Ramsgate Harbour railway station

Ramsgate Harbour
Ramsgate Harbour
	Station in early 1900s.
General information
Location	Ramsgate, District of Thanet ; England
Platforms	4
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Kent Coast Railway
Pre-grouping	London, Chatham and Dover Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
5 October 1863	Opened as Ramsgate
1871	Renamed Ramsgate & St Lawrence-on-Sea
1 July 1899	Renamed Ramsgate Harbour
2 July 1926	Closed

Last updated January 18, 2024

Ramsgate Harbour railway station was a railway station in Ramsgate, in the Thanet district of Kent, England. Opened in 1863 as part of the Kent Coast Railway company's extension of its line from Herne Bay, it was conveniently situated for the seaside resort's beach, but it closed in 1926 after a reorganisation of railway lines in the Thanet area.^[1]

History

The Herne Bay & Faversham Railway company was founded in 1857. In 1859 it became the Margate & London Railway, and two years later took the name Kent Coast Railway, by which it was known for the rest of its independent existence. It built a line from Faversham to Whitstable Town in 1860, extended it to Herne Bay & Hampton-on-Sea in 1861 and opened the section from there to a station called Ramsgate on 5 October 1863.^[2] This was much closer to the seafront at Ramsgate than its predecessor, Ramsgate Town, which was opened by the South Eastern Railway in 1846.^[3]

In 1871, the Kent Coast Railway was bought by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway.^[2] In June of that year, Ramsgate station took the name Ramsgate & St Lawrence-on-Sea, which it bore until 1 July 1899. For the rest of its existence it was known as Ramsgate Harbour.^[4] The station was very popular and well-used, but was on a cramped site which was reached through a tunnel down a long 1-in-75 gradient. A train went out of control down this slope on 31 August 1891. One person was killed.^[3]^[5]

Plans were made to simplify the poorly connected railway network in the Thanet area; these were quickly adopted by the Southern Railway company, which took over the London, Chatham and Dover Railway's operations on 1 January 1923 as a result of the Grouping Act.^[3] It built a new line, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long, to connect the former Kent Coast Railway route from Faversham and the former South Eastern Railway route from Ashford,^[2] which bypassed both Ramsgate Harbour and Ramsgate Town stations. Two new stations, Dumpton Park and Ramsgate, were built on this line to serve the town.^[3] After the new line and stations opened on 2 July 1926, the section of line between the new junction and Ramsgate Harbour station was officially closed on the same date.^[2]

After closure

The station site was bought by a company which converted it into a funfair. Part of the former route through the tunnel was opened as a narrow gauge tourist railway in 1936 which became the Tunnel Railway.^[3] Services were suspended during World War 2, but they reopened in the post-war period. In 1965 the line closed following an accident at the beach station. Its owners then decided to close the railway and the track was removed.

In 1939 part of the abandoned railway tunnel became an air raid shelter.^[6] A network of tunnels was constructed leading from the disused railway tunnel leading under the town with various access steps to the surface. After the war finished these tunnels were abandoned. Following the award of a Heritage Lottery Grant sections of the abandoned railway tunnel and wartime air raid tunnels have been restored and were officially reopened on 27 May 2014.^[7]

The former station building was damaged by fire in 1998 and subsequently demolished.

Related Research Articles

Ramsgate is a seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline, and its main industries are tourism and fishing. The town has one of the largest marinas on the English south coast, and the Port of Ramsgate provided cross-channel ferries for many years.

The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London commuter network. The company existed until 31 December 1922 when its assets were merged with those of other companies to form the Southern Railway as a result of the grouping determined by the Railways Act 1921. The railway was always in a difficult financial situation and went bankrupt in 1867, but was able to continue to operate. Many of the difficulties were caused by the severe competition and duplication of services with the South Eastern Railway (SER). However, in 1898 the LCDR agreed with the SER to share the operation of the two railways, work them as a single system and pool receipts: but it was not a full amalgamation. The SER and LCDR remained separate companies with separate shareholders until both becoming constituents of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923.

The East Kent Railway (EKR) was an early railway operating between Strood and Faversham in Kent, England, during 1858 and 1859. In the latter year it changed its name to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway to reflect its ambitions to build a rival line from London to Dover via Chatham and Canterbury. The line as far as Canterbury was opened in 1860 and the extension to Dover Priory on 22 July 1861. The route to London Victoria station via the Mid-Kent line and the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway opened on 1 November 1861.

Strood railway station serves the town of Strood in Medway, England. It is on the North Kent Line and is also a terminus of the Medway Valley Line. It is 31 miles 11 chains (50.1 km) down the line from London Charing Cross.

The Chatham Main Line is a railway line in England that links London Victoria and Dover Priory / Ramsgate, travelling via Medway.

Ramsgate railway station serves the town of Ramsgate in Thanet in Kent, England. The station lies on the Chatham Main Line, 79 miles 21 chains (127.6 km) down the line from London Victoria, the Kent Coast Line, and the Ashford to Ramsgate line. The station is managed by Southeastern, which operates all trains serving it.

Margate railway station serves the town of Margate in Thanet, Kent, England. It is 73 miles 69 chains (118.9 km) down the line from London Victoria. The station and all trains that serve the station are operated by Southeastern.

Chilham railway station is a railway station in Chilham, Kent. It is on the Ashford to Ramsgate line between Ashford International and Canterbury West. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern.

Whitstable railway station is on the Ramsgate branch of the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the town of Whitstable, Kent. It is 59 miles 6 chains (95.1 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Faversham and Chestfield & Swalecliffe.

Herne Bay railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the town of Herne Bay, Kent. It is 62 miles 58 chains (100.9 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Chestfield & Swalecliffe and Birchington-on-Sea.

Dumpton Park railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving the district of Dumpton between the towns of Broadstairs and Ramsgate, Kent. It is 78 miles 26 chains (126.1 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Broadstairs and Ramsgate stations.

The A299, better known as the Thanet Way, is a major road of 22 miles (35 km) in the county of Kent, England, and runs from Brenley Corner near Faversham to Ramsgate via Whitstable and Herne Bay.

The Ashford–Ramsgate line is a railway that runs through Kent from Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West. Its route mostly follows the course of the River Great Stour.

Transportation needs within the county of Kent in South East England has been served by both historical and current transport systems.

Margate was a "limb" of Dover in the ancient confederation of the Cinque ports. It was added to the confederation in the 15th century.

The Tunnel Railway was a 2 ft narrow-gauge underground railway in Ramsgate, Kent, England. Following the restructuring of railway lines in Ramsgate in 1926, the section of line between Broadstairs and Ramsgate Harbour including a tunnel to the seafront at Ramsgate was abandoned. The narrow-gauge Tunnel Railway was opened within the disused tunnel in 1936 to connect tourist attractions and shops near Ramsgate harbour with the new railway main line at Dumpton Park.

Ramsgate Town railway station is a former railway station in Ramsgate, in the Thanet district of Kent, England. It was the seaside resort's first station, but was closed in 1926 when a new, more direct railway line bypassed it and the town's other station, Ramsgate Harbour.

St Lawrence for Pegwell Bay railway station was a railway station at Ramsgate, Kent, England that was opened by the South Eastern Railway in 1864 and closed in 1916.

The Holborn Viaduct–Herne Hill line is a railway line between Holborn Viaduct in the City of London and Herne Hill in the London Borough of Lambeth. After the closure of Holborn Viaduct station the line ends at the south portal of Snow Hill tunnel merging into Snow Hill lines. From there the Widened Lines to St Pancras and Kentish Town are reached. Today the section north of Blackfriars is part of the Thameslink core. Originally being a branch line of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) towards the City of London, the line is sometimes called LCDR City Branch.

Canterbury Parkway railway station is a proposed interchange between the Ashford–Ramsgate line and the Chatham Main Line near Canterbury, Kent.

References

Notes

↑ The Railway Magazine 1941, p. 117.
1 2 3 4 Knight 1986 , p. 18.
1 2 3 4 5 Body 1984 , p. 154.
↑ Knight 1986 , p. 19.
↑ Kidner 1977 , p. 90
↑ The Railway Magazine 1941, p. 119.
↑ "Home". ramsgatetunnels.org.

Bibliography

Body, Geoffrey (1984). Railways of the Southern Region. PSL Field Guides. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-664-5.
Kidner, R. W. (1977) [1963]. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Tarrant Hinton: The Oakwood Press.
Knight, Andrew (1986). The Railways of South East England. Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1556-2.
"Ramsgate and its Tunnel Shelters". The Railway Magazine . Vol. 87, no. 525. London: Tothill Press Limited. March 1941.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Broadstairs Line closed, station open		London, Chatham and Dover Railway Chatham Main Line - Ramsgate Branch		Terminus

51°19′58″N1°25′29″E / 51.3329°N 1.4246°E / 51.3329; 1.4246

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[FOOTNOTEThe_Railway_Magazine1941117-1] The Railway Magazine 1941, p. 117.

[Knight18-2] 1 2 3 4 Knight 1986 , p. 18.

[Body154-3] 1 2 3 4 5 Body 1984 , p. 154.

[Knight19-4] Knight 1986 , p. 19.

[Kidner-5] Kidner 1977 , p. 90

[FOOTNOTEThe_Railway_Magazine1941119-6] The Railway Magazine 1941, p. 119.

[7] "Home". ramsgatetunnels.org.

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