London, Chatham and Dover Railway

Badge of the LCDR

Badge of the LCDR on the first Blackfriars Railway Bridge

Lordship Lane Station, an intermediate station on the Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway, a LCDR branch line in London, by Camille Pissarro

The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London commuter network. From the start the railway was in an impecunious position.

The Chatham, as it was always known, was much criticised for its often lamentable carriage stock and poor punctuality, but in two respects it was very good: it used the highly effective Westinghouse brake on its passenger stock, and the Sykes 'Lock and Block' system of signalling. It had an excellent safety record.

East Kent Railway

Main article: East Kent Railway

The LCDR began as the East Kent Railway (EKR). Its first line was from Strood near Rochester to Faversham, opened in two parts:

• 29 March 1858: Strood - Chatham, the station at Rochester opened only after the rival SER opened Chatham Central station.
• 25 January 1858: Chatham - Faversham, with stations at Rainham, Sittingbourne, Teynham, and Faversham. Gillingham (originally called New Brompton until May 1886, and New Brompton (Gillingham) from then until 1 October 1912) was opened circa July 1858.
• 3 March 1858: The West End of London & Crystal Palace Railway (WELCP) opened the extension of their line from Norwood (Crystal Palace) to Beckenham Junction (opened as Beckenham) and Shortlands (opened as Bromley).
• 22 November 1858: The Mid-Kent Railway constructed a line from New Beckenham to Beckenham Junction station and obtained running rights over the WELCP to Bromley (Shortlands) From there the Crays Company was building a line on to Bromley South(Bromley Common) and Bickley (opened as Southborough Road).

The Mid Kent line connected with the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway (WELCPR) which later provided the necessary access to London. After absorbing the Crays Company, and gaining running rights over the Mid Kent metals to Beckenham Junction, the LCDR was to later buy the track between Beckenham Junction, Birkbeck and Bromley Junction, while the LBSCR absorbed the rest of the WELCP. In 1859 the EKR changed its name to the LCDR though Dover had not then been reached. This coincided with the Western Extension via Longfield to join the Crays Company metals at Southborough Road (now Bickley). As can be seen the evolution of the lines in the Bromley area was confused to say the least, one can best refer the reader to Adrian Gray's London Chatham & Dover Railway book (page 44).

London, Chatham and Dover Railway

Railway lines in Kent. LCDR lines can be seen alongside SER and other railway companies lines

• 1860 openings:
  • 9 July 1860: Faversham - Canterbury (now the East station) - Whitstable (old station)
  • 19 July 1860: Sittingbourne & Sheerness Railway, which became part of LCDR from 1866), including Queenborough. Sheerness-on-Sea railway station dates from 1883: the original terminus became the freight depot. There are branch lines to Queenborough Pier and Sheerness Dockyard. See Sheerness Line.
  • 3 December 1860: opening of line between Bickley and Rochester, connecting the two parts of the network; opening of St Mary Cray, Farningham Road and Rochester Bridge stations (the latter being closed in 1917)
  •  ??? 1860: Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway - Diverges from the LCDR mainline at Brixton to Crystal Palace High Level via Nunhead
• 1861 openings:
  • Meopham and Sole Street stations.
  • 22 July 1861: extension from Canterbury East to Dover, with Bekesbourne, Adisham, Shepherd's Well and Dover Priory stations opening with the line.
  • 31 July 1861: Whitstable to Herne Bay.
  • 1 November 1861: Route to Victoria station opened: LCDR first access to London.
• 1862 openings:
  • 2 June 1862: the Sevenoaks Railway opened from Sevenoaks Junction (later resited further west and called Swanley Junction, now Swanley station) to Sevenoaks. Worked by LCDR, with stations at Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford, and Sevenoaks Bat & Ball. See Maidstone East Line
  • 1 July 1862: Swanley station (then named Sevenoaks Junction)
  • 6 October 1862: stations along the Metropolitan Extension line towards Victoria opened: including Penge East, Sydenham Hill, Herne Hill, and Clapham. Knight's Hill, now West Dulwich was also opened.
• 1863 openings:
  • Wandsworth Road station
  • 5 October 1863: Herne Bay to Ramsgate. Birchington-on-Sea, Margate, and Broadstairs stations all opening with the line.

Second London line

• 1 June 1864: the first section of railway to serve the City of London, when the line from Herne Hill to Blackfriars Bridge station (south of the river), was opened. Prior to this, from October 1862, the terminus had been at Elephant & Castle.
• 1 June 1865: Ludgate Hill station opened (closed 3 March 1929) across the river. In 1886, St Pauls station was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway: it was reached on a parallel bridge across the river.

Stations on the City Branch were

• Herne Hill (opened 1862)
• Loughborough Junction (opened 1 March 1863 on west chord as Loughborough Road, renamed when City line and east chord platforms opened in 1872, west platforms closed 1916, east platforms closed 1925)
• Camberwell (opened as Camberwell New Road 6 October 1862, closed 1916)
• Walworth Road (opened as Camberwell Gate 1 May 1863, closed 1916)
• Borough Road (opened 1 June 1864, closed 1907)
• Elephant & Castle (opened 6 October 1862)
• Blackfriars Bridge (opened 1 June 1864, goods only from 1885, closed 1964)Now part of its site is the southbank entrance for Blackfriars station.
• Blackfriars (opened 1886 as St Pauls, renamed 1937)
• Ludgate Hill (opened 1865, closed 1929)
• Holborn Viaduct (opened 1874, closed 1990)
• Holborn Viaduct (Low Level) (opened 1874 as Snow Hill, renamed 1912, closed 1916)

......................

Later openings

• 1872 openings:
  • Longfield opened as Fawkham for Longfield and Hartley
  • Loughborough Road (the first station at what is now Loughborough Junction station)
• 1 June 1874: Otford to Maidstone East line, with Kemsing, Borough Green, West Malling, Barming and Maidstone East stations opening with the line. See Maidstone East Line.
• 1886: Gravesend Railway branch line to Gravesend (Gravesend West) was constructed from the Chatham Main Line at Fawkham Junction (just before Longfield station). [1]
• 15 June 1881: Dover Priory to Deal, Dover & Deal Joint Railway (LCDR/South Eastern Railway). See Kent Coast Line.
• 1 July 1884: Maidstone East to Ashford with intermediate stations opening at Bearsted, Hollingbourne, Harrietsham, Lenham, and Charing. See Maidstone East Line
• 1 October 1884: Kent House, west of Beckenham Junction
• 1 July 1892: Catford Loop Line - Shortlands and Nunhead Railway (constructed 1889) was incorporated with the Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway to from a loop, effectively quadrupling the LCDR main line. This date also saw the bay platforms at Kent House opening.

Dates to be established

Authorised from the future site of Nunhead on 28 July 1863; Nunhead opened 1 September 1871; Greenwich Park branch opened from Nunhead to Blackheath Hill on 18 September 1871; opened through to Greenwich Park on 1 October 1888.

• Greenwich Park branch - Nunhead to Greenwich Park, closed by Southern on 1 January 1926, although a section was kept in use, and is used to this day as a link between Nunhead and Lewisham

Stations on the Greenwich Branch were

• Brockley Lane (opened 1872: shut to passengers 1917: closed 1970)
• Lewisham Road (opened 1871: closed 1917)
• Blackheath Hill (opened 1871: closed 1917)
• Greenwich Park (opened 1888: closed 1917)

Formation of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway

On 1 January 1899 the undertaking of the LCDR was, by arrangement, joined with that of the South Eastern Railway for united working under a Management Committee composed of the directors of the two Companies. The arrangement was confirmed by Act of Parliament on 5 August 1899 by the South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover Railway Act 1899.

The rolling stock and steamboats of the two companies were thereafter worked as one concern. Some rationalisation of competing stations occurred but it was not fully resolved. Between 1902 and 1904, connections were built to allow LCDR trains through running on ex-SER lines, notably in the Bickley area where the two main lines crossed. The rationalisation of the lines in Thanet to create a line which ran through from Margate via Ramsgate to Minster did not take place until after the grouping. In 1936 the former tunnel to Ramsgate Harbour became part of the Tunnel Railway underground railway system linking Ramsgate beach to Hereson Road, near Dumpton Park mainline station. See South Eastern and Chatham Railway and South Eastern Railway.

Line details

Principal engineering works

• Blackfriars Bridge: 933 ft (284 m) long
• Battersea Bridge: 740 ft (226 m)
• Viaduct carrying extension to Blackfriars: 742 brick arches, 94 girder bridges

Steepest gradient

• Rochester Bridge - Sole Street: 5 miles (8.0 km) at 1:100 (1%)

Tunnels

• Lydden, or Shepherd's Well Tunnel: 2,376 yd (2,173 m)
• Penge Tunnel, adjacent to Sydenham Hill: 2,200 yd (2,012 m) - this was allegedly Queen Victoria's least favourite tunnel

Locomotive Works

• The locomotive works were at Longhedge, in Battersea, and the old erecting shop can still be seen. The former SER works at Ashford took over locomotive building for the joint concern, but some building work at Longhedge continued for a few years. The London, Chatham and Dover Railway Tavern, in nearby Cabul Road is widely regarded as having the longest traditional pub name in Britain.^{[citation needed]}

Rolling stock

Both the South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover Railway companies' locomotives were painted black each with their own style of lining but, when taken over by the South Eastern and Chatham Railways Managing Committee (SE&CR), dark green was adopted with an elaborate lining scheme. After some trials with a hybrid colour scheme (SER maroon on the upper parts and LC&DR teak on the lower), the SE&CR adopted the dark maroon/lake livery for passenger stock. Ex-LC&DR locomotives were renumbered by adding 459 to the running numbers (i.e. locomotive No 1 became No 460, etc.); SER locomotives retained their existing mumbers.

For a small and indigent company the Chatham was lucky in its locomotive engineers. After a very patchy start, with a miscellany of Cramptons and other oddities, it had two very competent engineers.

William Martley was appointed in 1860, and commissioned some very effective performers, notably the 0-4-2 well tanks of the 'Scotchmen' (1866) and 'Large Scotchmen' (1873) classes for the suburban services; and the 'Europa' class (1873) of 2-4-0s, which ran the mail trains to and from Dover, the Chatham's crack service.

William Kirtley came from the Midland Railway in 1874, following the death of Martley. He was the nephew of Matthew Kirtley, the Midland's famous locomotive superintendent. Kirtley produced a series of excellent designs, robust and good performers - the A series of 0-4-4 tanks for suburban services, the B series of 0-6-0 goods engines; the T class of shunting engines; the M series of 4-4-0 express passenger engines; and a final R series of enlarged 0-4-4 tanks.

These rather than Stirling's Ashford products formed the basis for SE&CR development under Wainwright, not least because it was Robert Surtees from Longhedge who led design work for the successor organisation. The R series led to the SE&CR's R1 and subsequent H class; the Bs to the famous C class; and the Ms to the D and E classes, which in their rebuilt Maunsell form may have been the best British inside-cylinder 4-4-0s.

Ships

The London, Chatham and Dover Railway operated a number of steamships from 1864, when they took over Jenkins & Churchward's fleet.

Ship	Launched	Tonnage (GRT)	Notes
Bessemer	1875	1,886	Owned by the Bessemer Steamship Co Ltd. Operated by LCDR for a period in 1875 then returned to her owners.
Breeze	1863	385	Scrapped in 1899.
Calais	1896	979	Sold in 1911 to Hater, Boulogne, renamed Au Revoir.
Calais-Douvres	1878	1,924	Acquired in 1878 from English Channel Steamship Co Ltd. Previously named Express. Sold in 1891.
Calais-Douvres	1889	1,212	Sold in 1900 to Liverpool & Douglas Steamers.
Castalia	1874	1,533	Acquired in 1878 from English Channel Steamship Co Ltd. Sold in 1883 to Metropolitan Asylums Board for use as a hospital ship.
Dover	1896	979	Scrapped in 1911.
Empress	1854	196	Acquired in 1864, scrapped in 1878.
Empress	1887	1,213	Scrapped in 1906
Etoile du Nord	1862	503	Renamed Petrel in 1880. Scrapped in 1899.
Foam	1862	495	Scrapped in 1901.
France	1864	365	Scrapped in 1899.
Invicta	1882	1,282	Scrapped in 1899.
John Penn	1860	220	Sold in 1863 to Belgian State Railways, renamed Perle.
Lord Warden	1896	979	Scrapped in 1911.
Maid of Kent	1861	364	Acquired in 1864, scrapped in 1898.
Pioneer	1854	196	Acquired in 1864, previously named Queen. Sold in 1878 to Potter, London.
Prince	1864	338	Renamed Prince Imperial in 1891. Scrapped in 1899.
Prince Frederick William	1857	219	Acquired in 1864, sold in 1874 to Potter, Liverpool.
Samphire	1861	336	Scrapped in 1899.
Scud	1862	495	Acquired in 1864, sold c1867.
Victoria	1886	1,042	Scrapped in 1904
Wave	1863	385	Acquired in 1864, scrapped in 1899

1923 Grouping

In 1923 the LCDR and the South Eastern Railway (SER), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR), and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) were joined to form the Southern Railway.

Sources

• Body, Geoffrey (1989). Railways of the Southern Region. PSL Field Guide. 
• Bradley, D. L. (1960). The Locomotives of the London Chatham and Dover Railway. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. 
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1 85260 508 1. R508. 
• Gray, Adrian (1985). The London Chatham & Dover Railway. Rainham: Meresborough Books. ISBN 0 905270 88 6. 
• Nock, O. S. (1961). The South Eastern & Chatham Railway. Ian Allan Ltd.  - particularly for the EKR history
• Railway Year Book 1912. Railway Publishing Company. 

External links

• The South Eastern & Chatham Railway Society (SECSOC)