Whitstable Harbour railway station

Disused railway station in Kent

51°21′47″N 1°1′50″E / 51.36306°N 1.03056°E / 51.36306; 1.03056Grid referenceTR 107 660Other informationStatusDisusedHistoryOriginal companyCanterbury and Whitstable RailwayPre-groupingSouth Eastern RailwayPost-groupingSouthern RailwayKey dates3 May 1830OpenedMid-1870sExtended3 June 1895Resited1 January 1931Closed to passengers1 December 1952Closed5 February 1953Line temporarily reopened28 February 1953Closed

Whitstable Harbour railway station was the name of two disused railway stations serving Whitstable the terminus of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. The station opened in 1830. It was extended in the mid-1870s and resited in 1895. The Canterbury and Whitstable line closed to passengers in 1931 and freight in 1952, although it was reopened for a month following the North Sea flood of 1953.

History

The original station was opened on 2 May 1830.[1] It was located north of Harbour Street. Whitstable Harbour was built by Thomas Telford. It was opened on 19 March 1832.[2] In 1847, coke ovens were erected at Whitstsable Harbour.[3] In the mid-1870s, the station was extended. A brick-built booking office was provided and the platform was extended to take three carriages.[4] The coke ovens closed in 1880 when the South Eastern Railway switched to using Welsh steam coal to fuel its locomotives.[3] The layout of the original station meant that when passenger trains were using it, the shunting of wagons was impeded. In 1895, a new passenger station was built south of Harbour Street, opening on 3 June.[5]

The second Whitstable Harbour station in 1920

The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway closed to passengers on 1 January 1931.[6] The signal box at the station closed on 11 February 1931, with the line being worked as a siding thereafter.[7] The line remained open to freight until 1 December 1952. Following the North Sea flood of 1953, the railway was reopened on 5 February, closing on 28 February.[6]


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Terminus   South Eastern Railway
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway 		  Canterbury North Lane (1830-46 (p) / 1830-91 (f) ) / Canterbury West (1846-1908, 1931-52)
Terminus   South Eastern Railway
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway 		  Blean and Tyler Hill Halt (1908-11)
Terminus   South Eastern Railway
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway 		  South Street Halt (1911-14)
Terminus   British Railways
Southern Region
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway 		  Tankerton Halt (1914-31)

References

Citations
  1. ^ Harding 1996, p. 6.
  2. ^ Mitchell & Smith 1995, Whitstable Harbour.
  3. ^ a b Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 103.
  4. ^ Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 98.
  5. ^ Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 99.
  6. ^ a b Harding 1996, p. 8.
  7. ^ Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 102.
Sources
  • Harding, Peter A. (1996). Branch Lines in Kent. Knaphill: Peter A. Harding. ISBN 0-9523458-1-1.
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1995). Branch Lines Around Canterbury. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-873793-58-8.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whitstable Harbour railway station.
  • Crab and Winkle Line Trust - charity seeking to bring the C&WR route back into public use for cycling and walking
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Closed railway stations in Kent
Canterbury and Whitstable RailwayElham Valley RailwayHawkhurst branch lineHundred of Hoo RailwayKent and East Sussex RailwaySheppey Light RailwayEast Kent Light RailwayWesterham Valley branch lineGravesend West LineSandgate Branch
South Eastern Main LineDover areaMarshlink line
Dungeness branchesRomney, Hythe and Dymchurch RailwaySER & LCDR merger remodellingOther lines
Ashford to Ramsgate
via Canterbury West
Chatham Main Line
Kent Coast line
Maidstone East line
Medway Valley line
Sheerness line