Ramsgate
This is an impressive
and extensive station of comparatively young age. It derives from a need to
rationalise a number of duplicate lines and stations on the Isle of Thanet,
legacies left by the erstwhile SER and LC&DR companies, but never rectified by
the subsequent SE&CR Joint Management Committee. The SER was the first company
to reach Thanet, by means of a rather circuitous route from the capital. The
company had commenced running between London Bridge and Ashford on 1st December
1842, with a subsequent eastward extension to Folkestone on 28th June of the
following year. On 23rd May 1844, the company received Royal Assent for the
construction of a thirty-four mile branch from Ashford to Margate – at this
time, even Dover had yet to be reached. The line, which assumed a north-easterly
heading via Canterbury, took little over 2˝ years to construct, and through
running to ‘’Margate Sands’’ station was possible from 1st December 1846. This
had been preceded by the opening of stations at Canterbury and Ramsgate (Town)
on 6th February and 13th April 1846 respectively. For a decade the SER enjoyed a
monopoly of rail travel on the Isle of Thanet, but competition in the form of
the ‘’East Kent Railway’’ would later have to be endured. This company, which
was renamed the ‘’London Chatham & Dover Railway’’ in 1859, had begun operating
between Chatham and Faversham on 25th January 1858. Subsequent expansion saw
services extended to Whitstable on 1st August 1860, and trains soon reached
Ramsgate, a station at the latter formally opening on 5th October 1863. These
eastward extensions between Faversham and Thanet had been constructed by a
nominally independent concern known as the ''Herne Bay & Faversham Railway'',
which renamed itself on two later occasions. Through running between Victoria
and Canterbury had been possible since 3rd December 1860.
When the Southern Railway formally came into being on 1st January 1923, the
company inherited a multitude of lines and duplicate stations on the Isle of
Thanet:
Margate West: Opened by the LC&DR on 5th October 1863
Margate Sands: Opened by the SER on 1st December 1846
Margate East: Opened by the LC&DR during 1870
Broadstairs: Opened by the LC&DR on 5th October 1863
Ramsgate Harbour: Opened by the LC&DR on 5th October 1863
Ramsgate Town: Opened by the SER on 13th April 1846
In 1924, the SR
finalised plans to implement a rationalisation programme on the above stations,
and those lines which served them. This would result in the complete closure of
the SER’s Ramsgate Town to Margate Sands branch, and the retention of the LC&DR
route via Broadstairs as Thanet’s only line. Margate West was to remain:
enlargement of this station had begun under the SE&CR, which had included new
platform surfaces and elaborate canopies. The SR was to perpetuate the
improvement works by erecting new platform structures, which included a
replacement 265-foot-long station building on the ‘’down’’ side. The approaches
to the station at Margate Sands had also been designated for a large goods
depot, to replace the comparatively small affair alongside the ex-LC&DR station.
Both Margate East and Broadstairs stations were to be retained as part of the
existing LC&DR line rounding the edge of Thanet; the site at the latter was to
be modernised, which included the erection of a new 195-foot-long station
building on the ‘’down’’ side. Of the LC&DR sites, only Ramsgate Harbour was to
succumb. The ex-SER’s Thanet line was to be truncated at the junction where the
route split for the company’s Margate and Ramsgate stations, and the ex-LC&DR’s
metals would stop just before the line plunged into the tunnel for Ramsgate
Harbour. Thus, between the two once independent lines, a gap of approximately 1˝
miles existed. This would be filled with a double-track line and as a
result, the route around Thanet would become a continuous loop. As mentioned
earlier, Ramsgate was destined to lose both of its existing stations during the
SR’s reorganisation. In their place, a completely new site was planned to lie
upon the 1˝-mile-long connecting line. The latter, and all modernised and new
sites, were formally deemed complete on the opening to passenger traffic on 2nd
July 1926.
The SR’s Ramsgate station resided on a huge site within the parish of St
Lawrence, some two route miles south of Broadstairs and one mile inland. The
land was formerly occupied by the triangular junction of the SER’s Margate Sands
and Ramsgate Town lines, and a ‘’St Lawrence’’ station also existed here until
its closure on 3rd April 1916. Since the SR was able to start from scratch at the site, no
half measures were taken, and the opportunity presented itself to incorporate as
many facilities as possible. The station was spacious and well-laid out: two
islands, of solid concrete construction, were brought into use. These were
765-foot long and were protected by attractive trapezium-shaped canopies. The
latter consisted of a steel framework, and each canopy stretched for a length of
435-foot along the islands, measuring about 43-foot at their widest point. They
were supported above the platforms by pairs of iron struts and unusually,
whilst the canopy ends were constituted of vertically-aligned timber, the side
valances were of riveted steel construction. The islands were equipped with the
SR’s distinctive swan-neck wrought-iron gas lamps (which had the SR’s trademark
‘’Target’’ name signs attached), and the platform name boards were framed by the
now renowned prefabricated concrete of the ex-LSWR works at Exmouth Junction.
Brown brick waiting rooms were present on each surface, these demonstrating
sash-style windows, and a water column existed at the western and eastern end of
the southern and northern islands respectively. The main station building was
positioned south of the platforms: this was built at 45 degrees to the running
lines and was separated from the nearest island by a double-track. The
structure was constituted of the same brown brick as that which could be found
in the contemporary building at Margate, and was three-storeys in height. The
main booking hall was a light and airy environment, measuring some 50-foot by
85-foot, and elegant interior decoration and styling matched that at Margate. The building in turn was flanked on either side by
single-storey pitched-roof appendices, producing a U-shaped station façade. This
was met by an approach road which terminated in the form of a continuous oval.
The main building and platforms were all linked by a brick-lined subway, which
tunnelled under the tracks at the eastern ends of the islands, and each surface
was served by two flights of stairs and a lift. The shafts of the latter were
encased in horizontally-aligned timber above platform level. The subway
surrounds at platform level were tastefully lined with patterned iron fencing,
and lighting was suspended above the stairs by horizontally-secured members. The
site of the original Ramsgate Town station subsequently gave way to 1930s
housing.
April 1952
The end of the engine shed can be seen on the right of this photograph, which shows "C" Class 0-6-0 No. 31298, sporting early ''BRITISH RAILWAYS'' legend on the tender, entering Ramsgate from the west with a goods train. © David Glasspool Collection
Mid-1950s
Now at the north eastern end of the layout, a ''Schools'' 4-4-0 enters the station with a service from Margate. The semaphore signals are affixed to posts of concrete construction. © David Glasspool Collection
Next: The History Continues >>
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