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Elm Lane, SHEERNESS, ME12 3RY

The Sheppey Light Railway ran from Queenborough to Leysdown-on-Sea. It was built to the designs of the renowned light railway engineer, Colonel Fred Holman Stephens, and was opened in 1901. Traffic was never busy on the line and it was taken over by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in 1905, finally closing in 1950. Down in the dip beyond the cars is where the track crossed Stickfast Lane, known today by the far more boring name of Elm Lane.

Although it is a very narrow lane, it forms a rat-run between Chequers Road and Scocles Road and therefore sees a fair number of vehicles. This is the point that The Sheppey Light Railway crossed the lane. According to http://www.sheppeywebsite.co.uk/index.php?id=95 it opened on 1 August 1901 and closed on 4 December 1950. The total length was 8 miles 52 chains. It ran from Queenborough (where there was a north-facing bay platform on the east side of the station) to Leysdown with intermediate stations at Sheerness East, East Minster-on-Sea (which was actually west of Minster), Minster-on-Sea (they're only given as Minster in the link), Brambledown Halt, Eastchurch and Harty Road Halt. Today, one can trace most of the route from the air and on the Ordnance Survey map (Explorer 149). On the ground, one can find sections overgrown with grass, brambles and trees (as here to the left), sections built over, sections concreted over to form a permanent way (as here to the right, which leads to Sheppey Light Farm) or landscaped to form paths for pedestrians.

Lower Road is the main West - East route on the island (avoiding Minster). The land falls steadily from the north to the marshland south of the road.