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Anyone
from London wishing to visit the 1800 residents of 'Whitstable'
around 1800 had a choice of three modes of transport:
by horse, either in the saddle or carriage, by sea or, like
Dick Wittington, one could walk.
All rather time consuming.
There was no thought of daily excursions to the beach
although one could possibly do the journey in the comfort of their
carriage in 12 to 15 hours with two stops to change horses.
Daily excursions 'to the beach' were just not possible.
With little to attract people into a more lengthy stay the
population had grown very slowly.
The
Industrial Revolution, erupting like an earthquake on life in the
industrial cities, caused barely a tremor in maritime Whitstable
and its rural hinterland. That
is until later in the 1800s, when two singular events 30 years
apart spawned by the Industrial Revolution dramatically changed
Whitstable, the population numbers and the life they lived - 'The
Railways came to Town'.
The
Railway comes to Town
Spring of 1830 saw the opening of the
Canterbury & Whitstable railway built to service a new harbour
which opened in 1832. (See my article, Canterbury &
Whitstable Railway Overview - click
here). Although that pioneering railway has attracted little
recognition in the history books it proved to be the most dramatic
addition to the area by mankind far surpassing the 1730 Turnpike
Road to Canterbury. But
it did nothing to improve the direct links to the capital city -
London. One was still
left with the same choice of transport - horse, sea or walk.
In 1846 transport links to London improved
slightly – sort of. Now,
one could journey by train from Whitstable to Canterbury then via
Ashford on to London. A
tedious and no doubt unattractive journey.
Ten years later one could journey to Faversham by horse or
foot and catch a train to Strood on the new Dover to London
railway. A change of train would then take one into London. The
journey would take a few hours but one could now theoretically
travel to the Metropolis and perhaps return in one day.
Now of course that also meant people could
more readily travel from London to Faversham and Canterbury. Perhaps
even a train from Canterbury to Whitstable.
Perhaps a more leisurely journey by horse from Faversham to
Whitstable. Daily
excursions to the seaside may not have allowed much time to
actually enjoy the beach but it was possible to at least see it -
briefly.
Then in 1860 a railway line from Faversham
arrived in Town. Finally,
Whitstable had an almost direct railway link with London but of
course it didn’t just happen overnight.
The
‘North Kent Railway.’
AKA The ‘Kent Coast Railway’, ‘The
London-Thanet’ and ‘The Mainline’
Moves to build a railway from Faversham to
Whitstable started a lot earlier than 1860. In 1844 efforts
were made to start a railway company to extend the ‘Greenwich Railway’ to Margate and Deal but nothing
came of that. Nothing further came forth until the
next effort in 1856 for ‘a coast railway to Thanet’. A
Herne Bay meeting held late September considered forming a railway
company for ‘a railway between Herne Bay and Whitstable on to
Faversham for connection to a direct line to London’ –
whatever line that may have been. They would be known as the
Herne Bay & Faversham Railway Company. No mention of
Whitstable!
At the time the East Kent Railway Company
was
constructing a line from Strood though Chatham, Sittingbourne,
Faversham and Canterbury to Dover. Meetings supporting the
Herne Bay & Faversham Railway Company in Faversham and
Whitstable resulted in a Bill being presented to Parliament and
passed for Royal assent in June 1857.
The first section of the East Kent Railway
Company line from Chatham to Faversham opened on January 25th 1858
a month before the first Annual General Meeting of the Herne Bay
& Faversham Railway Company announced their Bill had passed
into Law. The East Kent Railway Company
had protested
vigorously but unsuccessfully against the Bill. The Herne
Bay & Faversham railway would either connect to East Kent’s
Chatham to Faversham railway at Faversham or their passengers
change trains.
On August 31st 1858 the contract was let to
construct the line from Faversham to Whitstable then on to Herne
Bay. In November an application was made to Parliament to extend
the line to Margate. A February 1859 meeting announced work
was under way and an agreement reached for the East Kent Railway
Company to operate the line. Following approval to continue
on to Margate, The Herne Bay & Faversham Railway Company
changed its name to ‘The Herne Bay & Margate Railway
Company’. No credits for Whitstable!
The Company meeting on August 30th 1859
recorded that track had been laid over the first 3 miles from
Faversham towards Whitstable. Bridges were nearly completed
for the next 2 miles and earthworks for the following 1½ miles to
the Turnpike at Whitstable were ‘well advanced’. That was
remarkable progress! In just under 3 years from the first
1856 meeting proposing the railway to such progress. Very
remarkable considering the proposal had to be formally prepared,
presented and processed through Parliament. Even more so
considering the lack of mechanised earthmoving equipment and as
noted: However ‘There had been a great scarcity of labour over
the past 6 weeks but as the Harvest was nearly over workers would
return and it was anticipated the line could be open to Whitstable
by October next year. Yes, you can have a railway but the
harvest comes first!
Despite the harvest and an accident holding
up work on the embankment adjacent to Swan Field, soil was carried
from Church Hill at a suitable rate allowing the first train to
arrive in Whitstable from Faversham the first week in August 1860.
The momentous occasion had arrived - one could now travel
from Whitstable to London and vice versa by steam train.
But it was to a temporary platform short of
the Turnpike road. The temporary platform was in Kitchingham
Place now known as Clifton Road. The station was about where
today Clifton Road turns into Portway. In reality the
journey to or from London meant a change of train at Strood, the
London- Strood line owned by another company.
The next stage of ‘The Margate Line’ –
Whitstable to Herne Bay was held up by a dispute between the
Engineers of the Herne Bay & Margate Railway Company and the
Canterbury & Whitstable Railway – the line of the former
passing under the railway line of the latter alongside the Church
Road bridge. The dispute about various temporary bridging
arrangements eventually went before the Board of Trade for
settlement.
When the following year on July 16th 1861 the
4 miles from Whitstable to Herne Bay was opened, there was already
a Bill before Parliament to extend the line to Ramsgate. In
this year the line was extended into London with a new Station
being opened at Victoria Street. One could now truly travel
direct from London to Whitstable.
By this time the East Kent Railway Company
had become the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company – the
LCDR. The Faversham to Margate railway, ‘Margate Line’,
had become generally known as the ‘Kent Coast Railway’.
The
‘North Kent Railway’ at Whitstable
Whether the railway was known as the ‘Kent
Coast Railway’, ‘Coast Railway’, ‘Herne Bay &
Faversham’, ‘Margate Line’, LC&DR branch, ‘Thanet
line’, ‘London-Thanet’, ‘North Kent railway’ or just as
‘The Main Line’ the railway would eventually have a profound
effect on Whitstable’s development - eventually.
The Whitstable railway station off Oxford
Street would be a little unorthodox. But first we look
a little deeper into where, or perhaps I should say upon what, the
station would reside.
There would be a bridge across Oxford Street.
Nothing unusual about that. Whitstable already had a
pioneering thirty year old railway bridge over Church Road. The
bridge would require the building of a considerable embankment but
not just within the vicinity of Oxford Street and Canterbury Road.
The embankment would almost be a continuation of the raised rail
bed across the Seasalter marshes although the higher ground below
Lollipop Wood was taken advantage of. The embankment would
reach maximum height above ground for the bridge gradually
reducing in elevation to pass under the Canterbury &
Whitstable railway then through a cutting and on towards Herne
Bay.
Delays in constructing the embankment were
said to be the cause of delay necessitating the use of a temporary
platform.
We are not privy to the precise reasons why a
bridge was chosen instead of a much cheaper level crossing but let
us credit the planners with some foresight. The
density of modern motor traffic through Whitstable has become a
considerable problem. We may criticise the bridge for
restricting the road but a level crossing would have long been an
intolerable burden.
There is however another factor – potential
flooding. As we have seen in ‘History of Whitstable –
the Shoreline from 1287’.(click
here to view) the old shoreline once traced
along the line of High Street, Oxford Street, and Church Rd (in
part now Belmont Rd.) as shown in Map 1 below. The blue line
on Map 1 shows the line of the railway crossing the once flooded
Gorrell Delta well demonstrated in ‘The
Flood of ’53’ feature section (click
here to view) Early road names are shown.
Those who experienced the floods of 1953 may
well recall the sea tried to reclaim that old 1287 shoreline thus
emphasising the benefit of raising the railway on an embankment
and bridging across Oxford Street. We can be sure the
residents of 1953’s Belmont, Old Bridge and neighbouring roads
were quite appreciative of the railway embankment.
So, by about 1860 a barrier was built across
Whitstable effectively fencing off the established town on the
North side from its embryo offspring to the South and South East
with very few ‘gateways’ between the two. Map 2 below
illustrates, in broad detail, how the area shown in Map 1 had
developed prior to the railway work commencing.
For 130 years the road to Canterbury had been
a Turnpike road with the Whitstable Tollgate nearby the planned
railway bridge site. There
were gates across both the Turnpike and Mill roads. (Mill Road, was part of Church Rd renamed, but today named
Belmont Rd.) Buildings
had become established.
The introduction of the embankment was more
than a barrier dividing the developing town.
By the late 1850s there had been insufficient residential
development east and west of the proposed bridge area for any
embankment work to create a problem.
However 3 units of Hertsfield Terrace in Oxford Street were
demolished to make way for the railway. The ‘Tollgate’ was
removed and a new ‘Tollgate’ cottage established below Borstal
Hill – a modern day landmark.
We will see how that railway would eventually divide the
old 1700s ‘Whystapel’ area of Church Street, St. Anne’s and
‘Tangreton’, creating difficulties for the future motor
traffic of the 20th century.
The loop of Mill Road around Swan Field was
‘straightened’ inadvertently making room for the later
establishment of ‘The Railway Inn’ conveniently close to the
new station.
The operators of the Feakin’s Windmill
complained that the embankment deflected wind rendering the
mill’s sails less effective. They obviously took this matter
serious enough to warrant installing a steam mill, the windmill
gradually becoming redundant.
Map 3 shows the new features, the dotted
blue/black line shows the railway, other blue lines show
additional roads and re-alignments to Map 2.
There was one unfortunate aspect of the
railway embankment which prevails today. The main access
route to Whitstable has for centuries been from the direction of
Canterbury. Should one wish to drive from the south side of
the railway to the north side, into the town proper, there are
only two viable links provided. One is along Canterbury Road
under the railway bridge into Oxford Street or the other, a detour
eastwards to Church Street to cross the railway. A journey
from the West, the direction of London, presents no alternative.
The Real
Station - A Bird’s Eye View
The permanent railway station replacing the
temporary structure would be built on the embankment high above
and on the east side of the main thoroughfare. But the
‘UP’ platform would be quite novel. As shown in the
title illustration the timber ‘UP’ platform extended along the
outside of the wooden bridge over the main roadway. Travellers
had a bird’s eye view of Canterbury Road/Oxford Street
proceedings to amuse themselves while awaiting their train -
subject to the alternative attractiveness of the close by Railway
Inn of course.
The booking office was built at ground level
into the eastern bridge abutment ‘under the arch’ and below
the railway, considered by many as a rather quaint although dark
and dismal arrangement. Waiting rooms for either platform
were elevated at platform level with both exit stairways to ground
level on the outside. A goods yard and sidings were built on
the south side of the main line with access to the ‘UP’
platform. The following sketch shows the relative position
of features discussed above.
Changing
Times –‘Another Beach’
No doubt the 1860 introduction of a
reasonably direct rail link to London had some effect on the
development of Whitstable. We will see below how fares
were too high to encourage a great exodus of day trippers to
London or vice versa. But farmers did benefit. Thanks
to the railway, London markets were now open to them thus
enlarging a previously limited scope for sales outside their
immediate territory. Also of course the inevitable oyster
could be transported quicker to London markets. Within two
years of the railway opening it is recorded that 60,000 oysters
were shipped to London - by rail. One wonders what
disastrous effect that had on the 70 or more smacks previously
transporting oysters to London.
However despite Whitstable being considered
the closest ‘seaside’ to London the early railway did little
to stimulate Whitstable as a seaside residential resort. In
truth, with few amenities and lack of lodging accommodation,
Whitstable did not have the facilities to take advantage of the
railway. There were more ship owners in Whitstable than
accommodation houses!
The ‘London’ railway appeared to have
little early impact on Whitstable. Reports are few most
concentrating on individual incidents with occasional reference to
the ‘efficacious’ benefits of seaside Whitstable to the health
of sun and fresh air deprived Londoners. Originally there
were six ‘UP’ services each day. Travel time for each
was about 3 hours. Is it much different 150 years later?
Fares however were not encouraging for most
local residents. When the average weekly wage for a labourer
was around 10 shillings and one could typically buy lunch for 6
pence, a day return would cost the labourer 3 shillings & 8
pence or a week’s lunches! That assumes he travelled 3rd
class. 2nd class would cost him half his week’s wage at 5
shillings & 6 pence. First class was out of reach at 8
shillings & 3 pence.
But times changed. The latter part of
the 1800s under the South Eastern Railway Company and the early
part of the South Eastern & Canterbury Railway‘s reign saw a
massive rise in popularity of visits to the seaside giving local
railways a much needed boost. Perhaps that was helped by the
rise in popularity of the postcard advertising the seaside’s
health benefits – ‘Whitstable
Works Wonders’.
Locals remaining to suffer those cruel North East gales of winter
may have wondered cynically at ‘The Spot Where Health Blows
In’.
Whitstable attracted some notable new
residents in the 1890 to pre Great War period. The railway
enabled people to live within easy reach of London for business or
work yet escape the hustle and bustle, the noise and grime of the
Metropolis for the peace and fresh air of Whitstable. The
Commuter Age was coming for all!
The few years before the Great War have been
described as the ‘headiest’ years for the local railway
company. Under a single administration for over a
decade the SE&CR was in its ‘Golden Era’. Both local
railways were at their peak in terms of available services and
patronage. Wages had improved. Special reduced fares
for the duration of the summer seasons applied across the whole
SE&CR system allowing Whitstable residents to enjoy
inexpensive pleasure trips to destinations never before thought
possible, if indeed even thought of at all.
Travel on the ‘North Kent’ to Margate and
Ramsgate was simplicity itself. Cheap day trips to enjoy the
sights of London or visit the interesting towns between became
quite common for Whitstable people. A trip to Canterbury
could now open up several new possibilities. Perhaps a short
trip to Folkestone through the beautiful Elham Valley, or further
afield to Ramsgate or Deal. Alternatively in the opposite
direction a short trip to Ashford offered the prospects of Rye,
Dungeness, Hastings, Sandgate or Hythe.
Lower rail fares with the increasing wages
saw trains packed with day trippers taking advantage of those few
years of idyllic balmy summer weather before the trauma of the
Great War. For so many a day trip away from their home town
was now possible – Whitstable could go for a day trip to the
beach - Someone else’s beach!
Development
- Whitstable Grows
It is quite likely that Whitstable would not
have seen the development of Tankerton and Chestfield until well
into the 20th century without the ‘London Thanet’ being well
established by the time those prosperous years of the late
Victorian era, the end of the 19th century, arrived.
The break up of the combined pre medieval
‘Whitstable’ and Tankerton manors saw a considerable acreage
of Tankerton land sold. Also about this time, the 1890s, Tankerton
Towers was sold to a London solicitor. The Tankerton
Estate Co Ltd was formed to develop the Tankerton area and sell
the land as residential plots. Speculators could see scope
for a new ‘Brighton-on-Sea’ or something similar.
Without a railway to bring prospective buyers down from London
even the simplest scheme to subdivide and develop the area for
housing had little prospect of success at that time. However
the London-Thanet railway was available, the developers devising
‘suitable incentives’ to encourage a sufficient number of
prospective purchasers to view the development at ‘Tankerton-on-Sea.’
No doubt this activity encouraged interest in
other parts of the Town as in 1891 both Duncan Down and Grimshill
estates were sub divided and sold as building sites. Up at
Millstrood the Bellevue estate, lands of Downs Farm, was laid out
in 1905. Sites on each most often sold to people brought to
town from London by the railway. Whitstable station was in
reasonably convenient reach of those three estates for those
purchasers looking to commute to the City.
Herne Bay Persists
Those familiar with the history of the pioneering Canterbury &
Whitstable railway will remember that there were several
attempts by Herne Bay to develop a competing railway or light rail
from there to Canterbury (see my article, Canterbury &
Whitstable Railway Overview - click
here) . The people of Herne Bay wanted
direct access to Canterbury. A company was formed but plans
‘came to nothing’ for various reasons. The advent of the
‘North Kent line’ gave them the opportunity for yet another
proposal to connect them to Canterbury by rail. But it would
not be until 1898 that ‘something’ started to happen.
From the 1860s various proposals were
discussed to link the ‘North Kent line’ with the Canterbury
& Whitstable railway. Finally in 1898/9, with the
C&W railway now under The South Eastern Railway banner, firm
plans were formulated and the necessary Parliamentary Bill
eventually passed to connect the two railways via a loop.
The loop was South Eastern Railway’s
response to increased demands by the people of Herne Bay for rail
access to Canterbury. Land was purchased to build a loop
from the Canterbury side of the Church Street bridge swinging west
towards the 1860 built Whitstable ‘North Kent line’ station.
The loop would ‘feed in’ about the location of the Gorrell
Stream then pass through the goods or marshalling yards to the
station.
The plan would see all C&W railway
passenger traffic diverted to the 1860 (LC&DR) Whitstable
station, a move highly unsuited for seaside excursionists from
Canterbury, the bulk of Summer trade. The proposed loop also
faced away from Herne Bay once again denying that town direct
access to Canterbury, supposedly one of the prime reasons for the
loop. Loop trains would use the ‘Goods’ side of the
‘UP’ platform shown in the earlier plan view sketch of the
station. The following sketch shows the propose loop.
The 1899 amalgamation of South Eastern and
the London Chatham & Dover railways into the South Eastern
& Chatham Railway (SE&CR) put the proposed loop
conveniently under the one administration.
By November 1901 work on the loop had
commenced. A signal
cabin was built on the Church Street incline to service the loop
off the C&W line ready for ballast and track laying. About the end of February 1902 the Board of Trade
stopped all work on the loop.
The Board would not sanction opening the loop unless the
C&W line, was upgraded to cope with what they saw as increased
traffic. Although the
recommendation of a public inquiry in April to the Board of Trade
was favourable the loop project was abandoned and no further work
done on it.
The sole benefit of the Loop project was the
use of the now unwanted signal cabin at the Church Street incline
to improve circumstances for road users at the Harbour East Gate
level crossing.
Herne Bay residents never did get their
‘direct’ railway access to Canterbury.
A New
Station
Much of the new local development was around
Tankerton eastwards of the station.
Whitstable Town had itself grown eastwards along the
northern side of the railway embankment. Residents of the new suburb of Tankerton and even the old
Church Street area complained about the inconveniently located
town station.
In the Winter of 1911/12 discussions
commenced on the thought of building a new Town station. The
70 year old station was by now considered outdated, cramped and
dismal.
A new site was proposed east of the original
station at Oxford Street. The
new site was adjacent to the Church Road bridge carrying the
Canterbury & Whitstable railway.
Not only was this site suitably closer to Church Street and
Tankerton but it was still convenient to the developing Duncan,
Grimshill and Bellevue estates south of the railway.
A suggestion that this site would suit a new
Halt on the Canterbury line to interconnect between the two
railways drew additional support for the scheme. Herne Bay would still not get their direct line to Canterbury
but at least travel between the two would be improved with but a
short stairway between the Halt and station.
By 1914 construction of the new station was
under way. The
adjacent new halt – Tankerton Halt on the Canterbury line was
also under construction. In
fact Tankerton Halt opened first on July 1st 1914.
In August the ‘Great War’ was declared on the 4th
starting a great drain on manpower available to the railways
either for running them or any works in progress. Finally
the new ‘Whitstable Town’ station would open 6 months later on
New Year’s Day 1915.
War and the
Railway
The earliest recorded association local
railways had with any ‘war’ issue turned out to be quite an
embarrassment for the newly formed Whitstable Urban District
Council. The old
wooden Oxford Street bridge and railway station became the stage
upon which the December 1900 scene of their embarrassment was set.
A Grand welcome,
Parade, Presentation and Church Service had been arranged to
welcome Trooper Butcher home from the Boer War. In
their eagerness to recognise their first local hero the Council
missed the fact that Trooper Butcher had not played a part in any
military action having been in a somewhat sedentary role far
removed from the scene of any potentially heroic deeds!
If, as we read earlier, the first 12 or so
years of the 20th century were the ‘headiest’ years for local
railways, if both were at their peak in terms of public services
and patronage the Great War soon changed that. Every effort was made to ensure the maximum capacity of
Britain’s railways was available to support the war effort. ‘Specials’ were banned to ensure availability of trains
for the military and industry.
Special Sunday services ‘to the beach’ were a thing of
the past. Trains were no longer for fun and enjoyment.
Both local lines were kept very busy ferrying
war material to export ports. Their return journey could find them transporting damaged
equipment, weapons and vehicles from the ports to wherever they
would be repaired or broken down as desperately needed scrap.
Or perhaps they made either journey ferrying servicemen and
women to or from the war zones. The two local railways were an
essential part of the war effort and for the duration they were
busy with little regard to profit or loss.
But, once the war was over things were very
different to those ‘first
12 or so years of the 1900s’.
The 1920s
– The First ‘Post War’
Post war things certainly were different for
the two local railways. The aftermath of such a massive war effort saw countless
people out of work. The
loss of many locals killed in action etc deprived more than their
families. The high
demands of wartime were no longer.
Businesses suffered fourfold through loss of custom, many
workers killed or simply because ‘the boss had gone’.
Considerable shipping had been lost reducing the need for
the railways to distribute freight.
Few, therefore, could afford a day trip to
the seaside.
Another threat to the railways’ viability
emerged. The infant
motor transport of pre war years was maturing and now posed a
considerable threat. The
railway to Canterbury from Whitstable harbour suffered most in the
loss of passengers to the motor omnibus.
More suited to the short Whitstable - Canterbury route the
omnibus was not an immediate competitor on the London - North Kent
route.
The ‘Charabanc’ eventually developed and
being more suited to group outings than the railway a new form of
day excursion developed. No
doubt such outings induced more people from the industrial Thames
and Medway towns to visit the seaside but it is doubtful if they
had much impact upon the railways not so suited to the group fun
and revelry of a compact and more private charabanc. The
heyday of the railway attracting many group excursions to the
seaside were over.
Gradually through the 1920s there was some
improvement of Whitstable’s seaside residential amenities –
mainly at Tankerton although both Seasalter and Swalecliffe were
attracting more ‘camping’ visitors, especially by motor car.
In 1921 the area immediately north of and
alongside the now 6 year old Whitstable station saw the
introduction to the World of ‘Council Houses’. Very convenient for railway workers and those ’ordinary’
workers commuting ‘up the line’.
What may be considered as the last of the ‘old town’
area – between the railway embankment and the sea, the former
Gorrell River delta, was finally just about full – thanks
largely to the railways.
In 1928 Chestfield got its own main line
station when Chestfield Halt was opened. Advertising
for the Halt promoted ‘Country
houses and sites in this lovely old village’ and
of course Chestfield Golf course.
A few Chestfield premises did have some very old
associations but it was in fact a new village of Tudor style
houses – the dream of local builder George Reeves.
‘Down
from London’
With the exception of the War years the first
three decades of the 20th century saw many new people
come to reside permanently in the Whitstable area.
The ever rising late 1800s popularity of Whitstable as a
seaside or retirement resort with the people ‘up the line’,
the residents of London and Greater London, since the railway was
built had naturally created an awareness of the area.
We saw earlier how those employed in London, businessmen or
otherwise, realised they could live within easy reach of London
amid the peace and fresh air of Whitstable. The stringent
conditions of Post War Britain were felt no more severely than in
the large industrial cities further attracting people ‘down from
London’ to ‘the peace and fresh air of Whitstable.’
Conversely as the country settled down and recovered many
locals found employment ‘up the line’.
Many a young man working in London brought
his new bride back to live in Whitstable.
Of course it goes without saying that many a young local
woman attracted a young man down from London via the railway of
course.
So Whitstable’s population grew until a
depression and another War interrupted the peace.
With Old Whitstable’s well known penchant
for nicknames ‘new’ residents from ‘up the line’ were soon
tagged as ‘DFLs’ from ‘Down From London’.
Who knows when that was first applied but one can be
reassured it was with tongue in cheek, a mischievous glint in the
eye, perhaps some affection and absolutely no malice. The nickname
was most popularised in the post WW1 period, the 1920s and 1930s.
Sadly we would see, in the bitter acrimony of
the post WW2 period, that nickname applied in quite derogatory
terms.
That should not be so.
It is part of Whitstable’s history.
But then history shows us that Whitstable has long turned
in upon itself, biting its own tail for there is barely a local
family that cannot claim to have a family member Down From London.
No
doubt thanks to the North Kent Railway of course.
War Again
The railways felt the impact of World War 2
before war was declared on September 3rd 1939.
Under the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 passenger
train services were cut back severely freight having priority.
Over the next few months timetables were much slower although many
services did return to a reasonably normal state.
Black out conditions and lack of maintenance took their
toll on timetables and services in general.
Once again Whitstable would lose its annual
migration of Londoners and Thamesiders to the seaside through
another World War. However
the Government of the day had a delightful scheme to balance the
numbers – by evacuating children from the dangers of enemy
activity against London to the peaceful harmony and ‘safety’
of North Kent towns. Evacuation trains started about the time war
was declared. Fortunately many families did not accept the offer
of a holiday by the seaside below
a bomber route to London in ‘Hellfire Corner’!
Sanity prevailed, authority changed its mind
but most of those children evacuated had already voluntarily
returned home anyway.
As in the Great War both local lines were
kept very busy ferrying servicemen and women, war equipment,
weapons and vehicles to and from Kent ports.
The original station now without its platform over Oxford
Street was brought back into action. Most reports state that the old station was never again used
for passenger traffic after the new station was built. However wartime does tend to introduce extraordinary
circumstance. I
distinctly recall alighting from a London train there with my
mother at some time during the War years.
Perhaps a rare occasion due to unusual circumstance.
Certainly the old street level ticket office
under the bridge served a useful purpose as an air raid shelter. It
wasn’t very popular as railway goods yards and bridges were well
known to be a target for bombers. I
recall one shopping expedition being interrupted when we ducked in
there during an air raid.
Occasionally the ‘Main Line’ carried some
obvious indication that there was a war on.
Tanks, guns and lorries carried to coastal ports and
occasionally a damaged aeroplane could be seen on its way up the
line. What we
Whitstable residents didn’t know was that those tanks guns and
lorries heading, as we thought, to coastal ports were part of a
decoy invasion build-up. A decoy to distract enemy reconnaissance, and no doubt
intelligence services, away from the genuine build up on the South
coast.
From time to time an armoured train would
arrive from ‘up the line’ stopping in the vicinity of
Sherrin’s Alley. Almost
the whole of Whitstable could hear the gun crews enjoying a
practice session firing at temporary targets out to sea.
Fortunately neither line suffered any serious
local devastation from enemy action.
The 1940s
– The Second ‘Post War’
Post war the situation was again different to
pre-war for the two local railways.
The aftermath of such a massive war effort was different
this time. Certainly
with the drop in armaments manufacture countless people were out
of work. Again there
would be many servicemen returning to find their old workplace
didn’t exist anymore. But
this time there would be a far greater need to rebuild countless
homes, schools & factories etc due to the massive enemy
bombing which had taken place. No
doubt this assisted the railways in many areas but it would take
some time before the leisure side was restored as once again few
could afford the costs or time for a day trip or holiday to the
seaside.
Rationing of foods, general goods and
building supplies also restricted people’s freedom to buy as
they chose further limiting freight business for the railways.
But fuel rationing provided some compensation for that.
Transporting of goods by road was restricted, the
recreational use of the motor car became almost impractical.
The build up of pre-war motor coach services, restricted by
the depression years would eventually gain momentum. Meanwhile,
those that could afford a trip or holiday to the seaside would do
so by train.
Those various factors and the Nationalisation
of the railways in 1948 would eventually see many small lines
closed down. How this
affected the ‘London Thanet’, the ‘North Kent line’, is
unclear. Closure of
small branch lines meant that people and business would have to
find an alternative means of travel and freight carting. The
easing of petrol rationing and steel manufacture paved the way for
an answer to that problem. People
could use their cars more and more lorries could be built to carry
the freight.
For many people a trip or holiday to the
seaside need not be by train. Earlier in the
1890s the re-development of Tankerton showed The
Commuter Age was coming for all
thanks to the availability of the London Thanet railway.
For a few it did come.
But for many it wouldn’t happen until they were working
‘up the line’ in the wartime armaments factories from
Faversham into London. WW2
especially set the pattern which would eventually see many very
crowded, so called commuter trains, ply the London-Thanet. But that is beyond THE
FIRST 85 YEARS.
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