Notes: On the 1 August 1914 an emergency naval air station for seaplanes was established at Westgate in the Isle of Thanet. Twelve months later an airfield was opened on the cliff tops between Westgate and Margate.
In those days of brakeless planes it was inevitable that, with the limited land available for take-off and landing, some planes would run out of runway and slide over the cliffs into the sea. A severe gale blowing from the north would wreak havoc with planes and hangars and a decision was made to move the station.
Manston Court, some two miles inland from Westgate was chosen and first used on 29 May 1916. With the development and expansion of the station more permanent buildings were constructed for personnel, storage of aeroplanes and maintenance work shops. The airfield, being some 3 miles from the nearest accessible railway line, had to depend on road transport for its supplies so the construction of a railway branch line to the camp would have many advantages.
The Manston Aerodrome Operations Record Book for 11 December 1917 states that “a Light Railway to Birchington was mooted, but the scheme was however abandoned”. There is no further mention of a railway in this book but, by the following month, the line had been authorised and construction started.
On the 20 September 1917, work commenced on the erection of permanent Handley Page Sheds and two weeks later the construction of large workshops was under way. On the 22 January 1918, Air Council decided to construct underground hangars at Manston and two of the five approved were completed.
No actual starting date for the light railway has been found but photographs indicate it was under construction by January 1918. It has been said that c.1917 2,000 Royal Engineers were building the camp. The official records indicate that July 1918 was the completion date of the line.
At request of the War Department, a siding connection was constructed between Birchington and Herne Bay stations, for working traffic over the Government Light Railway to the RAF camp at Manston. It was proposed to bring the line into use on Sunday 28 July 1918.
On 26 August 1918, Colonel John Wallace Pringle who was the Chief Inspecting Officer of the Railways Inspectorate of the Ministry of Transport published his report following an inspection of the line. It stated, “I have the honour to report, for the information on the Board of Trade, that, in accordance with the Minute of the 24th July, I made an inspection, on the 22nd instant, of the new works in connection with the Military Light Railway to Manston Camp, on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway.
A new trailing connection has been made with the up line between Birchington and Herne Bay Stations. There are also trailing crossovers between the main lines on each side of the new siding connection. In addition to the ground signals for working these new connections, up and down line running signals have been erected, and the new signalling and connections are patrolled from a new signal-box known as Birchington "A". This new box forms an additional block post on the line, and contains an additional block post on the line, and contains a frame with 16 working and 2 spare levers. The interlocking is correct.
I noted that the up and down starting signals are located more than 400 yards. from the signal-box. On a road of this type track circuiting would normally be necessary in rear of these signals to prevent the signalman losing sight, or forgetting the position, of a train standing at the signals; but at the present moment the box is only intended to be opened for an hour or two every day, and lock and block working also is installed. I do not therefore now make a requirement in this direction.
The longitudinal section of the Manston Railway shows a falling gradient extending for over a mile towards the main line. There is some risk, therefore, if vehicles run down the falling gradient, of the up main line being fouled when they strike the buffer stops. To prevent this occurring, it will be advisable to arrange that the points outside the Railway Company's boundary now worked by hand shall lie normally for the shunting neck and be worked from the signal-box. There will be no difficulty in connecting these points by rodding with the lever which now works No.10 points.
Subject to the completion of this alteration, I recommend the Board to approve these new works.”
As the ground over which the line was laid needed very little work in the way of excavation or embankments, it must be assumed the work proceeded fairly rapidly. It would appear that a 12" ballast bed of granite chippings was laid directly on the ground and on this were placed the sleepers at 3 feet centres with the rails held in place by dog spikes.
Apart from constructing the four road crossings, the only major work was the re-alignment of the Birchington to Manston road near Cheesman's Farm. Here there was a large chalk hole with caves by the roadside and to accommodate the rail the road was moved over about 20 feet.
The available detail of this end of the branch line comes from a SR plan of May 1929, prepared at the time the junction at Birchington was to be removed. A signal box (Birchington A) was constructed for the reception sidings, being 55 chains on the Herne Bay side of Birchington station and containing 18 levers. This box was only in use during the period of delivery and collection of wagons from the reception sidings. Once the trucks had passed into the sidings they were the responsibility of the military. The branch line had no signals and all the points were hand worked.
The total length of the branch line was 3 miles 752 yards and had a maximum gradient of 1 in 75. It started near the end of Old Farm Road, curving slightly to cross the Canterbury Road some 300 feet SW of King Edward Road. Keeping in the SW direction for just under ½ mile it then curved round in a westerly direction to cross Acol Hill just below an avenue of trees leading to Quex Park. It continued straight until nearing the water pumping station on the Manston Road where it curved again to follow the line of the road to Manston Camp. There is no evidence that gates were used at the crossings except the one over the main Canterbury Road.
Just beyond Cheeseman’s Farm, a 2' gauge branch was built to supply materials to the construction of the nearby pair of semi-underground hangars; one built next to Cheeseman’s farm and the other further south off Alland Grange Lane, (this, although now roofless survives, for many years it was a piggery but is now the Manston Riding School). So far there is no evidence of any rail connection to the other semi-underground hanger locations to the north of the site.
A is the only siding on the line between Birchington and Manston was just beyond Cheesman's Farm and was possibly included to supply the underground hangars during construction in early 1918, for photographs show a Barclay 0-4-0 tank engine and contractor's trucks on the site of the excavations. Thewre was interchange with a 2' gauge narrow gauge line to the underground hangars. This spur was later reduced to one capable of holding six 12 ton trucks.
Siding (B) held about eight l2 ton trucks. It had a water tower for supplying the locomotives and a concrete ash pit for drawing the fires. Siding (C) took 2 or 3 oil tankers, the oil being used to supply the boilers in the power station which produced electricity for the camp at 220v D.C.
The main line (D) along the 1000 foot platform served the hangars and two workshops. A scale model of this siding at the RAF Manston History Museum made using original blueprints, and therefore assumed to be accurate (see photo below) shows a total length of platform which may be 1000 feet in length but the middle section, alongside the hangar is set back from the line. The east end (serving the workshops) is alongside the line as is the shorter west end which is alongside the office where tickets were sold. It is likely that this section of platform was used by military personnel. A plan of the siding shows two sets of rails and points to act as a ‘run round’. The model shows three parallel lines so the third might be a later addition. The hangar was 400 feet long, 100 feet wide and 86 feet high. There were two 100 foot doors on the opposite side to the building to allow planes ready for flying to be taken straight onto the field.
Two tracks were laid leading into a store yard (siding E) where a weighbridge was incorporated on one of the lines. Somewhere in this area was a dump for coal.
The standard gauge MCLR was used to carry oil to the 220v DC power station, coal for heating, general supplies, goods and bombs to the airfield as well as aeroplane parts conveyed by specially adapted wagons to the workshops.
From the SECR Goods Working Book for January l 1919 there is the following notice: "Manston Camp Siding - the siding situated on the UP side of the line between Birchington and Herne Bay, has been brought into use. The siding will be worked by the 9.45 pm Stewarts Lane to Ramsgate and 1.40 pm Margate to Stewarts Lane Goods Train, which have been retimed.”
From the SECR Working Time Table (Supplement 2) for the same day, there are details for the carrying of RAF personnel: "The following arrangements will be carried out for the conveyance of RAF personnel and baggage travelling to and from London. Warrants covering the journey will be held by these Passengers and examination of same to take place at Herne Bay on UP journey. Connections to be made at Birchington on DOWN Journey.”
RAF personnel could buy tickets (exchange warrants) at a small office at the west end of the platform for any town in the country - these were ‘leave tickets’. No civilian passengers were allowed to travel on this line.
The same Working Time Table gives further details regarding the use of the siding. “The working of this line has now been taken over by the Managing Committee. The connection with the Light Railway and Sidings is made at Birchington A cabin, UP side. Speeds on the line must not exceed 10 mph. The Station Master at Birchington will be responsible for the working of the Camp Railway”
The SECR Working Time Tables for February 8 1919 state that the weight of load for Goods Trains passing over the Manston Camp Siding should not exceed 200 tons, with a vehicle limit of l8 tons. It appears that generally there was one run each day from Birchington to the Camp at 9.45 am, going up with loaded wagons with a stay at Manston of 1½ hours. Each train had a driver, fireman and guard in a brake van.
The trucks were always pulled and never pushed, the engine was not turned. The number of trucks taken up varied but it was probably 6 or 7, and the empties were brought back from the previous days run.
David Gould’s book The South-Eastern & Chatham Railway in the 1914-18 War gives details for the services along the branch in its early years, ” On Mondays to Fridays, a goods train left Margate West at 9.10 am, Birchington A Junction 9.45-10.05, arriving at Manston Camp at 10.20. The train then returned at 11.35, taking 15 minutes to the junction, and was back at Margate at 12.25 pm.
On Saturdays the goods service left Margate West at 8.40 am and ran half-an-hour earlier throughout departure from Manston was at 10.25 for Birchington A Junction only. The Q tank then returned light to Manston to work the 11.20 am passenger train to Herne Bay. The two coaches that formed this train, which was for RAF personnel and baggage travelling to London, had been had been sent earlier to Manston by Birchington Station, which had itself received them from Margate West. On arrival at Herne Bay, the coaches were attached to the front of the 11.35 am train from Ramsgate to Victoria; the Q tank that had brought the train from Manston ran back to Birchington light, there picking up a goods brake, which it conveyed to Margate for the Monday morning working.
Also on Saturdays, there was a Down through portion from Victoria to Manston: a bogie First saloon and bogie Third brake were attached to the rear of the 2.05 p.m. from Victoria, reserved and labelled for Manston. These were detached at Birchington Station, where an engine was attached to the London end of the vehicles, and then worked back to Birchington A Junction, where the locomotive ran round; then, leaving at 4.42, the train at last arrived at the Aerodrome Platform twenty minutes later. Later, the stock was returned empty to Margate West for cleaning, after which it would go to Manston in readiness for the following Saturday's working to Victoria. The men travelling by these trains held Warrants, which were examined at Herne Bay on the Up journey, and collected at Birchington on the Down.”
The underground hangars were disposed of in January 1924. No actual closure date of the line has been found. From various comments regarding the lifting of the line all seem to point to this being done shortly after the service finished running which seems to be about 1926, with the removal starting in 1927/28. The Birchington junction was lifted a year later. A SR plan and estimate for the removal of Birchington A signal box, main line crossover roads and siding, is dated 3 May 1929 and issued from the Chief Engineers Office at Waterloo. The estimated cost for the removal work was £540. On 24 April 1929, about 3½ miles of 72lb rail was for sale by tender or sold being the standard gauge railway track from the Birchington to Manston line
Sources and bibliography:
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Manston Camp terminus and sidings.
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