69-644: Shakespeare Tunnel is a railway tunnel carrying the South Eastern Main Line between Folkestone and Dover in Kent , UK . Completed in 1884, it was bored beneath the chalk Shakespeare Cliff along the south eastern coastline of England and allows services into and out of Dover Priory railway station. Shakespeare Tunnel was designed by William Cubitt during the construction of the South Eastern Main Line from London in 1844 in
138-499: A gothic style. Significant works were completed in 2009 to allow high speed Class 395 trains to operate services through the tunnel, connecting Dover to London via High Speed 1 . This article about a Kent building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This European tunnel-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . South Eastern Main Line A detailed diagram of
207-535: A bay platform with no northbound access, when platform 0 opened. Its operational length was reduced to 8 car as a result of the signalling changes associated with platform 0. Otherwise all platforms have access to all routes. There is no access from either through line to or from the North Downs Line – all traffic from this direction must pass through a platform. Platforms are linked by a subway, and by an out-of use parcels/staff bridge. There are lifts from
276-407: A breakwater and provided an anchorage. The SER built a steeply-graded branch line to the harbour, with a reversal required to reach it. It opened to freight in 1843. Passengers were transferred from Folkestone station to the harbour by bus, with mail and freight going by rail. A swing bridge was constructed in 1847, and Folkestone Harbour station opened in 1850. Ships could berth at any state of
345-499: A month later, on 1 October. The LCDR reached Ashford in 1884 from Swanley Junction via Maidstone . They built their own station, Ashford West . It was not until 1 November 1891 that a connection was made between the two lines. On 1 October 1892, the Cranbrook and Paddock Wood Railway opened their branch from Paddock Wood to Hope Mill, for Goudhurst and Lamberhurst . It was extended to Hawkhurst on 4 September 1893. In 1905,
414-586: A new station at the present site, named 'Redhill and Reigate' which was to be used by both railways as the interchange station. On the same day the two existing stations were closed. The branch line to Reigate was opened in 1849 with a new station called Reigate Town . Nevertheless, the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (the successor of the L&;BR) continued to operate the omnibus service for its own passengers. The SER 'Redhill and Reigate' station
483-480: A reduced service was operated from 5 May, a skeleton service having operated in the interim. A new signal box was built, coming into service on 16 December. British Railways started to implement its 1955 Modernisation Plan . This extended electrification to the Kent Coast in two stages, with the South Eastern Main Line being subject of "Kent Coast Electrification - Stage 2". As part of Stage 1, Chislehurst Jn
552-431: A short section of the line through Ashford is also electrified at 25 kV AC . Over the years, a number of accidents have occurred at various locations on the South Eastern Main Line. Stopping services run from Charing Cross or Cannon Street to Orpington or Sevenoaks , with other services on the route running fast over this section. Beyond Sevenoaks, stopping services originating from Tunbridge Wells , just off
621-460: Is the most recently built (which accounts for its unusual numbering) and serves destinations including Bedford, Reading, London Victoria and Reigate; platforms 1 and 2 are an island; there are two through lines between platforms 2 and 3; platform 3 and the old parcels dock are on the eastern side with a secondary entrance/exit. All passenger platforms are of 12 car length, and all are subdivided into 'a' (north end) and 'b' (south end). Platform 1 became
690-668: The Canterbury West line (to Ramsgate and beyond), High Speed 1 and Marshlink (to Hastings). As of December 2022 there are four off-peak "Kent Coast" services between London and Tonbridge: From Ashford International to Dover Priory there is a further 1tph formed by a HS1 service from St Pancras. There are a further four "Metro" services on the suburban part of the line: Services are formed using SE Trains ’s fleet of Class 375 and Class 376 Electrostar s and older Class 465 and Class 466 Networker units. Previously Class 377 or Class 455s operated by Southern ran on
759-598: The Elham Valley Railway . It opened between Canterbury and Shorncliffe in 1889, stopping the LCDR from building its rival scheme, to which there was much opposition amongst the residents of Folkestone. The line opened in 1889. On the main line, two stations were built west of Folkestone: Cheriton Arch and Shorncliffe Camp , which replaced the earlier Shorncliffe & Sandgate station. Cheriton Arch opened on 1 September 1884. The new Shorncliffe Camp opened
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#1732787440276828-569: The G class. In 1900, Harry Wainwright introduced the C class 0-6-0s for freight, and D and E class 4-4-0s for express passenger work. The latter two classes were capable of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). The track having been upgraded to enable running at such speed. Richard Maunsell introduced the River class 2-6-4Ts in 1917 for express passenger trains. Post-war , the D and E classes were rebuilt with superheaters . The rebuilt locomotives were designated as classes D1 and E1. With
897-425: The Kent and East Sussex Railway extended their line from Tenterden Town to Headcorn. A junction was built just east of the station. In 1910, work began on the construction of Dover Marine station, groundwork for which was to take three years to complete. The station opened on 2 January 1915 for ambulance trains . From the outset, the line was worked by steam locomotives . Early locomotive classes that worked
966-563: The parliamentary borough and long-established market town of Reigate and instead passed through the nearby Redstone or Red Hill gap in the Reigate Foreign (countryside) parish . According to the Acts of Parliament establishing railways between London and Brighton, and London and Dover, the line was to be shared between Croydon and Red Hill after which these two would deviate. The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) constructed
1035-402: The 1850s, Folkestone saw more traffic than Dover, although the latter port was growing at a faster rate. In 1857, a new direct connection was put in at Tunbridge Junction, enabling trains to reach Hastings without reversing. The station at Tonbridge was rebuilt on a new site just west of the original. The LCDR built their line to Dover , which opened in 1861, providing a route to London that
1104-407: The 1870s, James Stirling introduced a number of new classes: the B and F class 4-4-0s for express passenger work; the O class 0-6-0s for freight; and the A class 4-4-0s and Q class 0-4-4Ts for local passenger work. The R class 0-6-0Ts were built to perform banking duties on the branch from Folkestone Harbour to Folkestone Junction. Classes F, O and Q accounted for the majority of
1173-513: The 459 locomotives in the six classes. The SER and LCDR agreed in 1898 to form a working arrangement. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) came into being on 1 January 1899. The new company was short of locomotives and was glad to acquire five 4-4-0s that the Great North of Scotland Railway had ordered from Hurst, Nelson & Co Ltd , Glasgow but which subsequently had become surplus to their requirements. These locomotives became
1242-738: The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), services ran over the South Eastern Main Line to Petts Wood, leaving at Chislehurst junction onto the Chatham Main Line . Freight services for the Channel Tunnel were routed via the Maidstone East Line . The CTRL was built alongside the line to Ashford where is joined in to gain access to the existing station. The CTRL diverges west of Ashford to pursue a separate route to its new London terminus ( St Pancras ). Thus
1311-553: The London and Brighton's line at Reigate Junction , which the London and Brighton opened to traffic on 12 July 1841. Leaving the Brighton line, the railway took a direct route to Folkestone ; plans to serve Maidstone were abandoned. A branch line was to be built from Maidstone Road instead. The line was almost direct between Redhill and Ashford, not deviating by more than 0.5 miles (800 m) in either direction. The engineer
1380-616: The Oyster extension from Merstham to Gatwick Airport. The station is outside the London Fare Zone area, and special fares apply. Some Oyster photocards (as well as Freedom Passes) are not valid on the Gatwick Airport extension. The nearest station that these cards can be used is Coulsdon South only in the northbound direction. An engine shed, turntable and locomotive coaling and servicing facilities were installed by
1449-542: The SECR obtained powers to electrify their lines. At a meeting in 1913, SECR chairman H. Cosmo Bonsor said that the time was not right for the company to incur the heavy expenditure of electrification. The outbreak of war meant the postponement of any plans to electrify suburban lines. With the passing of the Trades Facilities Act 1922, the SECR proposed to electrify a number of lines in three stages. The SEML
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#17327874402761518-631: The SEML to see electric trains was Orpington, which was the terminus for electric trains from Victoria via Herne Hill and Shortlands . Public services commenced on 12 July 1925. In preparation for Stage 2 of the electrification, the lines between Charing Cross and Metropolitan Junction were remodelled. Semaphore signals were replaced by colour light signals , with a new temporary manual signal box provided at Charing Cross. The lines serving Cannon Street were electrified. Electric trains were due to start on 1 December 1925, but power supply problems meant that
1587-595: The SER a parcel of land on which the station was built. The SER wanted to build the hotel at a position where it would serve both cross-channel and local traffic. They approached the Harbour Commissioners for permission to buy the desired site, but were refused on the grounds that they had not built on land they had previously purchased. Thus the Lord Warden Hotel was built, opening in 1851. Through
1656-433: The SER were to make its junction further south. The London and Brighton were to construct the line, and the SER were to purchase it at cost on completion. Both companies would operate trains over the route. The London and Brighton took advantage of this to ensure that gradients would be kept as shallow as possible, even at the expense of substantial earthworks and a mile-long tunnel at Merstham . The SER main line diverged from
1725-698: The abolition of 32 signal boxes, with eleven more reduced to occasional use and one being manned during morning peak hours only. Electric services on the full length of the SEML began on 12 June 1961. This was accompanied by a voltage upgrade to 750 V DC across the whole the Southern Region. Completion of the scheme would allow the phasing out of steam from the Eastern area of the Southern Region of British Railways . Folkestone East closed to passengers on 6 September 1965. In December 1969, it
1794-488: The abolition of seven more manual boxes. The increased services provided by electric trains meant that there were fewer paths available for freight trains to reach the marshalling yard at Hither Green. Therefore, the Greenwich Park Branch Line , which had closed on 1 January 1917 and thereafter was only used by freight trains as far as Brockley Lane , was brought back into use on 30 June 1929 as far as
1863-528: The branch line from Paddock Wood to Maidstone . It opened on 25 September 1844. In May 1844, permission was gained to build a railway from Ashford to the Isle of Thanet , serving both Margate and Ramsgate. The line opened as far as Canterbury on 6 February 1846. In 1845, permission was obtained to build a branch line to Tunbridge Wells . This line opened on 19 September 1845, and was extended to Hastings , East Sussex in 1852. Also in that year, permission
1932-707: The centre of Kent to the coast at Folkestone where it joins the Channel Tunnel . The line was built by the South Eastern Railway (SER), which was in competition with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), hence the duplication of routes in Kent. The original main line was given sanction by Act of Parliament in 1836. The route first authorised was from London Bridge via Oxted , Tunbridge , Maidstone , Ashford and Folkestone . The route
2001-461: The cliff face. An estimated 1,000,000 tons of chalk was dislodged. As the chalk in Shakespeare's Cliff was not as strong as that of Abbot's Cliff, two single line tunnels were bored. East of Shakespeare Tunnel , a low trestle bridge was built across the beach to gain access to Dover. The line between Folkestone and Dover opened on 7 February 1844. In 1843, permission was obtained to build
2070-401: The introduction of electric trains from Charing Cross and Cannon Street to Orpington was postponed until 28 February 1926. Cannon Street was closed from 5–28 June 1926 for alterations to the track layout and platforms. On 27 June, new four aspect colour light signals were brought into use between Cannon Street, Charing Cross and Borough Market Junction. New power signal boxes came into service at
2139-616: The introduction of electric trains in the late 1920s, a large number of three-car electric multiple units and two-car trailer sets were built. Some were built new by the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company with trailers by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company , but the majority were converted from ex-SECR, LBSC or LSWR carriages. The former LBSC 6.7kV AC electric multiple units were also converted. After World War II , many of
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2208-672: The line between the London terminus and London Bridge. The major rail depots, visible near Hither Green , are the Hither Green Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD) and the nearby Grove Park Depot and Sidings . Picturesque and unfamiliar sights (to visitors) on the line are oast houses , traditional farm buildings used for drying hops , whose conical roofs are tipped by distinctive cowls . 51°10′21″N 0°32′9″E / 51.17250°N 0.53583°E / 51.17250; 0.53583 Redhill railway station Redhill railway station serves
2277-527: The line can be found at South Eastern Main Line diagram The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England , UK , one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent , going via Sevenoaks , Tonbridge , Ashford and Folkestone to Dover . The other routes are the Chatham Main Line which runs along the north Kent coast to Ramsgate or Dover via Chatham and High Speed 1 which runs through
2346-405: The line include the "Little Mail", and "Mail" class 2-2-2s . By the 1860s the speed limit on the line was 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). In those days, shingle was used for ballast. This was fine for the speeds and train weights then in use, but became less satisfactory as train speeds and weights increased. The use of shingle ballast was a factor in a serious accident at Sevenoaks in 1927. In
2415-519: The line was extended to Orpington and Sevenoaks . The line between Sevenoaks and Tonbridge opened to freight in February 1868, and to passengers on 1 May 1868. Sevenoaks Tunnel took five years to build, from 1863 to 1868, It is 3,493 yards (3,194 m) long. On opening, it was the fifth longest railway tunnel in the United Kingdom. This new line meant that the old main line from Redhill
2484-510: The main line, cover the stations with other services on the route running fast over this section At Tonbridge services from the original main route – now the rural Redhill–Tonbridge line – join from Redhill , while the main line to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells diverges. At Paddock Wood the Medway Valley line diverges. At Ashford the Maidstone East Line (from Swanley) and High Speed 1 joins, while several lines diverge:
2553-416: The new line during 1840 and 1841, with the South Eastern Railway (SER) contributing half of the construction cost and taking ownership of the section between Croydon and Red Hill. (The SER had however been running services over the line since 1842.) The inevitable and continuing conflict between the two railway companies over the use of this joint line gave rise to the construction of four railway stations at
2622-629: The new line, but retained running powers over the original line and the use of Redhill station. These were continued until both the SER and the LB&;SCR came under the ownership of the Southern Railway 1 January 1923 and the name of the joint station was changed to Redhill in July 1929. The Brighton Main Line and the line from Redhill to Reigate were both electrified under the Southern Railway on 1 January 1933. The Redhill to Tonbridge Line
2691-661: The platforms to the subway and a level entrance from the Platform 3 exit, with a further lift between the subway and the main entrance, which is at street level. The main entrance faces the town centre, and is opposite Redhill bus station. The ticket office is staffed and also has ticket machines, and there are ticket barriers. There is a coffee shop in the ticket hall, and a takeaway-only coffee shop on platforms 1 and 2. Services at Redhill are operated by Southern , Thameslink and Great Western Railway using Class 165 and 166 DMUs and Class 377 and 700 EMUs . Services at
2760-419: The point at which it crossed the SEML, a new spur being provided to give access to Hither Green. The reopened section of line was also electrified and provided with four aspect colour light signalling. In 1934, it was announced that the electrification of the SEML would be extended to Sevenoaks, including the loops at Chislehurst Jn. Electric services from Sevenoaks began on 6 January 1935. In February 1936, it
2829-399: The service between Peterborough and Horsham does not run and instead, one train per hour to and from Bedford is extended beyond Three Bridges to and from Horsham. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: Redhill Station has four platforms, one of which is a bay platform. On 11 January 2016, payment using Oyster and contactless payment cards was introduced at Redhill, as part of
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2898-405: The site of what was then a hamlet on the eastern side of Reigate . The original station was opened by the London and Brighton Railway on 12 July 1841 on a site to the south of the proposed junction with the South Eastern Main Line to Dover. The nearby market town was served by a horse-drawn omnibus service operated by the railway. This station was designed by the architect David Mocatta , and
2967-605: The station are as follows. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: During the peak hours, the service to Reigate divides and attaches at Redhill with an additional portion continuing to and from Gatwick Airport . On Sundays, the service between London and Reigate is reduced to hourly and the station is served by an additional hourly service between London Victoria, Portsmouth Harbour and Bognor Regis (dividing and attaching at Barnham ) in order to maintain two trains per hour to and from London Victoria. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: On Sundays,
3036-554: The successor to the L&BR after July 1846) over the use of the station and lines to Coulsdon was signed 1 February 1869 and renewed ten years later. During the 1880s, as traffic increased, the disputes over the use of line and Redhill station re-occurred. This became known as the 'Southern Lines Controversy' and ultimately led to the construction of the Quarry Line by the LB&SCR in 1899, which avoided Redhill. The LB&SCR diverted many of its Brighton Main Line trains to
3105-400: The three-coach units were reformed as four-car units by the addition of an ex-LSWR 10-compartment carriage. Some units gained a brand new carriage. Other units were formed from various carriages that were part of units that had been damaged by accidents or enemy action. From 1946 to 1950, a number of units were built at Eastleigh Works . The units collectively were designated 4SUB . In 1903,
3174-551: The tide. The SER started a cross-channel steamship service to Boulogne. At Dover, the River Dour had formed a shingle spit and thus a small harbour which required constant dredging to keep open. Cross-Channel traffic was operated by Admiralty ships to Calais. Neither French port was connected by railway at the time. The SER partly financed the construction of the Boulogne & Amiens Railway , which opened in 1848. Calais
3243-495: The town of Redhill , Surrey , England . The station is a major interchange point on the Brighton Main Line , 22 miles 40 chains (36.2 km) measured from London Charing Cross . It is managed by Southern , and is also served by Thameslink and Great Western Railway . The local topography determined that it was cheaper to build and operate a railway line between London and Brighton which by-passed
3312-531: The tunnels on the Hastings line had skimped on the construction by using an insufficient number of rings of bricks to line the tunnels. Rectification resulted in a restricted loading gauge on that line, a situation that was to last until 1986. This "cut-off" line, 24 miles (39 km) in length, reached Chislehurst & Bickley Park on 1 July 1865. This station was replaced with a new one 600 yards (550 m) further south, which opened on 2 March 1868 when
3381-418: The tunnels to allow ordinary stock to work through them. In 1954, Charing Cross, and to a lesser extent London Bridge, were remodelled to enable them to handle 10-coach trains on the suburban network. Cannon Street station was remodelled in 1955. On 5 April 1957, a fire destroyed the signal box at Cannon Street and severely affected the operation of trains. Following the construction of a temporary signal box,
3450-409: The two railways did so at the old Merstham station further up the line. The SER wanted to replace their 'Reigate' station with a joint station immediately before the junction, but the L&BR opposed the plan. As a result, the SER forced the issue by ending the arrangements at Merstham, thereby forcing passengers to transfer between the two stations at Redhill by foot. On 15 April 1844 the SER built
3519-602: The two termini, but Metropolitan Junction remained a manually-worked box, although it was provided with a new 60-lever frame. With the introduction of the new service on 28 June, a new station was opened at Petts Wood . On 30 June 1929, four-aspect colour light signals were introduced between New Cross and Hither Green . New power signal boxes were provided at St Johns and Parks Bridge Jn, enabling seven manual boxes to be abolished. On 1 December 1929, four-aspect colour light signals were introduced between Spa Road and New Cross. A new power box at North Kent East Junction allowed
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#17327874402763588-402: Was 16 miles (26 km) shorter that the SER line via Redhill . In May 1862, authorisation was obtained to construct a new railway from St Johns , London to Tonbridge, which reduced the distance from London to Tonbridge and points east by about 13 miles (21 km). Construction of the tunnels was well supervised by the SER, for it had been discovered by then that the contractors who had built
3657-554: Was Sir William Cubitt . To facilitate fast running, Tunbridge , Maidstone Road and Ashford stations were built with through roads. Headcorn station was to be rebuilt on a similar plan in 1924. Construction began in November 1837 from Reigate Junction eastwards, and in both directions from Tunbridge. The line from London Bridge to Tunbridge opened on 26 May 1842. The line between Tonbridge and Ashford opened on 1 December 1842. No major engineering works were needed until Folkestone
3726-509: Was announced that all electric multiple units built before 1939 were to be withdrawn by 1972. In 1972, work began on rebuilding and resignalling London Bridge, with a new power signal box built at London Bridge . The scheme cost £23.5 million and was completed in December 1978. The line was largely left untouched, until the arrival of the Channel Tunnel at Cheriton, near Folkestone. Prior to construction of High Speed 1 , also known as
3795-590: Was announced that the SR intended to extend electrification of the SEML to Tonbridge, as part of a scheme to electrify the Hastings line. In February 1937, it was announced that this part of a wider electrification scheme would be completed in January 1939. However, in February 1938, it was announced that the Hastings electrification had been abandoned due to the cost of having to either build dedicated rolling stock or rebore
3864-558: Was electrified under British Rail in 1993. Redhill station is at the junction of the Brighton Main Line, which runs north to London and south to Gatwick Airport and Brighton , with the ex-SER North Downs Line , which runs west to Guildford and Reading , and the Redhill to Tonbridge Line , to the east The station has four passenger platforms and a parcels bay (which is now out of use). From west to east: platform 0
3933-579: Was largely out of SER's hands. The harbour itself was under the control of the Harbour Commissioners, who were deputies of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports . Other land that might be developed was in the hands of the Admiralty. Dover Corporation had no influence over either body. They were forced to watch the development of Folkestone as a port whilst little was done to improve things in what
4002-638: Was obtained to build a railway from Ashford to Hastings, which opened on 13 February 1851. Tunbridge station was renamed Tunbridge Junction on 1 February 1852. Both Dover and Folkestone provided access to the English Channel , and thus to the French ports of Calais and Boulogne . At Folkestone, the Pent Brook stream that ran through the Foord Gap had built up a spit of shingle, which acted as
4071-436: Was of a different character, and was found to be unstable. Cubitt sought the advice of Lieutenant Hutchinson, Royal Engineers , who had experience in using dynamite in the clearing of the wreck of HMS Royal George in 1840. It was decided to blow the cliff away over a distance of 500 ft (150 m). On 18 January 1843, a total of 18,500 lb (8,400 kg) of gunpowder was used in three charges to blow away
4140-475: Was one of a series of standardised modular buildings used by the railway. It closed on 15 April 1844, when the L&BR began to share the SER Redhill and Reigate station and was demolished soon afterwards. On 26 May 1842 the SER opened what was originally called 'Redhill', but later misleadingly renamed 'Reigate' station, on their own stretch of line just beyond the junction. Passengers transferring between
4209-425: Was reached by rail in that year. Larger and larger ships were built for the cross-Channel service; these could use Folkestone Harbour only at high tide in the 1860s whilst the pier was extended. Trains connecting with cross-Channel ships thus ran according to the state of the tide, not to a fixed timetable. This was a factor in a serious accident at Staplehurst on 9 June 1865. The development of Dover Harbour
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#17327874402764278-645: Was reached, where a 100 ft (30 m) high viaduct was needed to cross the Foord Gap. A temporary station was provided at Folkestone, which opened on 28 June 1843. With the completion of the viaduct, Folkestone station opened on 18 December 1843. East of Folkestone, a hard gault ridge was bored through by the Martello Tunnel, which took its name from a nearby Martello Tower . Between Folkestone and Dover, there were three headlands, Abbott's Cliff, Round Down Cliff and Shakespeare's Cliff. The first and last were of sound chalk, but Round Down Cliff's chalk
4347-496: Was rebuilt and enlarged on the same site in August 1858 when it was renamed 'Redhill Junction'. The chronic congestion at the station was however eased after 1 May 1868 when Redhill ceased to be on the South Eastern Main Line to Dover following the opening of the 'Sevenoaks cut off' line between St Johns and Tonbridge railway station . A ten-year agreement between the SER and the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR
4416-488: Was rebuilt to allow an increase of speed on the connecting lines from 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). Stage 2 extended electrification along the remainder of the SEML to Dover. Ashford, Shorncliffe and Folkestone Central stations were rebuilt. Colour light signalling was installed throughout, with new signal boxes being built at Hither Green, Chislehurst Junction, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone Junction. This allowed
4485-561: Was relegated to branch line status. In 1872, construction began on a branch line from Sandling to Sandgate , near Folkestone. Proposals to extend this, or to build a line from Shorncliffe which would have passed under the Foord Gap Viaduct, to Folkestone Harbour, were defeated by local opposition. Much of the land required was owned by the Earl of Radnor , who was opposed to the schemes. In 1881, powers were obtained to build
4554-534: Was sought in 1922 to build an electricity generating station at Charlton, London . This was refused by the Electricity Commissioners, who insisted that the company bought electricity from an existing supply company. Objections to this by the SECR were not entertained. On 1 January 1923, the SECR became part of the Southern Railway (SR). The SR decided that the electrification system was to be 660 V DC third rail . The first station on
4623-589: Was the premier of the Cinque Ports . As far back as the reign of Elizabeth I , there had been plans to build a breakwater at Dover. In 1836, a parliamentary inquiry was set up, and eventually construction of a breakwater was begun in 1847. The Admiralty Pier was to be wide enough for two railway lines to be accommodated. In use by 1864, the pier was completed in 1871. Another problem was a lack of decent hotel accommodation in Dover. The Harbour Commissioners had sold
4692-425: Was to be partly electrified as follows: Charing Cross and Cannon Street to Orpington as part of Stage 1; Orpington to Tonbridge as part of Stage 2, which also included the electrification of the former SEML between Redhill and Tonbridge. Both stages only covered the working of local passenger trains on the lines that were electrified. Stage 3 was to extend the working to through passenger trains and freight. Permission
4761-570: Was to make use of the existing London and Croydon Railway and London and Greenwich Railway companies' tracks. The SER did not have much spare capital. As a cost-cutting measure, authorisation was secured in 1837 to make the junction with the London and Croydon Railway at Norwood, Surrey . instead of at Corbett's Lane . However, the London and Brighton Railway was authorised to build from Norwood southwards in 1847. Parliament suggested that further savings could be made by avoiding having lines running in parallel valleys for 12 miles (19 km) if
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