Tenterden St. Michael's was a railway station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway which served the Tenterden suburb of St Michaels in Kent, England. The station was situated on the southern side of a level crossing to the south of St. Michael's tunnel, one of the line's main civil engineering features. Closed in 1954, nothing remains of St. Michael's today: a footpath and cycleway runs through the site.
Tenterden St. Michael's | |
|---|---|
 Station site looking south towards Tenterden Town. The platform was situated on the left. | |
| General information | |
| Location | St. Michaels nr Tenterden, Ashford England |
| Grid reference | TQ883351 |
| Platforms | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | Kent and East Sussex Railway |
| Post-grouping | Kent and East Sussex Railway Southern Region of British Railways |
| Key dates | |
| 23 November 1912[1] | Opened |
| 4 January 1954[2] | Closed |
History
editTenterden St. Michael's was opened in 1912 to serve the local community of St Michaels on the outskirts of Tenterden.[3] It was situated immediately south of the ungated level crossing over Grange Road.[4]
St. Michael's was little more than a halt station consisting of no more than a single platform made of sleepers and, for some time, a small corrugated iron hut which served as a ticket office.[5] So modest were the facilities that the wooden picket gate leading from the road for the use of passengers has been described as "more obvious than the halt itself".[6] By August 1938, the ticket office had closed and passengers were obliged to purchase their tickets on the train; the station had also become run-down and the track weed-strewn. It had fallen into a dangerous and decrepit state by 1953, the condition of the platform sleepers having seriously deteriorated.[7] Regular passenger services on the line were withdrawn after the last train on Saturday 2 January 1954.[8] The line was engineered and operated by Colonel H F Stephens. The only tunnel on the line the 31 yards long "St Michaels Tunnel" was located just north of the halt.[9]
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Halden Road | British Railways Southern Region KESR |
Tenterden Town |
Present day
editThere is no trace of Tenterden St. Michael's today; its site is now a footpath and cycleway.[10] To the north beyond the site of the level crossing over Grange Road, Orchard Road has been built along the right-of-way[11] and St. Michael's tunnel remains beneath Shoreham Lane at grid reference TQ883354.[12]
References
edit- ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p. 227.
- ^ Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol: Avon-AngliA Publications & Services. p. 134. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
- ^ Course, Edwin (1976). The Railways of Southern England: Independent and Light Railways. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 48. ISBN 0-7134-0490-6.
- ^ Gough, Terry (1998). The Kent & East Sussex Railway. Kettering, Northants: Past & Present Publishing Ltd. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-85895-149-2.
- ^ Garrett, Stephen (1999). The Kent & East Sussex Light Railway. Usk, Mon.: The Oakwood Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-85361-516-3.
- ^ Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1988). Branch Line to Tenterden. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press. p. Plate 95. ISBN 978-0-906520-21-5.
- ^ Scott-Morgan, John (2007). An Illustrated History of the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Hersham, Surrey: OPC Railprint. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-86093-608-4.
- ^ Garrett, S., p. 47.
- ^ "St Michaels Tunnel". Forgotten Relics. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ Gough, T., p. 28.
- ^ White, H.P. (1987). Forgotten Railways: South-East England (Forgotten Railways Series). Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-946537-37-2.
- ^ Oppitz, Leslie (2003). Lost Railways of Kent. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-85306-803-4.