Hoo Junction is a rail yard on the North Kent Line, near the village of Higham, Kent and Shorne Marshes, operated by DB Schenker. It is between Gravesend and Higham stations, at the junction with the freight-only single-track Hoo branch to the Hoo Peninsula.
There are up and down yards on either side of the main line, with the single-track Grain branch line entering from the north east.
The up yard (south of the main line) consists of 14 sidings and three through roads, with other ancillary sidings. The down yard (north of the main line) consists of 10 sidings and three through roads. Some sidings in the down yard have been taken up.
As part of Phase 1 of the Kent Coast Electrification Scheme, the yard at Hoo Junction had a simple overhead catenary system installed in 1959, to accommodate the Class 71 electric locomotives then brought into use. These were equipped with a pantograph to work off the catenary, intended to avoid the exposed third rail which could have added a danger for yard staff. Due to introduction of diesel-electric locomotives the catenary system had become redundant by 1975.
Westinghouse Rail Systems has buildings adjacent to the north perimeter of the yard.
The yard re-marshals wagon traffic on the main line and from the branch. The majority of traffic is aggregate wagons, with steel strip carriers are also present. Infrastructure units and ballast trains also use the yard. Container traffic from Thamesport used to pass through but this flow ceased around 2014 when the larger container shipping lines started using Thames Gateway instead of Thamesport.
Hoo Junction Staff Halt opened in 1956 in the yard, which it was built to serve. [1] The down platform was on the main line before the junction with the branch, at TQ 6950 7369 51°26′11″N0°26′20″E / 51.4364°N 0.4390°E , while the up platform was only on the main line, at TQ 6980 7364 51°26′09″N0°26′36″E / 51.4358°N 0.4433°E . [2] This station had an hourly service, which was advertised as being "for staff purposes only". [3] The station has been closed and demolished.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denton Halt | 1956 to 3-12-1961 BR(S) Hundred of Hoo Railway | Uralite Halt | ||
| Gravesend Central | From 4-12-1961 BR(S) later Network Rail Hundred of Hoo Railway | Goods line to Grain | ||
| Denton Halt | 1956 to 3-12-1961 BR(S) North Kent Line | Higham |
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravesend | From 4-12-1961 BR(S) later Network Rail North Kent Line | Higham | ||
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higham | 1956 to 3-12-1961 BR(S) North Kent Line | Denton Halt |
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higham | From 4-12-1961 BR(S) later Network Rail North Kent Line | Gravesend | ||
The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in Kent, England, separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of chalk, clay and sand hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The name Hoo is a Saxon word believed to mean 'spur of land' or refers to the 'distinct heel-shape of the ridge of hills' through Hoo. Hoo features in the Domesday Book. The peninsula is home to internationally and nationally protected wildlife sites as well as industrial facilities and energy industries.
The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main Line.
The Catford loop line is a railway line in southeast London. It carries a suburban stopping passenger service from central London to Sevenoaks, and is also a relief route for the Chatham Main Line carrying passenger trains from London Victoria to the Kent coast. There is also much freight activity as this is the main route to Willesden and the north via Latchmere Junction. Freight traffic includes aggregates trains to and from locations along the Thames estuary, and Kent, aviation fuel running between Colnbrook and the Isle of Grain, and a small number of international workings from the Channel Tunnel via the yard at Dollands Moor. Until around 2013, a significant quantity of intermodal traffic from Thamesport used the line - however, the opening of London Gateway meant that the larger container ships stopped serving Thamesport and this traffic then ceased.
The Medway Valley line is the name given to the railway line linking Strood in the Medway Towns via Maidstone West to Tonbridge. High Speed services also link between Maidstone West, Snodland, Strood and London St Pancras International. The section from Maidstone West to Paddock Wood passes through some of Kent's most picturesque countryside along the narrower sections of the River Medway.
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London Thamesport was a small container seaport on the River Medway, serving the North Sea. It is located on the Isle of Grain, in the Medway unitary authority district of the English county of Kent. The area was formerly called Port Victoria. Since early 2020, Thamesport has ceased to operate as a container port, having been eclipsed by the new and much larger London Gateway container port on the Essex coast of the Thames Estuary.
The Elham Valley Railway was a line connecting Folkestone and Canterbury in Kent, England. It opened between 1887 and 1889 and closed in 1947.
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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.
The Gravesend West Line was a short railway line in Kent that branched off the Swanley to Chatham line at Fawkham Junction and continued for a distance of 5 miles (8 km) to Gravesend where the railway company constructed a pier to connect trains with steamers. It was opened in 1886 and closed to passenger services in 1953, remaining open to freight until 1968 before reopening briefly between 1972 and 1976. Part of the railway's former alignment was incorporated into the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Milton Range Halt was a halt between Denton Halt and Hoo Junction Staff Halt on the Hundred of Hoo Railway. It opened in July 1906 and closed to public use on 17 September 1932, although it remained open by special arrangement after that date until some time after 1956. It served Milton Range rifle range.
Grain Crossing Halt was a halt on the Hundred of Hoo Railway between Stoke Junction Halt and Port Victoria station in the UK. It was opened on 1 July 1906 and closed to passengers on 11 June 1951. A bus service operated until 3 September 1951, when it was replaced by Grain station. Although officially named Grain Crossing Halt the station nameboard read Grain Halt
Folkestone Warren Halt was a station on the South Eastern Main Line of the South Eastern Railway at the beach location known as "The Warren" in the east end of Folkestone, Kent, now within the East Cliff and Warren Country Park.
Longfield Halt was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which served the settlement of Grubb Street in Kent, England.
Southfleet was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which served the small village of Southfleet in Kent, England.
The Forest of Dean Railway was a railway company operating in Gloucestershire, England. It was formed in 1826 when the moribund Bullo Pill Railway and a connected private railway failed, and they were purchased by the new company. At this stage it was a horse-drawn plateway, charging a toll for private hauliers to use it with horse traction. The traffic was chiefly minerals from the Forest of Dean, in the Whimsey and Churchway areas, near modern-day Cinderford, for onward conveyance from Bullo Pill at first, and later by the Great Western Railway.
Globe Road & Devonshire Street was a railway station on the Great Eastern Main Line, 1 mile 54 chains (2.7 km) down the line from Liverpool Street. It was opened by the Great Eastern Railway on 1 July 1884 when the company quadrupled the double-track main line section, and it was situated close to the site of the former Devonshire Street terminus, which had closed in 1840.