Kent Past
The History of Kent
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History of South Eastern Railway
The South Eastern Railway (SER) operated 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. The SER absorbed or leased
other railways, some older than itself, including the London and Greenwich Railway
and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. Most of the company's routes were in Kent,
eastern Sussex and the London suburbs, with a long cross-
Much of the company's early history was attempts
at expansion and feuding with its neighbours; the London Brighton and South Coast
Railway (LB&SCR) in the west and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR) to
the north-
There had been proposals for a railway between London and Dover
in 1825, 1832 and 1835, but they came to nothing due to opposition from landowners
or the difficulties of bridging the River Medway near its mouth. On 21 June 1836,
Parliament passed a Private Act incorporating the South Eastern and Dover Railway,
which shortly afterwards changed to the South Eastern Railway.
At the time of inauguration,
there were two potential rail pathways south from London, and the Speaker of the
House of Commons had said no further pathways would be permitted. The SER therefore
considered routes to Dover from the proposed London and Southampton Railway line
at Wimbledon, or from the existing London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) at Greenwich.
The former left London in the wrong direction and then on a roundabout route. The
latter provided a useful way for a northern route via Gravesend, Rochester, and Canterbury,
except that lengthening the line beyond Greenwich was blocked by opposition from
the Admiralty, and this route would involve tunnelling through the North Downs.
The
SER engineer, William Cubitt, was also engineer of the
During Parliamentary discussions on the proposed route
of the London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) during 1837, pressure was put on the SER
to divert its proposed route so it could share with the L&BR between Jolly Sailor
(Norwood) and Earlswood Common, and then travel eastwards to Tonbridge. Under the
scheme proposed by Parliament, the railway from Croydon to Redhill would be built
by the L&BR but the SER would have the right to refund half the construction costs
and own that part of the line between Merstham and Redhill. The SER gave way as it
reduced construction costs, although it resulted in the route being 20 miles longer
than by road, running south for 14.5 miles and then turning east. It also meant the
southwards section from London Bridge passed over the lines of three other companies:
the L&GR to Corbett's Lane Junction, the L&CR to 'Jolly Sailor',and the L&BR to Merstham.
Construction
began in 1838 at several places simultaneously, and the Shakespeare Tunnel was complete
by May 1841. The L&BR line to Redhill opened on 12 July 1841 and the SER line from
Redhill to Tonbridge on 26 May 1842, when SER train services began. The main line
reached Ashford on 1 December 1842; the outskirts of Folkestone by 28 June 1843;
and Dover by 7 February 1844. On the same day, the SER offered to lease the L&BR
for 21 years at £100,000 per year, but the offer was turned down. Later that year,
the SER refunded to the L&BR £430,000 and took ownership of the southern half of
the Croydon-
In 1843, when the railway reached
the edge of Folkestone, the company bought the silted and nearly derelict harbour,
built by Thomas Telford in 1809, for £18,000. They dredged the harbour and arranged
for a steam packet company to provide a ferry to Boulogne. The following year it
established the independent South Eastern & Continental Steam Packet Company, which
it absorbed in 1853. In December 1848, it opened a steeply graded branch from the
Folkestone station to the harbour.
The station at Dover (later Dover Town) was opened
on 7 February 1844. This was originally a terminus, but in 1860, they extended the
line to Admiralty Pier. The London Chatham and Dover Railway reached Dover in 1861
and in 1862 secured the contract for cross-
During 1843, before
the main line was complete, the SER and the L&CR became anxious about the charges
imposed by the L&GR for the use of the terminus at London Bridge and its approaches.
Parliament had relaxed restrictions on new railways into London and so SER sought
authority to construct a branch from Corbett's Lane to a new temporary passenger
terminus and goods station at Bricklayers' Arms, for use by both railways, removing
the need to use the Greenwich Railway. This opened 1 May 1844. According to Charles
Vignoles, 'the making of Bricklayers' Arms station was a matter of compulsion in
driving the Greenwich people to reasonable terms'. Plans to extend from Bricklayers'
Arms to a new SER terminus at Hungerford Bridge, nearer the centre of London, were
rejected by Parliament. Similarly, a revised proposal to extend the line to Waterloo
Road in 1846 was rejected by a committee of Parliament.
The L&GR was nearly bankrupt
in 1844 and the SER leased its line from 1 January 1845, changing the name to the
Greenwich branch. Thereafter further developments were at London Bridge, as following
a shunting accident during August 1850, which caused the collapse of a large part
of the station roof, the SER closed Bricklayers' Arms terminus to passenger traffic
in 1852 converting it into a goods facility.
Over the next two decades, the SER system
spread throughout Kent and Surrey, building lines to connect towns to its main line
or acquiring those already in existence. In 1844, they took over the bankrupt Canterbury
and Whitstable Railway, which had opened in 1832. This continued to be worked as
an isolated line until the SER reached Canterbury from Ashford in 1846, with its
line to Ramsgate.
The first branch built by the SER was the Medway Valley Line on
24 September 1844, from
Leasing the London and Greenwich Railway gave the company
control of its main line into London and provided a branch line to Greenwich. Further
eastward extension was not possible due to opposition from the Greenwich Hospital,
however it was eventually opened in 1878 when the line joined the North Kent Line
at Charlton.
A secondary main line from Tonbridge to the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells
opened 20 September 1845. It was extended to Tunbridge Wells Central on 25 November
1846. By 1 September 1851, the line had reached Robertsbridge and was extended to
Battle and Hastings railway station on 1 February 1852. By this time, Hastings had
been reached in a roundabout route from Ashford, which opened 13 February 1851. From
this line was a short branch to Rye Harbour.
During 1846, another secondary main line
was opened from Ashford to Ramsgate, with a branch to Margate on 1 December 1846.
A further branch from this line between Minster and Deal was opened 7 July 1847.
In
1846, the SER supported formation of the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway,
a scheme to build a line connecting the London to Brighton main line with the Great
Western Railway (GWR) main line at Reading, and agreed to operate its services. The
new line was completed on 4 July 1849. In 1852, it was absorbed by SER. Both the
LB&SCR and London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) regarded this acquisition as
an incursion into their areas. Likewise, the acquisition of a line so remote from
its main area, and of doubtful profitability, caused heated discussion and the resignation
of several directors. Nevertheless, in 1858 the GWR, L&SWR, and SER made a three-
As the SER was prevented from extending its Greenwich line, it opened a
secondary main line from Lewisham to Gravesend and then to Strood on the banks of
the Medway on 30 July 1849. The second half between Gravesend and Strood had been
built as the Gravesend and Rochester canal and a single track railway been added
to form the Gravesend and Rochester Railway. The SER offered to buy the canal and
railway in 1845, filling in the canal and doubling the track. The first section (built
by the SER) connected Woolwich and
A branch from Lewisham to Beckenham opened in 1857, becoming the temporary terminus
of the East Kent Railway. Following the dispute with the LB&SCR over New Croydon
(see below) an extension of this line to Addiscombe (Croydon) was opened in 1864.
The acquisition by the SER of the bankrupt Caterham Railway, with a line from Caterham
to Purley station in 1859 started a prolonged dispute with the London Brighton and
South Coast Railway.
During the first years, relations between the SER, L&CR and L&BR
were cordial, the companies pooling locomotives and forming a joint locomotive committee.
However, all three considered they were disadvantaged by the arrangement and in 1845
gave notice of withdrawal. The merger of the L&BR and L&CR to form the LB&SCR in
July 1846 created a powerful rival to the SER in areas of east Sussex and east Surrey
not yet connected to the railway. Relations between the two companies were bad from
the outset, especially at sites where they shared facilities, such as the approaches
to London Bridge, East Croydon, and Redhill. In addition, the SER had long wanted
to build a line to Brighton, and the LB&SCR inherited plans for a line into mid-
Unsuccessful discussions took place regarding a merger
between the two companies, but eventually an agreement on 10 July 1848 (ratified
in Parliament in 1849) abolished tolls for using each other's lines and prevented
further eastward expansion by the LB&SCR beyond Hastings and westward expansion by
the SER. Under the agreement the LB&SCR, would share the line from Bulverhythe to
Hastings and transfer to the SER its rights to build a line to Ashford but retained
the right to use the Bricklayers' Arms branch and construct its own 15-
The agreement did not
prevent squabbling between the two companies, notably with the opening of the railway
from Ashford to Hastings in 1851. The LB&SCR had sought to build it and had attempted
to delay its completion by the SER. In retaliation, the SER attempted to deny LB&SCR
access to its station. The matter was resolved in court in favour of the LB&SCR,
but victory was short-
A more protracted dispute
took place between 1855 and 1862 over the Caterham branch line, which was built by
an independent company in SER territory but connected to the railway network at the
former LB&SCR station at Purley. The SER refused to allow the line to be leased to
the LB&SCR, which in turn refused to re-
The SER objected
to the LB&SCR agreement with the East Kent Railway (later the London Chatham and
Dover Railway) to provide access over its lines to its Pimlico station and later
the jointly owned Victoria station, and also for handling that company's freight
traffic at 'Willow Walk', (a part of the Bricklayers' Arms goods facility). Further
difficulties occurred at East Croydon railway station in 1862. With completion of
the LB&SCR line to Victoria station, extra platforms were needed to accommodate the
service. The platforms were treated by the LB&SCR as a separate station, named New
Croydon, with its own ticket office, and ran exclusively LB&SCR services. This enabled
the railway to offer cheaper fares from New Croydon to London than the SER which
only had use of East Croydon station. The SER responded by gaining Parliamentary
approval to build its own line from New Beckenham to a new station at Croydon (Addiscombe
Road), which opened 1 April 1864.
Between 1844 and 1858, the SER had a monopoly of
rail transport in Kent, but served the north of the county poorly. The SER line from
Strood into London opened in 1849, but there was no planned service to north Kent
towns to the east of the River Medway. Likewise, SER routes to Margate, Deal, and
Canterbury were circuitous and other towns had no railway at all. One group of SER
directors were anxious to 'close the capital account' and build no more lines, even
though this might leave the field open to rival projects.
Plans for an independent
line from the SER station at Strood to
In 1856, the EKR again unsuccessfully sought running powers over
the SER into London, however they obtained consent to build their own route via St
Mary Cray and Bromley South railway stations, securing running powers over the LB&SCR
lines into Pimlico, and after 1860, to Victoria Station. The EKR became the London
Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR) in 1859 and completed its rival route to Dover
on 22 July 1861. By July 1863, the LC&DR had its own independent route to Victoria
and in 1864 its own terminus on the edge of the City of London at Ludgate Hull. For
36 years, it would be an important competitor of the SER for both Continental and
also local traffic in Kent.
The SER and the LC&DR agreed to pool Continental traffic
receipts between Hastings and Margate, together with local receipts to Dover and
Folkestone. It then re-
In
1860, the LCDR had a more direct route to Dover than the SER, and both the company's
rivals had access to a London terminus in the prosperous West End of London while
the SER only had its terminal on the south side of the river Thames at London Bridge.
The SER converted part of London Bridge to through platforms and extended to near
Waterloo, then over Hungerford Bridge to a station at Charing Cross which opened
on 11 January 1864. When the LC&DR built a line to Ludgate Hill railway station in
the City of London in 1865, the SER built a new bridge over the Thames and a city
terminus at Cannon Street railway station, which opened 1 September 1866. These extensions
were difficult to operate and were congested at peak times.
On 16 August 1866, the
SER agreed with the London and North Western Railway to build a joint line between
Euston railway station and Charing Cross, with interchange of traffic, but the scheme
was abandoned as a result of the 1867 financial crisis.
The SER therefore constructed
the direct line via Sevenoaks to Tonbridge. It involved crossing the North Downs
by summits and long tunnels at Knockholt and Sevenoaks. The latter was the longest
tunnel in southern England at 3,451 yards. This cut-
In 1865, the SER joined a consortium of six railways to form the East London
Railway, which used the existing Thames Tunnel to connect Wapping on the north bank
of the Thames with Rotherhithe on the south. The other partners were: the Great Eastern
Railway (GER), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), the London,
Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR), the Metropolitan Railway, and the Metropolitan
District Railway. Over the next four years, it was converted to railway use and connected
with existing lines. The line was principally used for freight across London but
the SER introduced a service between Addiscombe and Liverpool Street from April 1880
until March 1884. From March to September 1884, the service ran from Addiscombe to
St Mary's Whitechapel Road.
The collapse of bankers Overend, Gurney and Company on
10 May 1866 and the subsequent financial crisis during the following year had a severe
effect on expansion plans of several railways. No new lines were built by the SER
until the opening of the Sandling to Hythe branch line on 9 October 1874. The LC&DR
went bankrupt and was taken into administration 12 July 1866, and in 1867, the LB&SCR
was also on the brink of bankruptcy. The directors and shareholders saw that constant
quarrelling between the three companies damaged their interests and decided to either
merge or work together. In 1868, a Bill was presented to Parliament to allow for
co-
One result of improved relations between the
SER and the LB&SCR during the 1870s was that the two collaborated in construction
of a line between South Croydon on the main Brighton line and Oxted. The completion
of the Orpington cut-
As a part of the same scheme, the SER at last began to implement
plans for a line from
From 1866 the SER was under the chairmanship of the
railway promoter Edward (later Sir Edward) Watkin who was also chairman of the Manchester,
Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and the Metropolitan Railway, as well as being
a director of Chemin de Fer du Nord in France. He saw the SER as one link in a chain
of 'Watkin' railways from the industrial north of England to the Continent via a
proposed Channel Tunnel. His plans for a Channel Tunnel were ultimately blocked by
the War Office, and suspicion fell on J.S. Forbes, Chairman of the LC&DR for having
urged the decision. In the meantime, the railway under his chairmanship was accused
of only caring about Continental travellers and neglecting the interests of its other
customers. A series of letters to The Times in 1883 demonstrated how unpopular the
railway had become with its regular commuters. Ernest Foxwell, also writing in 1883,
stated 'The great blots on the South Eastern are its unpunctuality, its fares, its
third class carriages, and the way in which local interests are sacrificed to Continental
traffic.' Hamilton Ellis described both the SER and the LC&DR in the 1870s as 'bywords
of poverty stricken inefficiency and dirtiness'. Despite these criticisms, the shareholders
stuck with their chairman, until they eventually realised that their own interests
were suffering as well. A scathing article in The Investors Review for June 1894
demonstrated how poorly Watkin's railways had performed financially compared to others,
and referred to the SER's 'bitter hatred towards all but first-
Some
of the complaints of unpunctuality of the SER may have been exaggerated, or were
at least soon remedied after Watkin's departure, since a statistical survey of the
company's services conducted in 1895 by William Acworth found that, with the exception
of the heavily congested and difficult to operate lines between London Bridge and
Cannon Street and Charing Cross, the company did not perform significantly worse
than others in London in terms of timekeeping.
During the 1870s and the 1880s, the
railway attempted to exploit the potential of the East Kent coast as both holiday
destinations and potential new channel ports. Thus branches were built from Sandling
near Folkestone to
On 4 July 1887, the railway opened the Elham
Valley Line from Canterbury West to Shorncliffe. However, there was, by then, already
an LC&DR line from Canterbury to Dover and so the new line did not attract much traffic.
Similarly, on 1 October 1892 the Hawkhurst Branch from Paddock Wood to Hope Mill
was opened and extended to Hawkhurst on 4 September 1893.
The company also obtained
Parliamentary Powers to build a line from Appledore to Maidstone via Headcorn and
the Loose Valley.
Probably the most wasteful competitive venture by the SER was a
second bridge over the river Medway between Strood leading to a branch to Rochester
and
The area between
the North Kent Line the Dartford Loop Line became well populated during the 1870s
and 1880s, but the SER was reluctant either to build or else take over a proposed
Bexleyheath Line, including stations at Blackheath, Eltham, Bexleyheath and Slade
Green, in spite of public pressure in the 1880s. This line was eventually built as
a private concern in 1895, and it was only after the original investors had gone
bankrupt and Watkin had retired that the SER agreed to incorporate it into its system.
One
of the last branch lines to be planned by the SER was between Purley and Tattenham
Corner. The lines as far as Chipstead and Kingswood were opened in 1897, but the
remainder was not completed until after the working agreement with the LC&DR.
During
the early 1890s, competition between the SER and the LC&DR reached ruinous proportions
with both companies offering nearly identical services to and from the same towns,
which inevitably lost money for both companies. However, following the resignation
of Watkin in 1894, relations between the two gradually improved under his successors
Sir George Russell (1895) and, most notably, under Cosmo Bonsor (1897). Bonsor managed
to persuade the two boards of governors to see sense and from 1 January 1899 the
South Eastern and Chatham Railways Joint Management Committee was formed, with Bonsor
as its chairman. On 5 August 1899 the South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover
Railway Companies Act was passed, resulting in the formation of the South Eastern
and Chatham Railway (SE&CR). This was not a true merger since each company kept its
individual board of directors within the organisation. The quality of service of
the SE&CR and the level of public estimation of its two constituent railways increased
considerably during the next thirty-
Throughout its independent
existence, the SER was primarily a passenger rather than a freight railway, with
passenger receipts accounting for more than 72% of its revenues. Prior to 1862, the
company carried international postal traffic. However, in 1862 they refused to renew
the contract as it stipulated the Dover-
The cement industry based around
One area where the SER
did fail compared with the LB&SCR and the L&SWR was in developing effective services
to the rapidly growing suburbs of south east London. This was probably due to an
unwillingness to generate even more traffic through the very restricted entry pathway
into London between Deptford and London Bridge. The SER did however have the advantage
of taking commuters far closer to the centres of business and commerce at Charing
Cross and Cannon Street, whereas the LB&SCR and LS&WR deposited them south of the
river Thames at London Bridge and Waterloo respectively.
The SER served an area with
a long coastline within easy travelling distance of London. During the 1860s, the
railway was an important factor in the development of holiday destinations such as
Margate and Ramsgate in Kent and St Leonards-
In
May 1844, the SER organised the first of seven rail and ferry excursions that year,
from London to Boulogne which together carried more than 2,000 people. By the 1870s,
the SER was running Hop Pickers' Specials to transport large numbers of working-
The SER did not have a good safety record with a
large number of both major and minor accidents throughout its independent existence.
One of the most notable accidents occurred on 9 June 1865, when the boat train from
Folkestone ran onto a partly dismantled bridge near Staplehurst. The locomotive and
tender ran across the timber baulks to reach the far side, but the carriages were
derailed and fell into the River Beult. The Staplehurst rail crash killed ten passengers
and Charles Dickens narrowly avoided severe injury, or even death. He was travelling
with Nelly Ternan and her mother at the front of the train in a first-
Other significant
accidents involving multiple fatalities were as follows:
+ 11 December 1844 a boiler
explosion caused a bridge collapse at Bricklayers Arms killing two staff.
+ 21 August
1854 a collision at East Croydon railway station killed three passengers. This accident
also involved the LB&SCR signalman and was later judged to be partly the result of
signalling error and poor communication, as well as the SER driver.
+ 12 September
1855 -
+ 28 June
1857 -
+ 30 June 1858 -
+ 16 December 1864
-
+ January 1877 -
+ 7 June 1884 -
+ 9 October 1894 -
+ 21 March 1898
-
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