Station Name: SOUTHFLEET

[Source: Nick Catford]
Date opened: 10.5.1886
Location: Intermediate station on a Branch from Farningham Road. North side of Station Road.
Company on opening: Gravesend Railway
Date closed to passengers: 3.8.1953
Date closed completely: 11.6.1962
Company on closing: British Railways (Southern Region)
Present state: The stationmaster's house still stands but the station has been demolished and the cutting has been infilled. A tennis court now stands on the site of the station with new housing in the station yard.
County: Kent
OS Grid Ref: TQ615720
Date of visit: 1961 and 13.7.2006

Notes: The branch to Gravesend West Street opened on by the Gravesend Railway on 17th April 1886 with the first passenger services on the 10th of May 1886. All trains were through to/from London and there were express services linking with river steamers to Walton on the Naze, Clacton and Southend.

There were intermediate stations Southfleet & Betsham and Rosherville, a third intermediate station, Longfield Halt opened on 1.7.1913. Southfleet & Betsham was soon renamed Southfleet.

The Gravesend Railway Company was taken over by the London Chatham and Dover on June 29th 1883. Passenger trains were withdrawn on 3rd August 1953 and the line singled in 1959. The freight service was

withdrawn from 24th March 1968 but coal trains for the APCM (Blue Circle) cement works at Northfleet continued until 1976.

The trackbed was retained after closure, first by B.R., then Railtrack, and used to route a high voltage feeder cable to a converter/3rd rail supply station at Fawkham Junction for powering the main line. A section of the branch has now been reused as part of the Channel Tunnel high speed rail link.

Part of the line south of Southfleet station has been used for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The new line turns to the east just after the Dale Road overbridge and the remainder of the cutting between Dale Road and Station road has been infilled during work on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The Station Road bridge remains although the parapets have been rebuilt and the cutting beneath the bridge partially infilled.

Further reading: The Gravesend West Branch by N. Pallant - Oakwood Press 1984
ISBN 0 85361 307 9. See also Kent Rail web site. Tickets from Brian Halford. Route map drawn by Alan Young

See also Rosherville Halt & Gravesend West Street



Southfleet Station shortly before closure
Photo by John L. Smith

1925 Ordnance Survey Map

Southfleet Station in 1961
Photo by Terry Tracey

Southfleet Station in c.1986
Photo by Terry
The site of Southfleet Station looking north in July 2006
Photo by Nick Catford

Late 1950's

Late 1950's

c.1986

c.1986

2005

2005

2005

2006

2006

2006

Aerial

 


Click on thumbnail to enlarge

 

 

 

:[Source: Nick Catford]
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