Station Name: NEW ROMNEY &
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Date opened: | 19.6.1884 |
Location: | On the east side of Mountfield Road |
Company on opening: | Lydd Railway |
Date closed to passengers: | 6.3.1967 |
Date closed completely: | 6.3.1967 |
Company on closing: | British Railways (Southern Region) |
Present state: | The station has been demolished with no evidence remaining. The site is now an industrial estate. |
County: | Kent |
OS Grid Ref: | TR073247 |
Date of visit: | June 1968, May 1969, May 1975 and 3.1.2006 |
In 1927 a single line extension was built with an unprotected level crossing to an exchange siding with the adjacent Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway station on the opposite side of the Station Road; it was used to deliver coal to that railway. The signal box was taken out of use in the 1950's and goods
service was withdrawn on 18.4.1964. The line opened to passengers between Appledore and Lydd on 7 December 1881, with freight services to Dungeness, until that too opened to passengers on April 1883. The only intermediate station was at Brookland. Although nominally independent, the service was provided by the South Eastern Railway and many of the Lydd Railway Company directors were prominent in the SER. The line had 12 level crossings in its 8 mile length.
In 1895 the local company was absorbed into the South Eastern Railway. With the Dungeness port scheme abandoned, the SER obtained powers in 1900 to extend their line to Hythe but this was never built. Kitson steam railcars were introduced onto the line in 1906/7 and with the development of military ranges and a large army camp at Lydd, the line was well used until the end of WW1. Passenger numbers were now in decline although agricultural freight, including Romney Marsh sheep remained profitable. By the 1920's New Romney was served by 9 trains a day while Dungeness was relegated to 3.
The line remained open with a reduced service during WW2 although an obvious target for enemy aircraft. A heavily armoured train was allocated to Ashford - Hastings - New Romney group of lines with regular patrols being undertaken. Nationalisation in 1948 initially brought few changes but with competition from busses and the popularity of the motor car in the 1950's traffic continued to decline and economies were inevitable including the withdrawal of the Dungeness freight service in 1952 and the removal of the passing loop at Lydd-on-Sea.
The goods services to New Romney was withdrawn in 1964 but the threat of closure was suspended until 1966 when the Minister of Transport announced that the passenger service on the New Romney branch would cease on 6th March 1967. The Ashford - Hastings line was however reprieved although some sections were eventually singled.
Further reading: The
New Romney Branch Line by Peter Harding. Published by the
author in 1983 ISBN : 0952345889 Web sites: Railways in Kent, Southern E Group and KARE for pictures of nuclear waste trains To see the other stations on the New Romney and Dungeness branches click on the station name: Appledore, Brookland Halt, Lydd Town, Lydd-on-Sea Halt, Greatstone-on-Sea Halt & Dungeness |
Click here for more pictures of New Romney & Littlestone-on-Sea Station
Last updated: Sunday, 21-May-2017 16:08:54 CEST |
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