Northiam railway station

Northiam
Northiam
Station on heritage railway
General information
Location	Northiam, Rother, East Sussex ; England
Coordinates	51°00′34″N0°36′53″E / 51.009475°N 0.614716°E
Grid reference	TQ835265
Platforms	2
History
Original company	Rother Valley Railway
Pre-grouping	Kent and East Sussex Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
2 April 1900	Opened
4 January 1954	Closed to passengers
12 June 1961	Goods services withdrawn
19 May 1990	Services resumed
4 June 1990	Officially reopened

Last updated August 11, 2023

Northiam railway station is on the Kent and East Sussex Railway. It is located to the west of the level crossing on the A28 road linking the Kentish village of Newenden and the East Sussex village of Northiam. Having served the area for over sixty years, the station closed with the line in 1961, but was later reopened in 1990 by the Kent and East Sussex Railway heritage organisation.

History

Northiam was one of the original stations on the 12-mile (19 km) line opened by the Rother Valley Railway between Rolvenden and Robertsbridge in 1900.^[3] All the original three stations were slightly removed from the villages which they were purporting to serve; Northiam, which was in fact closer to Newenden, lay 1.75 miles (2.82 km) to the north of Northiam village.^[4] As with all K&ESR stations except Tenterden Town, Northiam had a simple wooden-frame, corrugated iron clad station building.^[5]

A long curving passing loop ran between two platform faces; Northiam was the only station south of Tenterden to be afforded such facilities,^[6] possibly on account of its location half-way between Robertsbridge and Tenterden.^[7] Two sidings led into a small goods yard and cattle dock to the south of the station.^[8] This saw use when, during the early part of the 20th century, Howse & Co. held fortnightly livestock sales in a nearby field. Two simple wooden bungalows were later erected in Northiam's goods yard as staff accommodation.^[9] By the 1950s, the second platform had fallen into disuse and British Railways had installed catch points to the goods yard sidings to prevent wagons rolling on to the main line.^[10] Regular passenger services on the line last ran on Saturday 2 January 1954,^[11] the line between Tenterden and Robertsbridge remaining open for goods traffic until 12 June 1961.^[12]

Present day

Passenger services returned to Northiam on 19 May 1990 when the Kent and East Sussex Railway Preservation Society extended its operating line to the station. The project had required extensive repairs to the bridge over the River Rother on the Kent/East Sussex county boundary which, at 66 feet (20 m), is the longest bridge on the line.^[13] The extension project featured in a 1989 episode of Challenge Anneka , the challenge being to restore the extant station building and lay sufficient track to allow a train to enter within 48 hours. The deadline was met and at 6.15pm on Sunday 23 July 1989, SECR P class locomotive no. 1556 was the first locomotive to return to Northiam station. The episode was broadcast on 20 October 1989. The extension was officially inspected on 14 May 1990 after completion of the track layout, installation of a water crane, surfacing of the platforms, rebuilding of the level crossing and erection of a new toilet block.^[14] The first services ran on 19 May 1990,^[1] and on 4 June 1990 the station was officially reopened by the Duke of Gloucester. The Northiam extension led to a record number of passengers using the line—81,934—the highest since 1913.^[14] Initially only the Up platform was brought into use, it having been decided to reinstate the unrestored Down platform once the extension to Bodiam had been completed.^[15]

Services

Preceding station	Heritage railways		Following station
Wittersham Road		Kent and East Sussex Railway	Bodiam
	Historical railways
Wittersham Road		Kent and East Sussex Railway	Dixter Halt
Wittersham Road		British Railways Southern Region Kent and East Sussex Railway	Bodiam

Related Research Articles

The River Rother flows for 35 miles (56 km) through the English counties of East Sussex and Kent. Its source is near Rotherfield in East Sussex, and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel. Prior to 1287, its mouth was further to the east at New Romney, but it changed its course after a great storm blocked its exit to the sea. It was known as the Limen until the sixteenth century. For the final 14 miles (23 km), the river bed is below the high tide level, and Scots Float sluice is used to control levels. It prevents salt water entering the river system at high tides, and retains water in the river during the summer months to ensure the health of the surrounding marsh habitat. Below the sluice, the river is tidal for 3.7 miles (6.0 km).

The Kent and East Sussex Railway (K&ESR) refers to both a historical private railway company in Kent and East Sussex in England, as well as a heritage railway currently running on part of the route of the historical company. The railway runs between Tenterden Town and Bodiam.

The Hastings line is a secondary railway line in Kent and East Sussex, England, linking Hastings with the main town of Tunbridge Wells, and London via Tonbridge and Sevenoaks. Although primarily carrying passengers, the railway also serves a gypsum mine which is a source of freight traffic. SE Trains operates passenger trains on the line, and it is one of their busiest lines.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northiam</span> Village in East Sussex, England

Northiam is a village and civil parish in the Rother district, in East Sussex, England, 13 miles (21 km) north of Hastings in the valley of the River Rother. The A28 road to Canterbury and Hastings passes through it.

Dunstable Town, also known as Dunstable Church Street, was a railway station on the Great Northern Railway's branch line from Welwyn which served Dunstable in Bedfordshire from 1858 to 1965. Against a background of falling passenger numbers and declining freight returns, the station closed to passengers in 1965 and to goods in 1964, a casualty of the Beeching Axe. The station site is now in use as part of the Luton to Dunstable Busway.

The Rother Valley Railway (RVR) is a heritage railway project based at Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It takes its name from the original name for what later became the Kent and East Sussex Railway, running from Robertsbridge through to Headcorn in Kent, via Tenterden. The project is to replace the "missing link" between Robertsbridge, a station on the Tonbridge to Hastings mainline, and Bodiam on the Kent and East Sussex Railway, a heritage railway which operates from Bodiam to Tenterden. A charity, supported by a society of volunteers, is attempting to re-establish the railway link. The RVR began by reinstating the first few hundred yards of line eastwards from Robertsbridge, and also a short stretch westwards from Bodiam. In 2010, the latter section was further extended to reach Junction Road. In summer 2011 work began at Robertsbridge to extend further eastwards to Northbridge Street, which entailed the rebuilding of five bridges. By June 2012, this further extension was also completed. In September 2013, a gala weekend at Robertsbridge marked the progress to date and the start of the next phase: the reinstatement of the section between Northbridge Street and Junction Road, for which statutory permissions are being sought. The RVR does not yet run regular passenger trains, but the base at Robertsbridge houses a small shop and visitor centre open to the public each Sunday, in a building formerly used as the London terminus of the Orient Express. There is also a small collection of historic railway vehicles in various states of preservation.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamlingay railway station</span> Former railway station in Cambridgeshire, England

Gamlingay railway station was a railway station on the Varsity Line which served the small village of Gamlingay in Cambridgeshire, England. The station opened in 1862 and was located in a rural area that saw little passenger traffic; it closed together with the line in 1968.

Junction Road Halt, also known as Junction Road (for Hawkhurst), was a halt station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway. It was located on the eastern side of the level crossing across the B2244 Junction Road near the hamlet of Udiam in East Sussex, England. Closed for passengers in 1954 and freight in 1961 with the line, The line through Junction Road Halt may yet be revived as the Rother Valley Railway, a preservation society, is proposing to reopen the line from Robertsbridge to Bodiam.

Salehurst Halt was a halt station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway which served the village of Salehurst in East Sussex, England. The station was reached by a footpath leading south from the village church in Salehurst. Closed in 1954, Salehurst Halt may yet see trains again as the Rother Valley Railway, a preservation society, is proposing to reopen the line from Robertsbridge to Bodiam, including the line through the halt.

Wittersham Road is a railway station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway. It is located to the north-east of the level crossing on Maytham Road which links the Kentish villages of Rolvenden and Wittersham. Having served the area for over sixty years, the station closed for regular passengers in 1954 and completely in 1961. It was later rebuilt and reopened in 1977 by the Kent and East Sussex Railway heritage organisation.

Dixter Halt was a short-lived halt station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway on an unmade road leading to Great Dixter house near Northiam in East Sussex. Opened in May 1981 it was used for occasional special services to and from Bodiam until the line from Northiam was finally reopened for regular passenger services to Bodiam in 2000.

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Wappenham was a railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) which served the Northamptonshire village of Wappenham between 1872 and 1951. Serving a relatively rural area, the station saw considerable goods traffic generated by local farming communities, but passenger traffic was low which ultimately led to its closure.

Tenterden St. Michael's was a railway station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway which served the Tenterden suburb of St Michaels in Kent, England. The station was situated on the southern side of a level crossing to the south of St. Michael's tunnel, one of the line's main civil engineering features. Closed in 1954, nothing remains of St. Michael's today: a footpath and cycleway runs through the site.

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Headcorn Junction railway station was the Kent and East Sussex Railway's northern terminus. It was adjacent to the South Eastern and Chatham Railway's Headcorn station. It opened in 1905 and closed in January 1954.

References

1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p. 173.
↑ Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol: Avon-AngliA Publications & Services. p. 102. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
↑ Course, Edwin (1976). The Railways of Southern England: Independent and Light Railways. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 39. ISBN 0-7134-0490-6.
↑ Course, E., p. 41.
↑ White, H.P. (1987). Forgotten Railways: South-East England (Forgotten Railways Series). Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-946537-37-2.
↑ Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1988). Branch Line to Tenterden. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press. p. Plate 38. ISBN 978-0-906520-21-5.
↑ Glasspool, David. "Northiam station". Kent Rail. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
↑ Scott-Morgan, John (2007). An Illustrated History of the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Hersham, Surrey: OPC Railprint. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-86093-608-4.
↑ Garrett, Stephen (1999). The Kent & East Sussex Light Railway. Usk, Mon.: The Oakwood Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-85361-516-3.
↑ Scott-Morgan, S., p. 25.
↑ Garrett, S., p. 47.
↑ Course, E., p. 52.
↑ Mitchell, V. and Smith, K., plate 45.
1 2 Garrett, S., p. 99.
↑ Gough, Terry (1998). The Kent & East Sussex Railway. Kettering, Northants: Past & Present Publishing Ltd. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-85895-149-2.

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[Butt-1] 1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p. 173.

[Clinker-2] Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol: Avon-AngliA Publications & Services. p. 102. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.

[3] Course, Edwin (1976). The Railways of Southern England: Independent and Light Railways. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 39. ISBN 0-7134-0490-6.

[4] Course, E., p. 41.

[5] White, H.P. (1987). Forgotten Railways: South-East England (Forgotten Railways Series). Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-946537-37-2.

[6] Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1988). Branch Line to Tenterden. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press. p. Plate 38. ISBN 978-0-906520-21-5.

[7] Glasspool, David. "Northiam station". Kent Rail. Retrieved 30 August 2009.

[8] Scott-Morgan, John (2007). An Illustrated History of the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Hersham, Surrey: OPC Railprint. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-86093-608-4.

[9] Garrett, Stephen (1999). The Kent & East Sussex Light Railway. Usk, Mon.: The Oakwood Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-85361-516-3.

[10] Scott-Morgan, S., p. 25.

[11] Garrett, S., p. 47.

[12] Course, E., p. 52.

[13] Mitchell, V. and Smith, K., plate 45.

[Garrett,_S.,_p._99-14] 1 2 Garrett, S., p. 99.

[15] Gough, Terry (1998). The Kent & East Sussex Railway. Kettering, Northants: Past & Present Publishing Ltd. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-85895-149-2.

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