Queenborough railway station

Queenborough
General information
Location	Queenborough, Swale England
Grid reference	TQ913721
Managed by	Southeastern
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	QBR
Classification	DfT category E
History
Original company	Sittingbourne and Sheerness Railway London, Chatham and Dover Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
19 July 1860	Opened
Passengers
2019/20	0.190 million
Swale Line and station open		South Eastern and Chatham Railway Sheerness Line		Sheerness Dockyard Line and station closed
				Queenborough Pier Line and station closed
Kings Ferry Bridge North Halt Line open, station closed		South Eastern and Chatham Railway Sheerness Line		Queenborough Pier Line and station closed
				Sheerness-on-Sea Line and station open
	Disused railways
Terminus		Southern Railway Sheppey Light Railway		Sheerness East Line and station closed

History

Queenborough was opened on 19 July 1860 ^{[3] [4]} by the Sittingbourne and Sheerness Railway (S&SR), a nominally independent company which had powers to construct a 7.125-mile (11.467-kilometre) branch line from Sittingbourne across the River Swale to a terminus near the entrance of Sheerness Dockyard. ^[5] The line was worked from the outset by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway which absorbed the S&SR in 1876. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

On 15 May 1876, Queenborough became a junction station with the opening of a short spur to Queenborough Pier to serve steam ship services. ^{[3] [4]} A second line was added on 1 August 1901 with the opening of the Sheppey Light Railway, an 8.75-mile (14.08-kilometre) light railway across the Isle of Sheppey to Leysdown. ^{[8] [9]} There was no direct connection with the Sheerness Line and trains for Leysdown departed from the outer face of a newly constructed island platform at Queenborough. ^{[10] [11]} An iron footbridge was erected at the southern end of the platforms to facilitate passengers changing between main line and branch services. ^[12] Services on the Sheppey Light Railway ceased as of 4 December 1950. ^[13]

Until the opening of Swale Halt in 1922, Queenborough was the only intermediate station on the Sheerness Line. ^{[14] [15]} The imposing two-storey station building has a strong Victorian character with its high-pitched gables and round-headed sash windows. ^[14] The building is in a similar style to Lymington Town railway station which dates from the same period, a resemblance which may be explained by the fact that the construction of both the Lymington Branch Line and the S&SR was overseen by John Cass Birkinshaw who was replaced as engineer on the S&SR after the company's directors blamed him for the line's slow construction. ^[16]

A wooden waiting shelter was provided on the Upside but not on the Downside. ^[17] The station also had a sizeable goods shed and goods yard on the Up side adjacent to the main station building. ^[18] Sidings on the Down side served the Sheerness Steel plant and provided connections for MCD car traffic and shipbreaking activities. ^[19] There was a signal box on the Up side which was located at the point where the Sheppey branch curved away to the east; ^[20] this closed on 24 May 1959. ^[21] By this time, the goods shed had already been demolished although the goods yard remained open until 16 August 1971. ^{[21] [22]} The line through Queenborough was electrified and the platforms were lengthened in 1959 as part of phase I of the Kent Coast Electrification. ^[23]

By 1993, much of the station building was no longer in use and only the booking office was staffed on weekdays until mid-morning. ^[24]

References

References

1. "Queenborough station facilities". Southeastern. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
2. Table 212 National Rail timetable, December 2023
3. Butt 1995, p. 193.
4. Quick 2009, p. 324.
5. Gray 1984, p. 113.
6. White 1992, p. 45.
7. Awdry 1990, p. 198.
8. White 1987, p. 93.
9. Dendy Marshall & Kidner 1963, p. 364.
10. White 1987, p. 94.
11. Course 1974, p. 151.
12. Hart 1992, p. 39.
13. Hart 1992, p. 94.
14. Course 1974, p. 150.
15. Mitchell & Smith 1993, fig. 46.
16. Glasspool, David. "Queenborough". Kent Rail. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
17. Mitchell & Smith 1993, figs. 47 and 52.
18. Mitchell & Smith 1993, fig. 48.
19. Body 1989, p. 175.
20. Mitchell & Smith 1993, fig. X.
21. Mitchell & Smith 1993, fig. 55.
22. Clinker 1978, p. 113.
23. Moody 1979, p. 135.
24. Mitchell & Smith 1993, fig. 57.

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies . Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   1-8526-0049-7. OCLC   19514063. CN 8983.
• Body, Geoffrey (1989) [1984]. Railways of the Southern Region . Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   1-85260-297-X.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
• Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol, Avon: Avon-AngliA Publications & Services. ISBN   0-905466-19-5.
• Course, Edwin (1974). The Railways of Southern England: Secondary and Branch Lines. London: B.T. Batsford. ISBN   0-7134-2835-X.
• Dendy Marshall, C.F.; Kidner, R.W. (1963) [1937]. History of the Southern Railway. Vol. 2. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN   0-7110-0059-X.
• Gray, Adrian (1984). The London, Chatham and Dover Railway. Rainham: Meresborough Books. ISBN   978-0-905270-88-3.
• Hart, Brian (1992). The Sheppey Light Railway. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications. ISBN   1-874103-09-7.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (July 1993). Branch Lines Around Sheerness. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN   1-8737-9316-2.
• Moody, G.T. (1979) [1957]. Southern Electric 1909-1979. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN   0-7110-0924-4.
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN   978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC   612226077.
• White, H.P. (1987) [1976]. Forgotten Railways: South-East England. Vol. 6. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN   978-0-946537-37-2.
• White, H.P. (1992) [1961]. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Southern England. Vol. 2). Nairn, Scotland: David St John Thomas. ISBN   0-946537-77-1.

External links

• Train times and station information for Queenborough railway station from National Rail

51°24′56.31″N0°44′59.08″E / 51.4156417°N 0.7497444°E / 51.4156417; 0.7497444