Railway line between Sandwich and Ramsgate

Image: © Marathon Taken: 12 Jan 2014

The railway between Sandwich and Ramsgate was opened in July 1846. This view is from a foot crossing taking the Stour Valley Walk over the line and looks in the direction of Ramsgate. The two brick structures just ahead either side of the line are the remains of a rickety viaduct which carried the East Kent Light Railway over the line and the adjacent River Stour. Another view of them before they were brought down to ground level can be seen at http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/41839 See also http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3813386 The East Kent Light Railway was originally constructed to serve the Kent Coalfield and by December 1911 the first line was opened for freight traffic from Shepherdswell to Tilmanstone Colliery. By October 1912 the track had been extended to Eastry and by the end of the year had reached Wingham. The official year of opening of the branch between Eastry and Richborough Port was 1925, but this is thought to be incorrect as the line was somewhat ad hoc. The East Kent Light Railway extended passenger services along this line in November 1925 but passenger trains were unable to reach Richborough Port as the company's bridge over the River Stour and hence its traffic over it before then, was illegal, since it had built a fixed-span high-level bridge instead of the low-level swing bridge authorised. The occasional passenger trains between Eastry and Sandwich Road Halt (now Ash Road) were little used and were withdrawn on 31st October 1928. The new owners of Richborough Port wanted no involvement with the rickety EKLR and the branch was little used. The Richborough branch was finally closed on 27th October 1949. See http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/richborough_port/index.shtml and http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/sandwich_road/ for more information.

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