The East Kent Railway (EKR) is a heritage railway in Kent, England. It is located at Shepherdswell station on the London to Dover Priory direct mainline. The line was constructed between 1911 and 1917 to serve the Kent Coalfields. See East Kent Light Railway for details of the original lines. The Kent Collieries were mostly a failure with only Tilmanstone on the line producing any viable commercial coal and commercial traffic over the line. The line is operated by heritage diesel locomotives. It is home to a collection of heritage diesel locomotives, Diesel Multiple Units DMU, DEMU and electric multiple units including an in service British Rail Class 404 built in the 1930s.
Queenborough railway station is on the Sheerness Line, on the Isle of Sheppey in northern Kent, and serves the town of Queenborough. It is 49 miles 22 chains (79.3 km) down the line from London Victoria.
The East Kent Light Railway was part of the Colonel Stephens group of cheaply built rural light railways in England. Holman Fred Stephens was engineer from its inception, subsequently becoming director and manager. The line ran from Shepherdswell to Wingham Station with a branch from Eastry through Poison Cross to Richborough Port. Built primarily for colliery traffic within the Kent Coalfields, the line was built with many spurs and branches to serve the mines, with cancelled plans to construct extensions to several others. The success of Tilmanstone colliery allowed the main line of the railway to continue operation until 1986. A remainder of the line became the East Kent Railway, a heritage railway, in 1987.
Eythorne railway station is a station on the East Kent Railway. Originally a station on the East Kent Light Railway, It opened on 16 October 1916 but closed to passenger traffic after the last train on 30 October 1948. It served as the junction for the branch to Guilford Colliery, which was abandoned in 1921. The track on this branch was lifted in 1931 but relaid during World War II to accommodate a 9.2 inches (230 mm) rail mounted gun. The station served the village of Eythorne, it reopened as part of the East Kent Railway in 1993.
Tilmanstone Colliery Halt was a station on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened on 16 October 1916 and was renamed Elvington in 1925. It closed to passenger traffic after the last train on 30 October 1948. The station served the pit village of Elvington. Part of the platform is still in situ hidden in undergrowth.
Knowlton was a halt on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened on 16 October 1916 as Tilmanstone Village but was renamed the following year. It closed to passenger traffic after the last train on 30 October 1948. After closure the platform was demolished and the area landscaped into a field. As at December 2011 the shallow cutting along which the railway ran at this site is still visible.
Eastry South railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened on 13 April 1925 and closed to passenger traffic after the last train on 30 October 1948. The station served the village of Eastry. There was a siding to the south of the station. The track was removed in May 1954.
Eastry railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened on 16 October 1916 and closed to passenger traffic after the last train on 30 October 1948. It was the station before the Richborough Branch diverged from the main line to Wingham. The station served the village of Eastry, it had a passing loop, but this had been converted to a siding in 1948. The track was removed in May 1954. There is no trace of the station today as the area has been landscaped into fields.
Woodnesborough railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened on 16 October 1916 and closed to passenger traffic after the last train on 30 October 1948. The station served the village of Woodnesborough. There was a 500-gallon water tank and a siding. A half mile long branch served Hammill Brick Works, built on the site of the aborted Hammill Colliery. Today the station site is now covered by industrial buildings.
Staple railway station was a station on the East Kent Light Railway in southeast England, serving the village of Staple. It was located north of the village, on the west side of the road to Durlock, where it crosses over the Wingham River at Durlock Bridge.
Wingham Colliery railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway in southeast England. It was intended to serve Wingham Colliery, a short distance to the south, but the mine was aborted without producing any coal. The railway then tried to develop a passenger business, extending the line towards Wingham Town with the long-term aim of reaching Canterbury, but ran out of money before they did so.
Wingham Town railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway, which served the village of Wingham. It opened in 1920 and closed to passenger traffic after the last train on 30 October 1948. There was a loop when the station first opened, but this was removed when the line was extended to the Canterbury Road station in 1925. Today the site of the station is occupied by a row of private garages and the village Scout Hut.
Wingham railway station was a terminus on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened in 1925 and the last passenger train ran on 30 October 1948. There was a siding to the south of the road, and carriages were usually run into the station under gravity. Occasional freight/parcel trains ran until 1950 but the station was not officially closed until 1951. After closure the cutting containing the station was infilled and covered with a field of crops. The site of the sidings are now occupied by a tea shop adjacent to which is a short section of undisturbed trackbed.
Ash Town railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway. The station served the village of Ash.
Poison Cross railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened in November 1925 and closed to passenger traffic on 1 November 1928. There was a passing loop and a siding.
Roman Road railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened in November 1925 and closed to passenger traffic on 1 November 1928. Today there is no trace of the station.
Sandwich Road railway station was a railway station on the East Kent Light Railway. It opened in November 1925 and closed to passenger traffic on 31 October 1928. There were plans to extend to Richboro Port railway station but permission to run passenger services north of Sandwich Road was not granted by His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate due to the poor state of repair of the bridge over the Southern Railway and River Stour. The platform was north of the road and a passing loop was south of the road. The station officially closed completely on 1 January 1950 although its use may have ceased earlier.
Richboro Port railway station was constructed by the East Kent Light Railway, as part of its branch to Richborough Port, which never opened to passengers. Authorisation to operate a passenger service over the branch was never requested by the East Kent as it considered that the Port had first to develop before expenses could be outlaid on improving the branch's bridges over the Southern Railway and River Stour, which His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate would no doubt have required before giving its consent. The station was named Richboro Port, dropping the "ugh" off the end of Richborough, as witnessed by the nameboard on the station and contemporary maps.
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.
Barham was a station on the Elham Valley Railway. It opened in 1887 and closed to passengers in 1940 and freight in 1947.
Heritage railways 