stages:...
- CrowhurstCrowhurst railway station is on the main London - Tunbridge Wells - Hastings line in East Sussex in England, and serves Crowhurst. Train services are provided by Southeastern.- History :...
and Bexhill West, in 1902 (now closed).
SE&CR locomotives
The LC&DR's works at
LonghedgeLonghedge railway works was in the borough of Battersea, South London.In 1860 the directors of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway decided to purchase of land, formerly part of the Long Hedge farm in Battersea, to establish their new locomotive works and motive power depot. The site was on the...
,
BatterseaBattersea is a place in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is an inner-city district located 2.9 miles south west of Charing Cross. It has a population of 75,651 people .-Geography:...
was closed in 1911 and production was concentrated at
AshfordAshford railway works was in the town of Ashford in the county of Kent in England.-South Eastern Railway:Ashford locomotive works was built by the South Eastern Railway on a new site in 1847, replacing an earlier locomotive repair facility at New Cross in London...
.
Harry WainwrightHarry Smith Wainwright was the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1899 to 1913. He is best known for a series of simple but competent locomotives produced under his direction at the company's Ashford railway works in the early years of the...
was replaced by
Richard MaunsellRichard Edward Lloyd Maunsell held the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway in England from the time of the 1923 Grouping until 1937.-Biography:...
as Locomotive Superintendent in 1913.
Electrification
Prior to grouping, with the development and implementation by competitors (notably
L&SWRThe London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
,
LB&SCRThe London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
, various "
TubeThe London Underground, Underground or Tube is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK. The first section opened in 1863, and was the first underground railway system in the world, and, starting in...
" companies) and electric trams) of
electric tractionRailway electric traction describes the various types of locomotive and multiple units that are used on electrification systems around the world-History:...
in the early twentieth century, SECR planned to start
electrifyingRailway electrification in Great Britain describes the past and present electrification systems used to supply traction current to railways and tramways in Great Britain with a chronological record of development, a list of lines using each system, and a history and a technical description of each...
its lines. The proposed method of
electrificationA railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
was 1500V DC using two additional rails - ie four rails (like London Underground and
L&NWRThe London and North Western Railway was a railway company of the United Kingdom which existed between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three railway companies - the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. During the late...
), this very high voltage (for rail track level systems) was only used in elsewhere on the L&YR's 1200V DC side contact third rail line from Manchester Victoria to Bury.
GroupingGrouping is form of hypahetical knowledge representation, similar to mind mapping, concept mapping and argument mapping, all of which need to observe at least some of the principles of grouping....
in 1923 led to
Southern Railway'sThe Southern Railway , was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England and Kent...
adopting L&SWR's standard of 660V DC third rail over SECR's network.
Sources