
The South Eastern Railway (SER) was a railway company in south-eastern
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
. Branch lines were later opened to
Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...
,
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
,
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
and other places in Kent. The absorbed or leased other railways, some older than itself, including the
London and Greenwich Railway and the
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. Most of the company's routes were in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, eastern
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
and the London suburbs, with a long cross-country route from in Surrey to
Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...
.
Much of the company's early history saw attempts at expansion and feuding with its neighbours; the
London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in the west and the
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England. It was created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through Lond ...
(LCDR) to the north-east. However, in 1899 the agreed with the to share operation of the two railways, work them as a single system (marketed as the
South Eastern and Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC),Awdry (1990), page 199 known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR), was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eas ...
) and pool receipts: but it was not a full amalgamation. The and remained separate companies until becoming constituents of the
Southern Railway on 1 January 1923.
Origins of the company
There had been proposals for a railway between London and Dover in 1825, 1832 and 1835, but they came to nothing due to opposition from landowners or the difficulties of bridging the
River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...
near its mouth. On 21 June 1836, the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
passed a
local act the (
6 & 7 Will. 4. c. lxxv) incorporating the ''South Eastern and Dover Railway'', which shortly afterwards changed to the South Eastern Railway.
Choice of route from London to Dover
At the time of inauguration there were two potential rail pathways south from London, and the
Speaker of the House of Commons had said no further pathways would be permitted. The therefore considered routes to Dover from the proposed
London and Southampton Railway line at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
, or from the existing
London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) at Greenwich. The former left London in the wrong direction and then on a roundabout route. The latter provided a useful way for a northern route via
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...
,
Rochester, and
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, except that lengthening the line beyond Greenwich was blocked by opposition from the
Admiralty, and this route would involve tunnelling through the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...
.
The engineer of the new line,
William Cubitt, was also engineer of the
London and Croydon Railway (L&CR), which planned to use lines as far as Corbett's Lane in
Bermondsey
Bermondsey ( ) is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, ...
before turning south towards
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
. A new connection on this line near to
Norwood could provide access to a southerly route to Dover via
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
,
Ashford and
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
. This was less direct than the northerly route but passed through easier country. It involved one significant tunnel through the
Shakespeare Cliff near Dover. This was the route first chosen by the at its inauguration.
During parliamentary discussions on the proposed route of the
London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) during 1837, pressure was put on the to divert its proposed route so it could also share the mainline between
Jolly Sailor (Norwood) and
Earlswood Common, and then travel eastwards to
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
. Under the scheme proposed by Parliament, the railway from Croydon to
Redhill would be built by the but the would have the right to refund half the construction costs and own that part of the line between
Merstham
Merstham is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It lies 17 miles south of Charing Cross just beyond the Greater London border. Part of the North Downs Way runs along the northern boundary of the town. Merstham has ...
and Redhill. The gave way to this proposal as it reduced the construction costs, although it resulted in a route longer than by road, running south for and then turning east. It also meant that its trains from
London Bridge
The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
passed over the lines of three other companies: the to Corbett's Lane Junction, the as far as 'Jolly Sailor', and the to Merstham.
Construction of the main line
Construction began in 1838 at several places simultaneously, and the Shakespeare Tunnel was complete by May 1841 . The line to Redhill opened on 12 July 1841 and the line from
Redhill to Tonbridge on 26 May 1842,
[Bradley (1963), p.2.] when train services began. The main line reached
Ashford on 1 December 1842; the outskirts of
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
by 28 June 1843; and
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
by 7 February 1844. On the same day the SER offered to lease the for 21 years at £100,000 per year, but the offer was turned down. Later that year, the refunded to the £430,000 and took ownership of the southern half of the
Croydon-Redhill line. Trains ran toll-free to both companies on this stretch but still had pay on the from
Norwood Junction railway station
Norwood Junction is an interchange station between the Windrush line of the London Overground and National Rail services operated by Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway), Southern and Thameslink and Great Northern, Thameslink, located in South No ...
to Corbett's Lane Junction, and the into London Bridge.
Folkestone and Dover harbours
In 1843, when the railway reached the edge of Folkestone, the company bought the silted and nearly derelict harbour, built by
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...
in 1809, for £18,000.
[White (1961), p.55] The dredged the harbour and, after a trial with the paddle steamer ''
Water Witch'', which also demonstrated that a
day excursion from London to
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
was feasible, arranged for a
packet company to provide a ferry to Boulogne. The following year it established the independent ''South Eastern & Continental Steam Packet Company'', which it absorbed in 1853.
James Broadbridge Monger was the master of the ''Water Witch'' from 1839 to 1844. From 1844 on, he was master of three vessels which steamed from Dover and Folkestone to Boulogne, Calais and Ostend with passengers and cargo: ''Lord Warden'', ''Princess Helena'' and ''Princess Maude''. In December 1848 it opened a steeply graded branch from the
Folkestone station to the
harbour
A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...
.
The opened
Dover (later Dover Town) station on 7 February 1844. This was originally a terminus, but in 1860 the line was continued to Admiralty Pier. Thereafter the concentrated most of its resources into developing Folkestone Harbour, which became its principal base for cross-channel ferries. The company had complete control of Folkestone whereas at Dover it had to negotiate with both the
Admiralty and the local town council, and the rail route from Boulogne to Paris was better developed than that from Calais.
In 1848 the served two steam ships a day between Folkestone and Boulogne, one a day between Dover and Calais, and one between Dover and Ostend.
[Topham's railway time-table and guide (1848), p.7.]
Bricklayers Arms terminus
During 1843, before the main line was complete, the and the became anxious about the charges imposed by the for the use of the terminus at London Bridge and its approaches. Parliament had relaxed restrictions on new railways into London and so sought authority to construct a branch from Corbett's Lane to a new temporary passenger terminus and goods station at
Bricklayers Arms railway station, for use by both railways, removing the need to use the Greenwich Railway. This opened 1 May 1844.
According to
Charles Vignoles, 'the making of Bricklayers Arms station was a matter of compulsion in driving the Greenwich people to reasonable terms'. Plans to extend from Bricklayers Arms to a new terminus at
Hungerford Bridge, nearer the centre of London, were rejected by Parliament. Similarly, a revised proposal to extend the line to
Waterloo Road in 1846 was rejected by a committee of
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.
The was nearly bankrupt in 1844 and the leased its line from 1 January 1845. It became the
Greenwich branch of that railway. Thereafter further developments were at London Bridge, and following a shunting accident during August 1850 which caused the collapse of a large part of the station roof, the closed Bricklayers Arms terminus to passenger traffic in 1852 converting it into a goods facility.
Secondary main lines and branch lines
Over the next two decades the system spread throughout Kent and Surrey, building lines to connect towns to its main line or acquiring those already in existence.
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
In 1844 the took over the bankrupt
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, which had opened in 1830. This continued to be worked as an isolated line until the reached Canterbury from Ashford in 1846, with its line to
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern 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' ...
.
Medway Valley Line
The first branch built by the was the
Medway Valley Line on 24 September 1844, from
Paddock Wood to
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
. This was continued to
Strood railway station on 18 June 1856.
Greenwich Line
Leasing the London and Greenwich Railway from 1 January 1845 gave the company control of its main line into London and provided a branch
line to
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
. Further eastward extension was initially not possible due to opposition from the
Greenwich Hospital, but it was eventually opened in 1878 when the line joined the
North Kent Line
The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main ...
at
Charlton.
Tunbridge Wells and Hastings Line
A secondary
main line from
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
to the outskirts of
Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...
opened 20 September 1845. It was extended to
Tunbridge Wells Central on 25 November 1846.
[Bradley (1963) p.2] By 1 September 1851
the line had reached
Robertsbridge and was extended to
Battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
,
Bopeep Junction and on 1 February 1852. By this time Hastings had already been reached by the in a
roundabout route from
Ashford, which opened 13 February 1851.
[Bradley (1963) pp.2–3.] From this line was a short branch to
Rye Harbour.
Ramsgate, Margate and Deal Lines
During 1846 the opened another secondary
main line from
Ashford to
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern 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' ...
with a branch from there to
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
on 1 December 1846.
A further branch from this
line from
Minster to
Deal was opened 7 July 1847.
Gravesend and Strood Lines (North Kent)
As the was prevented from extending its Greenwich line, it opened a secondary
main line from
Lewisham
Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...
to
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...
and then to
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. Strood forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham and Rainham, Kent, Rainham. It ...
on the banks of the
Medway
Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...
on 30 July 1849.
The second half between Gravesend and Strood had been built as the
Gravesend and Rochester Canal and a single track railway had been added to form the Gravesend and Rochester Railway. The offered to buy the canal and railway in 1845, filled in the canal through the Higham to Strood tunnel and doubled the track.
[Bradley (1963), p.37.] The first section (built by the ) connected
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...
and
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
to the railway network.
In 1852 a freight branch was constructed from this line at Charlton to the Thames at
Angerstein's Wharf, used for landing coal. A line opened on 18 June 1856 up the Medway valley to
Maidstone West.
Early management of the company 1843–1855
In September 1845 the appointed
James Macgregor (sometimes spelled McGregor or M'Gregor) to a new post combining the roles of Chairman and Managing Director. He exercised absolute power over the company for the next nine years, until he was ultimately forced to resign in 1854 and leave the Board in 1855. Macgregor's lack of accountability, his opaque and at times dubious working methods led to a number of strategic errors in the building of new lines and in the company's relations with its neighbours, which would have an adverse impact on the company for decades to come.
Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway
The supported the formation of the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway under the (
9 & 10 Vict. c. clxxi), a scheme to build a line connecting the London to Brighton main line at Redhill with the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
(GWR) main line at
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, and agreed to operate its services. The
new line
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995
* "New" (Daya song), 2017
* "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
was completed 4 July 1849, and in 1852 was absorbed by under the (
15 & 16 Vict. c. ciii). Both the and
London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) regarded this line as a significant incursion into their areas of operation. Likewise the acquisition of a line so remote from its main area of operation, and of doubtful profitability, caused heated discussion and the resignation of several directors, who felt that the company should rather secure its territory and develop services in Kent, as the was doing in Sussex. It would also ultimately bring about Macgregor's downfall. Nevertheless, in 1858 the , , and made a three-year agreement to share traffic and provide a connecting line between their stations at Reading. the line forms part of the
North Downs Line
The North Downs Line is a railway line in South East England. It runs for from in Berkshire to in Surrey. It is named after the North Downs, a range of Chalk Group, chalk hills that runs parallel to the eastern part of the route. The name wa ...
.
Early relations with the London Brighton and South Coast Railway
During the first years, relations between the , and were cordial, with the companies pooling locomotives and forming a joint locomotive committee. However, all three considered they were disadvantaged by this arrangement and in 1845 gave notice of withdrawal. The merger of the and to form the in July 1846 created a powerful rival to the in areas of east Sussex and east Surrey not yet connected to the railway. Relations between the two companies were bad from the outset, especially at those sites where they shared facilities, such as the approaches to London Bridge,
East Croydon, and
Redhill. Also the had long wanted to build a line to
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, and the had inherited plans for a line into mid-Kent from the , and from
Bulverhythe (St Leonards) to
Ashford via
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
from the . Matters were further complicated in 1846 when the was empowered to build a line from its existing branch at
Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...
to Hastings.
Unsuccessful discussions took place regarding a merger of the two companies, but eventually an agreement on 10 July 1848 (ratified in Parliament in 1849) abolished tolls for using each other's lines and prevented further eastward expansion by the beyond Hastings and westward further expansion by the . Under this agreement the , would share the line from Bulverhythe to Hastings and transfer to the its rights to build a line to Ashford but at the same time it retained the right to use the Bricklayers Arms branch and construct its own goods depot on the site for a rent of one shilling (£0.05) per year.
The 1848/9 agreement did not prevent further squabbling between the two companies, notably with the opening of the railway from Ashford to Hastings in 1851. The had originally sought to build it and then had attempted to delay its completion by the . In retaliation, the attempted to deny access to its station at Hastings. The matter was resolved in court in favour of the , but victory was short-lived as the following year the opened its lines from Tunbridge Wells, reducing the distance by rail to Hastings from London.
Closing the capital account
Macgregor's greatest strategic mistake was his failure to address the concerns of the proposers of the
East Kent Railway, which ultimately led to the creation of an important rival in northern Kent and also for the Continental rail traffic.
Between 1844 and 1858, the had a monopoly of rail transport in Kent, but served the north of the county poorly. The
line from
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. Strood forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham and Rainham, Kent, Rainham. It ...
into London had opened in 1849. A plan to continue this line as far as
Chilham where it would join the
Ashford to Canterbury Line, was rejected by Parliament in 1847 due to financial considerations and never resurrected. One group of directors were anxious to 'close the capital account' and build no more lines, even though this might leave the field open to rival projects, as would later prove to be the case. As a result, there was no planned service to the north Kent towns to the east of the
River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...
. Likewise routes to
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
,
Deal, and
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
were circuitous and other towns had no railway at all. As a result of the railway's unwillingness to act, plans for an independent line from the station at
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. Strood forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham and Rainham, Kent, Rainham. It ...
to
Faversham
Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...
and
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
were made following a public meeting at
Rochester in 1850.
Factionalism and bad management 1854–1866
Following Macgregor's resignation in 1854, there followed a decade of factionalism among the directors and equally poor management, described by
Samuel Smiles the company Secretary as 'not so much business as speech-making, that seemed to be the work of the Board.' It was during this period that there was a continuing failure to deal with underlying problems in the company, and its relationships with its neighbours together with further strategic errors which weakened what might otherwise have been a profitable enterprise. One nickname for the in the 1860s was the Rattle and Smash Railway.
East Kent and London Chatham & Dover Railways
The
East Kent Railway (EKR) from Strood to Canterbury, proposed in 1850 achieved parliamentary approval in 1853, and also for an extension to
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
in 1855, but it failed to secure
running powers over the line into London: instead the reluctantly agreed to handle London traffic from the line. Many directors were convinced the line would never be built, or would go bankrupt, and so took no interest in the scheme or in suggestions that the line should amalgamate with their railway. They were proved wrong.
In 1856 the EKR again unsuccessfully sought running powers over the into London, and then obtained powers to build its own route via
St Mary Cray railway station and
Bromley South railway station. The EKR secured running powers over the lines into Pimlico and, after 1860, to
Victoria Station. The EKR became the
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England. It was created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through Lond ...
(LCDR) in 1859 and completed its rival route to Dover on 22 July 1861. By July 1863 the had its own independent route to Victoria, and in 1864 its own terminus on the edge of the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
at
Ludgate Hill
Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London, England. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760.
Th ...
. For 36 years it would be an important competitor of the both for Continental and also local traffic in Kent.
A further serious strategic mistake was the refusal of the to accept the terms of the contract for the cross-channel carriage of mails in 1862, as this stipulated the use of Dover rather than Folkestone. This enabled the , which had only reached Dover in 1861, to secure the contract and the following year would give it leverage when it came to negotiating the Continental Traffic Agreement.
Continued bad relations with the London Brighton and South Coast Railway
A new and protracted dispute with the took place between 1855 and 1862 over the
Caterham branch line, which was built by an independent company in territory but connected to the railway network at the former station at
Purley. The refused to allow the line to be leased to the , which in turn refused to re-open its station, delayed opening of the line for a year, and made the Caterham company bankrupt. The took over the line in 1859, but the made life difficult for passengers to London.
The objected to the agreement with the East Kent Railway to provide access over its lines to its
Pimlico
Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...
station and later the jointly owned
Victoria station (see below), and also for handling that company's freight traffic at 'Willow Walk', (a part of the
Bricklayers Arms goods facility). Further difficulties between occurred at
East Croydon railway station in 1862. With completion of the line to
Victoria station, extra platforms were needed to accommodate the service. The platforms were treated by the as a separate station, named "New Croydon", with its own ticket office, and ran exclusively services. This enabled the railway to offer cheaper fares from New Croydon to London than the which only had use of East Croydon station. The responded by gaining parliamentary approval to build its own
line from
New Beckenham to a new station at Croydon (
Addiscombe Road), which opened 1 April 1864.
Relations with the reached a low point in 1863, when the general manager and secretary had to report the history of relations between the companies since the agreement of 1848–9. This set out the history although from the perspective.
A branch from Lewisham to
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...
opened in 1857, becoming the temporary terminus of the
East Kent Railway. Following the dispute with the over New Croydon (see below) an extension of this
line to
Addiscombe (Croydon) was opened in 1864.
Continental Traffic Agreement (1863)
The and the agreed to pool Continental traffic receipts between
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
and
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
, together with local receipts to Dover and Folkestone. It then re-allocated them to a formula which gave the two-thirds of the receipts in 1863, gradually reducing to one half in 1872. The agreement appeared to unduly favour the , particularly after 1870. It did not prevent competition as the railways could claim additional funds from the pool if they carried more than their proportion of customers. Both companies sought to get round the agreement – the by establishing a Continental service from
Queenborough on the
Isle of Sheppey
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the districts of England, local government district of Borough ...
, which was outside the scope of the agreement. Similarly, the built a local station at
Shorncliffe on the edge of Folkestone, which it claimed was not part of Folkestone, and from which it charged lower fares.
Following establishment of a service from Queenborough to
Flushing, Netherlands
Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...
in 1876, the was allowed to build the
Hundred of Hoo Railway from its line near Gravesend to a new port on the across the Medway from Queenborough, called
Port Victoria. The line opened in September 1882.
Improvements to the main line
In 1860 the had a more direct route to Dover than the , and both the company's rivals had access to a London terminus in the prosperous
West End of London
The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...
while the only had its terminal on the south side of the river
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
at
London Bridge
The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
.
Charing Cross and Cannon Street Stations
The converted part of London Bridge to through platforms and extended to
near Waterloo, over
Hungerford Bridge to a station at
Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
which opened on 11 January 1864. When the built a line to
Ludgate Hill railway station in the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
in 1865, the built a new
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
over the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
and a city terminus at
Cannon Street railway station, which opened 1 September 1866.
[Bradley (1963), p.3.] These extensions were difficult to operate and were congested at peak times.
On 16 August 1866 the agreed with the
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world.
Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
to build a joint line between
Euston railway station
Euston railway station ( ; or London Euston) is a major London station group, central London railway terminus and Euston tube station, connected London Underground station managed by Network Rail in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sout ...
and Charing Cross, with interchange of traffic, but the scheme was abandoned as a result of the 1867 financial crisis.
Orpington cut-off and Dartford Loop
The therefore constructed the direct line via
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...
to
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
. It involved crossing the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...
by summits and long tunnels at
Knockholt
Knockholt is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent. It is located north west of Sevenoaks & south of Orpington, and is adjacent to the Kent border with Greater London.
The village is mostly a ribbon development, surrou ...
and Sevenoaks. The latter was the longest tunnel in southern England at . This cut-off line, long, reached
Chislehurst
Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater ...
on 1 July 1865, but took three more years to reach
Orpington
Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross.
On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...
and Sevenoaks (2 March 1868). The new main line opened on 1 May 1868 when the line reached Tonbridge.
Construction of the main line provided the opportunity to build an improved
route to
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
from
Hither Green
Hither Green is a district in south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham. It forms the southern part of Lewisham, 6.6 miles (10.6 km) south-east of Charing Cross, and on the Prime Meridian.
Growing extensively with ...
via
Sidcup
Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...
. This opened 1 September 1866.
East London Railway
In 1865 the joined a consortium of six railways to form the
East London Railway, which used the existing
Thames Tunnel to connect
Wapping
Wapping () is an area in the borough of Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is in East London and part of the East End. Wapping is on the north bank of the River Thames between Tower Bridge to the west, and Shadwell to the east. This posit ...
on the north bank of the Thames with
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...
on the south. The other partners were: the
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...
(GER), the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton)) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at ...
(LBSCR), the
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England. It was created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through Lond ...
(LCDR), the
Metropolitan Railway
The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
, and the
District Railway
The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London, England, from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the ...
. Over the next four years it was converted to railway use and connected with existing lines.
The line was principally used for freight across London but the introduced a service between and Liverpool Street from April 1880 until March 1884. From March to September 1884 the service ran from Addiscombe to
St Mary's Whitechapel Road.
Chairmanship of Edward Watkin
This period of factionalism was eventually ended with the appointment of a new and able Chairman in March 1866. This was
Edward (later Sir Edward) Watkin who was also chairman of the
Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grims ...
and the
Metropolitan Railway
The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
, as well as being a director of the
in France. However his appointment was quickly followed by the collapse of bankers
Overend, Gurney and Company
Overend, Gurney and Company was a London wholesale banking, wholesale discount bank, known as "the bankers' bank", which collapsed in 1866 owing about £11 million, equivalent to £ million in . The collapse of the institution triggered a bankin ...
on 10 May 1866 and the subsequent financial crisis during the following year. This had a severe effect on expansion plans of several railways. No new lines were built by the until the opening of the
Sandling to
Hythe branch line on 9 October 1874. The went bankrupt and was taken into administration 12 July 1866, and in 1867 the was also on the brink of bankruptcy. The directors and shareholders saw that constant quarrelling between the three companies had damaged their interests and began talks to merge or to work together. In 1868 a
bill was presented to Parliament to allow for co-operative working of railways of southern England (the , the , the and the ). However this failed at a late stage when Parliament sought to limit the fares charged by the to those of the , and the withdrew. A further attempt to merge the and in 1875 failed when the latter withdrew after shareholders felt it favoured the .
Watkin had long-term ambitions for the to become one link in a chain of 'Watkin' railways from the industrial north of England to the Continent via a proposed
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...
. His plans for a Channel Tunnel were ultimately blocked by the
War Office
The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
, and suspicion fell on
James Staats Forbes
James Staats Forbes (7 March 1823 – 5 April 1904) was a Scottish railway engineer, railway administrator and art collector. He was father of the zoologist William Alexander Forbes, and the uncle of the painter Stanhope Alexander Forbes and th ...
, chairman of the for having urged the decision.
[Heap and van Riemdijk (1980), p.72.]
Oxted & Westerham Lines
One result of improved relations between the and the during the 1870s was that the two collaborated in construction of a
line between
South Croydon on the main Brighton line and
Oxted
Oxted is a town and civil parish in the Tandridge District, Tandridge district of Surrey, England. It is at the foot of the North Downs, south-east of Croydon, west of Sevenoaks, and north of East Grinstead.
Oxted is a commuter town and Ox ...
. The completion of the ''Orpington cut-off'' in 1866 reduced services to and from the growing town of
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
. The had supported a plan to build the
Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway along this route in 1865, but its involvement had been opposed by the as being contrary to their agreement, and the scheme was abandoned during the 1867 financial crisis. However, following a revised agreement, the scheme was revived as a joint venture. Beyond Oxted the linked with its lines to
East Grinstead
East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...
and
Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...
, while the joined its original main line to
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...
Tunbridge Wells and
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
. Authority for construction of these lines was granted in 1878 and they opened in 1884.
As a part of the same scheme, the at last began to implement plans for the
a line from
Dunton Green on its new main line to Oxted via
Westerham
Westerham is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles east of Oxted and 6 miles west of Sevenoaks, adjacent to the Kent border with both Greater London and Surrey.
I ...
, the first phase of which opened on 7 July 1881. Authorisation for line was first obtained in 1864, but no progress had been made by 1876, when local inhabitants sponsored their own
bill, forcing the hand of the . In the event only the first phase (from Dunton Green to Westerham) was built, leaving a
branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
rather than a through route. The remaining four miles (6 km) to the new
Oxted Line (then still under construction) were never completed due to opposition in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
and the difficult terrain between Westerham and Oxted.
Unpopularity of the SER
During the 1880s and 1890s the was accused of only caring about Continental travellers and of neglecting the interests of its other customers. A series of letters to ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' in London in 1883 demonstrated how unpopular the railway had become with its regular commuters. Ernest Foxwell, also writing in 1883, stated 'The great blots on the South Eastern are its unpunctuality, its fares, its third class carriages, and the way in which ''local'' interests are sacrificed to Continental traffic.' Hamilton Ellis later described both the and the at this time as 'bywords of poverty stricken inefficiency and dirtiness'. In spite of these criticisms the shareholders stuck with their chairman, until they eventually realised that their own interests were suffering as well. A scathing article in ''The Investors Review'' for June 1894 demonstrated how poorly Watkin's railways had performed financially compared to others, and referred to the 's 'bitter hatred towards all but first-class travellers,
ndtheir determined cultivation of the art of running empty coaches'. The article finished,
Watkin retired shortly afterwards.
Some of the complaints of unpunctuality of the may have been exaggerated, or were at least soon remedied after Watkin's departure, since a statistical survey of the company's services conducted in 1895 by William Acworth found that, with the exception of the heavily congested and difficult to operate lines between London Bridge and Cannon Street and Charing Cross, the company did not perform significantly worse than others in London in terms of timekeeping.
Later branches and proposed lines
During the 1870s and the 1880s the railway attempted to exploit the potential of the East Kent coast as both holiday destinations and potential new channel ports. Thus branches were built from
Sandling near Folkestone to
Hythe and Sandgate, (opened 9 October 1874); from Dover to
Deal and
Sandwich
A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
(
jointly with the LCDR, which opened 15 June 1881); from
Appledore to
Dungeness
Dungeness (, ) is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the ham ...
(1 April 1883) and
New Romney
New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, w ...
(19 June 1884). (In 1897 the obtained powers in the (
60 & 61 Vict. c. ccxxvii) to build a branch line from
Crowhurst railway station to its own station at
Bexhill-on-sea
Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Rother District in the county of East Sussex in South East England. It is located along the Sussex Coast and between the towns of Hastings, England, Hastings ...
in opposition to the existing service to the town.) However this line was not completed until 1902.
On 4 July 1887 the railway opened the
Elham Valley Line from
Canterbury West to
Shorncliffe. However, there was by then already an line from Canterbury to Dover and so the new line did not attract much traffic. Likewise on 1 October 1892 the
Hawkhurst Branch from
Paddock Wood to
Hope Mill was opened and extended to
Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding N ...
on 4 September 1893.
Similarly the company also obtained Parliamentary Powers to build a line from
Appledore to
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...
via
Headcorn and the
Loose Valley.
Chatham extension
Probably the most wasteful competitive venture by the was a second bridge over the river Medway between
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. Strood forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham and Rainham, Kent, Rainham. It ...
leading to a branch to
Rochester (opened July 1891) and to
Chatham. The branch line only had a twenty-year life-span as the stations were less conveniently sited than the alternatives. The main line was however re-aligned after 1911 to use the newer bridge.
London suburbs
Unlike the neighbouring , the failed to capitalise on the rapidly growing population of the South London suburbs during the 1870s and 1880s, and to develop effective suburban services. In particular, the area between the
North Kent Line
The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main ...
the
Dartford Loop Line became well populated at this time, but the was reluctant to build a proposed
Bexleyheath Line, including stations at
Blackheath,
Eltham
Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...
,
Bexleyheath and
Slade Green, in spite of public pressure in the 1880s. This line was eventually built as a private concern in 1895, and it was only after the original investors had gone bankrupt and Watkin had retired that the eventually agreed to incorporate it into its system.
As mentioned above, the line from London Bridge to Charing Cross and Cannon Street was particularly congested and difficult to operate. During the early 1890s the was actively considering extending the Bricklayers Arms branch into Charing Cross and Cannon Street as a means of relieving this congestion, but deferred making any decision to do so and ultimately the idea was dropped following the operating agreement with the in 1899, which provided the new 'joint railway' with two further pathways into London.
One of the last branch lines to be incorporated into the was between
Purley and
Tattenham Corner railway station. The line as far as Chipstead and Kingswood were built by the
Chipstead Valley Railway from 1893 and opened in 1897. The extension to Tattenham Corner was built by the
Epsom Downs Extension Railway from 1894. Both companies were acquired by the , but the line to Tattenham Corner was not completed until 1901, after the working agreement with the . This line was in the territory of the but provided the railway with access to a proportion of the lucrative
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs.
The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 including ...
traffic.
South Eastern and Chatham Railways Joint Management Committee

During the early 1890s competition between the and the reached ruinous proportions with both companies offering nearly identical services to and from the same towns, which inevitably lost money for both companies.
However, following the resignation of Watkin in 1894, relations between the two companies gradually improved under his successors Sir George Russell (1895) and, most notably, under
Cosmo Bonsor (1897). Bonsor managed to persuade the two boards of governors to see sense and from 1 January 1899 the ''South Eastern and Chatham Railways Joint Management Committee'' was formed to oversee joint working, with Bonsor as its chairman. On 5 August 1899 the
South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover Railways Act 1899 (
62 & 63 Vict. c. clxviii) was passed, which resulted in the formation of the
South Eastern and Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC),Awdry (1990), page 199 known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR), was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eas ...
(SE&CR). This was not a true merger since each company kept its individual board of directors within the organisation.
The quality of service of the and the level of public estimation of its two constituent railways increased considerably during the next thirty-five years. The was however abolished on 1 January 1923 under the terms of the
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grou ...
.
Train services
Throughout its independent existence, the was primarily a passenger rather than a freight railway, with passenger receipts accounting for more than 72% of its revenues.
Freight services
Prior to 1862 the company carried international postal traffic. However, in 1862 they refused to renew the contract as it stipulated the Dover-Calais rather than the 's preferred Folkestone-Boulogne route. As a result, the contract went to the .
It was not until after the formation of the management committee in 1899 that the company began to take the development of its freight traffic seriously, with the ordering of a powerful new freight
SECR C class. Prior to that most freight on the system had either been products imported through the Channel ports, or else locally developed freight, such as farm produce travelling to London. The principal freight depot on the system was at Bricklayers Arms.
The
cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...
industry based around
Swanscombe and the
Medway Towns
Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...
provided some minerals traffic, but again it was only after the foundation of
Blue Circle Industries in 1900 that this was developed. Similarly, the
Kent coalfield was not discovered until 1890 and only developed in the early twentieth century.
Passenger services
As mentioned above, the was accused during the 1880s of concentrating on its
Boat train
A boat train is a passenger train operating to a port for the specific purpose of making connection with a passenger ship, such as a ferry, ocean liner, or cruise ship. Through ticketing is normally available. __NOTOC__
Notable named boat train ...
s and Continental passenger traffic at the expense of its local services in Kent and the London suburbs.
London suburban services
One area where the did fail compared with the and the was in developing effective services to the rapidly growing suburbs of south east London. This was probably due to an unwillingness to generate even more traffic through the very restricted entry pathway into London between
Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
and London Bridge. The did however have the advantage of taking commuters far closer to the centres of business and commerce at Charing Cross and Cannon Street, whereas the and LS&WR deposited them south of the river Thames at London Bridge and
Waterloo respectively.
Holiday traffic
The served an area with a long coastline within easy travelling distance of London. During the 1860s the railway was an important factor in the development of holiday destinations such as
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
and
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern 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' ...
in Kent and
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origin ...
and
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
in East Sussex.
Continental excursions
In May 1844 the organised the first of seven rail and ferry excursions that year from London to Boulogne which together carried more than 2,000 people.
Hop picking
By the 1870s, the South Eastern Railway was running
Hop Pickers' Specials to transport large numbers of working-class Londoners to towns and villages in Kent and East Sussex for the season.
Communications, signalling and accidents
Electric telegraph
Electric telegraph
Electrical telegraphy is Point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point distance communicating via sending electric signals over wire, a system primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecom ...
was installed throughout the by 1848.
These were sold to the
General Post Office
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
for £200,000 in 1870 ().
Signals and signal boxes
Accidents
The did not have a good safety record with a large number of both major and minor accidents throughout its independent existence.
One of the most notable accidents occurred on 9 June 1865, when the
boat train
A boat train is a passenger train operating to a port for the specific purpose of making connection with a passenger ship, such as a ferry, ocean liner, or cruise ship. Through ticketing is normally available. __NOTOC__
Notable named boat train ...
from
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
ran onto a partly dismantled bridge near
Staplehurst
Staplehurst is a town and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England, south of the town of Maidstone and with a population of 5,947. The town lies on the route of a Roman road, which is now incorporated into the course of the A2 ...
. The locomotive and tender ran across the timber baulks to reach the far side, but the carriages were derailed and fell into the
River Beult. The
Staplehurst rail crash killed ten passengers and
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
narrowly avoided severe injury, or even death. He was travelling with
Nelly Ternan and her mother at the front of the train in a first-class carriage, which escaped complete derailment when the locomotive and tender left the track as a result of repairs to the line. Timber baulks under the track were being replaced but the foreman mis-read the timetable, and two lengths of rail were missing on the viaduct. As the lead vehicles left the line, the impact on the remaining beams caused the cast iron girders below to fracture, and most of the following vehicles left the viaduct and ended up in the River Beult some below. The foreman was indicted and convicted of
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
, and served six months hard labour for his crime.
[Sekon (1895), p.19.]
Other significant accidents involving multiple fatalities were as follows:
* 11 December 1844 the boiler explosion of locomotive No. 78 ''Forrester'' caused a bridge collapse near Bricklayers Arms,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
and killed two staff.
* 21 August 1854 a collision at
East Croydon railway station killed three passengers. This accident also involved the signalman and was later judged to be partly the result of signalling error and poor communication, as well as the driver.
* 12 September 1855 – a collision between two trains near
Reading station killed five.
* 28 June 1857 – the
Lewisham rail crash killed 11 people. An express train ran into the rear of a stationary train due to driver error.
* 30 June 1858 – a derailment near
Chilham railway station due to a mechanical failure killed three persons.
* 16 December 1864 – a collision near
Blackheath. A ballast train had divided in a tunnel, and an express passenger train was allowed to enter due to an error by a signalman. Five platelayers were killed.
* January 1877 – a
landslip
Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslide ...
at the eastern end of Martello Tunnel brought down some of chalk, killing three men. The line was closed for two months.
* 7 June 1884 – A double-headed freight train ran into the rear of another freight train at Tub's Hill station, . Both crew of the first train were killed. the signalman was charged with causing their deaths. The trains were being worked under the time interval system.
* 9 October 1894 – a collision near
Chartham
Chartham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury, Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated on the Ashford side of the city, and is in the North Downs, North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south west of Ca ...
due to an error by a crossing keeper killed seven.
* 21 March 1898 – Collision at
St Johns railway station due to incorrect use of signalling equipment, three persons were killed.
Rolling stock
Between March 1842, shortly before the began to run its services, and March 1844, the
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...
of the railway was pooled with that of its neighbour and operated by the 'London & Croydon and South Eastern Railways Joint Committee'. The locomotives were then under the supervision of
Benjamin Cubitt at
New Cross Depot. In the latter month the pool was also joined by the . However all three railways felt themselves disadvantaged by the arrangement and in October 1844 the gave notice six months notice of withdrawal, which was later extended until 31 January 1846. The existing locomotives and carriages, and those on order, were divided between the three companies.
Steam locomotives
The owned fifteen locomotives and had a further eleven on order at the formation of the 'London & Croydon and South Eastern Railways Joint Committee' in 1842. Ten locomotives were built by this committee, and a further 45 were either built or ordered by the enlarged
Brighton, Croydon and Dover Joint Committee. The received 67 of these existing locomotives at the dissolution of the latter committee in 1846. Having decided to withdraw from the locomotive pool, the appointed
James Cudworth as Locomotive Superintendent on 22 May 1845. Four locomotives were acquired from the 'Gravesend and Rochester Railway in 1847,
seven from the in 1848, but the
only original locomotive to work the
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway was not added to stock. Between 1846 and 1898 the built or purchased 775 locomotives. Of these, 459 were running on 31 December 1898 when they were handed over to the .
Under Cudworth the railway was the largest British user of the experimental and ultimately unsuccessful
Crampton locomotive type with twenty examples built between 1847 and 1851. He also patented a double-
firebox which enabled locomotives to burn cheaper coal without smoke, but were considerably more expensive to build and maintain. Cudworth also provided several sound locomotive types for the railway, but resigned in 1876 after Sir Edward Watkin ordered 20 express locomotives against Cudworth's wishes, which subsequently proved to have been unsuccessful.
After a brief interregnum
James Stirling was appointed Chief Mechanical Engineer on 28 March 1878. He modernised the locomotive stock and was responsible for the building or acquisition of 401 locomotives. Stirling designed some good quality locomotive classes, notably his
R 0-6-0, and
Q 0-4-4 tank classes, and his
O 0-6-0 and
F 4-4-0 tender classes. However his determination to maintain standardisation meant that the introduction of larger locomotives was delayed too long and the SER locomotive fleet was underpowered by 1899.
[Marshall (1978), p.206.] As a result, future locomotive practice was based on developing rather than designs.
Locomotive superintendents
* – 1845 –
Benjamin Cubitt
*1845 – 1876
James I'Anson Cudworth
*1876 –
Alfred Mellor Watkin
*1876 – 1878
Richard Mansell
*1878 – 1898
James Stirling
Ships
The South Eastern Railway operated a number of ships from
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...
and
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
to
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Ostend
Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. In 1854 the took over the South Eastern and Continental Steam Packet Company.
[
]
See also
* Edward Chapman
* Joshua Fielden
* Rail transport in Great Britain
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest railway system in the world. The first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825, which was followed by an era of rapid expansion. Most of the track is managed by Network Rail, which i ...
References
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
Parliamentary Archives, Book of Reference relating to Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway Bill
*
The South Eastern & Chatham Railway Society (SECSOC)
{{Authority control
Pre-grouping British railway companies
History of Kent
Rail transport in Kent
Railway companies established in 1836
Railway companies disestablished in 1923
1836 establishments in England
1923 disestablishments in England