Strood
As part of the re-signalling of the North Kent Lines, a new Panel Signal Box was
brought into use at Dartford on 1st November 1970. This eventually controlled
the lines as far as Mottingham, Falconwood, and Woolwich Arsenal in the west, to
Rochester Bridge Junction in the east. Three-aspect colour lights between the
latter and Higham came into use on 17th November 1971, and the ‘’Glasshouse’’
signal boxes at Strood were closed. Beyond Strood, the Medway Valley line
retained semaphore signals controlled by intermediate cabins.
As mentioned numerous times on this site, the SER employed a network-wide policy
of providing economical station structures. These came in the form the once
familiar single-storey timber buildings, examples of which still exist at Bexley
and Northfleet. British Rail took this initiative to a whole new level in the
late 1960s, when it started installing dreary prefabricated CLASP affairs at
several sites. Sadly, the original timber buildings at Strood were razed to the
ground in 1973, being replaced by structures of this type. Save for a section of
brick in the existing platforms, no trace of the ex-SER station now remains.
By the end of 1988, goods yards at both Strood and Rochester had ceased to
handle freight traffic. The Dock basin was also drained and in-filled at around
this time. It had formerly measured 658-feet in length by 104-feet in width,
tapering at its north end to 49-feet. To its south, the basin was entered
through a lock measuring 108-feet-long by 30-feet wide. The entire Strood Dock
area has since been built over, and is now occupied by residential properties.
On Sunday 18th June 2006, the 150th anniversary of the Medway Valley Line was
marked by the unveiling of commemorative plaques at both Strood and Maidstone
West stations, and on Class 375 unit No. 375304. Beyond this observation,
however, today there is very little for the railway historian to observe at
Strood. A rather unlovely CLASP station, lined with palisade fencing, sums up
the decline of this once busy site. The layout is reduced to just three tracks,
all sidings having long since disappeared. There have, however, been
improvements in train services, notably with the introduction of the ‘’Javelin’’
timetable on 13th December 2009. This provided Strood with direct trains to St
Pancras in the west and, in the east, Faversham. This, on top of standard North
Kent Line trains and the Medway Valley Line shuttle, gives this town a
remarkably good railway service.
Thanks to both Roger Goodrum and Chris for providing a splendid set of
photographs for use in this section. Thanks also go to David Morgan,
for his detailed goods yard information provided for a number of the captions.
Early 1970s
This view to the northwest shows the then recently-completed brick fascia of the tunnel portal in the background. The lock gates of the dock basin were still largely complete at this time. © Roger Goodrum
Early 1970s
This view depicts one of a pair of old dockside cranes which were at Strood. These were very basic vehicles built of corrugated metal which ran on their own tracks to unload ships and wagons. They were run by electric, there being cable drums under the chassis of each which slackened/wound up as the cranes moved along. One of the cranes fell into the dock basin during a week of thick fog and completely disappeared in the mud - it took a lot of effort to retrieve it. © Roger Goodrum
1st October 1972
Visitors to the line: 4 COR No. 3102 leads sister unit No. 3143 on the curved incline from Strood to the Medway Bridge, where the pair will join the ''Chatham'' main line. The units were forming the Southern Electric Group's ''Nelson to Waterloo'' farewell tour, marking the complete withdrawal of the 4 COR class from service. The tour started at Waterloo and ultimately ended at Victoria, but ran over various lines including the North Kent, Chatham, Weald of Kent, Sheerness, Folkestone Harbour and Portsmouth Harbour routes. A second farewell tour ran in December of the same year. Note in the background that demolition of Strood Junction signal box is underway. © Roger Goodrum
Return to the Kent Rail Homepage or alternatively, check for Updates.
Website & Copyright information - Links - Contact the Webmaster
All content is copyright © David Glasspool unless otherwise stated