South Eastern Railway (UK) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The South Eastern Railway (SER) was a railway company in south-eastern England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

to Dover

Dover

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings

Hastings

Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....

, Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

and other places in Kent. The SER absorbed or leased other railways, some older than itself, including the London and Greenwich Railway

London and Greenwich Railway

The London and Greenwich Railway was opened in London between 1836 and 1838. It was the first steam railway to have a terminus in the capital, the first of any to be built specifically for passenger service, and the first example of an elevated railway....

and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway

Canterbury and Whitstable Railway

The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England.- Early history :...

. Most of the company's routes were in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, eastern Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

and the London suburbs, with a long cross-country route from in Surrey to Reading, Berkshire

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

.

Much of the company's early history was attempts at expansion and feuding with its neighbours; the London Brighton and South Coast Railway(LBSCR) in the west and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway

London, Chatham and Dover Railway

The London, Chatham and Dover Railway 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...

(LCDR) to the north-east. However, in 1899 the SER agreed with the LCDR to share operation of the two railways, work them as a single system and pool receipts: but it was not a full amalgamation. The SER and LCDR remained separate companies until becoming constituents of the Southern Railway

Southern Railway (Great Britain)

The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...

on 1 January 1923.

Origins of the company

There had been proposals for a railway between London and Dover in 1825, 1832 and 1835, but they came to nothing due to opposition from landowners or the difficulties of bridging the River Medway

River Medway

The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....

near its mouth. On 21 June 1836, the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

passed a Private Act

Local and Personal Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom

Local and Personal Acts of Parliament are laws in the United Kingdom which apply to a particular individual or group of individuals, or corporate entity. This contrasts with a Public General Act of Parliament which applies to the entire community...

(6 Wm.IV., cap.75) incorporating the South Eastern and Dover Railway, which shortly afterwards changed to the South Eastern Railway.

Choice of route from London to Dover

At the time of inauguration there were two potential rail pathways south from London, and the Speaker of the House of Commons had said no further pathways would be permitted. The SER therefore considered routes to Dover from the proposed London and Southampton Railway line at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, London

Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...

, or from the existing London and Greenwich Railway

London and Greenwich Railway

(L&GR) at Greenwich. The former left London in the wrong direction and then on a roundabout route. The latter provided a useful way for a northern route via Gravesend

Gravesend, Kent

Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...

, Rochester, and Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

, except that lengthening the line beyond Greenwich was blocked by opposition from the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

, and this route would involve tunnelling through the North Downs

North Downs

The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...

.

The engineer of the new line, William Cubitt

William Cubitt

Sir William Cubitt was an eminent English civil engineer and millwright. Born in Norfolk, England, he was employed in many of the great engineering undertakings of his time. He invented a type of windmill sail and the prison treadwheel, and was employed as chief engineer, at Ransomes of Ipswich,...

, was also engineer of the London and Croydon Railway

London and Croydon Railway

The London and Croydon Railway was an early railway which operated between London and Croydon in England. It was opened in 1839 and in July 1846 it merged with other railways to form a part of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway ....

(L&CR), which planned to use L&GR lines as far as Corbett’s Lane Southwark

Southwark

Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...

before turning south towards Croydon

Croydon

Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

. A new connection on this line near to Norwood

Norwood Junction railway station

Norwood Junction railway station is in South Norwood in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, in Travelcard Zone 4.The station is managed by London Overground and trains operated by Southern and London Overground .-History:...

could provide access to a southerly route to Dover via Tonbridge

Tonbridge

Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...

, Ashford

Ashford, Kent

Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...

and Folkestone

Folkestone

Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...

. This was less direct than the northerly route but passed through easier country. It involved one significant 1387 yards (1 km) tunnel through the Shakespeare Cliff

Shakespeare Cliff Halt railway station

Shakespeare Cliff Halt is a private halt station on the South Eastern Main Line. It is located to the western end of the dual bore Shakespeare Cliff tunnel on the South Eastern Main Line to Folkestone...

near Dover. This was the route first chosen by the SER at its inauguration.

During Parliamentary discussions on the proposed route of the London and Brighton Railway

London and Brighton Railway

The London and Brighton Railway was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway runs from a junction with the London & Croydon Railway at Norwood - which gives it access from London Bridge, just south of the River Thames in central London...

(L&BR) during 1837, pressure was put on the SER to divert its proposed route so it could also share the L&BR mainline between Jolly Sailor (Norwood)

Norwood Junction railway station

and Earlswood Common, and then travel eastwards to Tonbridge

Tonbridge

. Under the scheme proposed by Parliament, the railway from Croydon to Redhill

Redhill, Surrey

Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Redhill and the adjacent town of Reigate form a single urban area.-History:...

would be built by the L&BR but the SER would have the right to refund half the construction costs and own that part of the line between Merstham

Merstham

Merstham is a village in the Reigate and Banstead borough of Surrey, England, in the London commuter belt. It is just north of Redhill, near the intersection of the M25 and M23 motorways, on the edge of the North Downs and on the North Downs Way.-History:...

and Redhill. The SER gave way to this proposal as it reduced the construction costs, although it resulted in a 20 miles (32 km) longer route than by road, running south for 14.5 miles (23 km) and then turning east. It also meant that its trains from London Bridge passed over the lines of three other companies: the L&GR to Corbett's Lane Junction, the L&CR as far as 'Jolly Sailor', and the L&BR to Merstham.

Construction of the Main Line

Construction began in 1838 at several places simultaneously, and the Shakespeare Tunnel was complete by May 1841 . The L&BR line to Redhill opened on 12 July 1841 and the SER line from Redhill to Tonbridge

Redhill to Tonbridge Line

The Redhill to Tonbridge Line is a railway line running from Redhill, Surrey to Tonbridge, Kent in southeast England. It branches off the Brighton Main Line at Redhill station and, after 20 miles, joins the South Eastern Main Line at Tonbridge station....

on 26 May 1842, when SER train services began. The main line reached Ashford on 1 December 1842; the outskirts of Folkestone

Folkestone

by 28 June 1843; and Dover

Dover

by 7 February 1844. On the same day the SER offered to lease the L&BR for 21 years at £100,000 per year, but the offer was turned down. Later that year, the SER refunded to the L&BR £430,000 and took ownership of the southern half of the Croydon-Redhill line

Brighton Main Line

The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 50 miles long, and is electrified throughout. Trains are operated by Southern, First Capital Connect, and Gatwick Express, now part of Southern.-Original proposals:There were no fewer...

. Trains ran toll-free to both companies on this stretch but still had pay on the L&CR from Norwood Junction railway station

Norwood Junction railway station

to Corbett's Lane Junction, and the L&GR into London Bridge.

Folkestone and Dover Harbours

In 1843, when the railway reached the edge of Folkestone, the company bought the silted and nearly derelict harbour, built by Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...

in 1809, for £18,000. The SER dredged the harbour and arranged for a steam packet company to provide a ferry to Boulogne. The following year it established the independent South Eastern & Continental Steam Packet Company, which it absorbed in 1853. In December 1848 it opened a steeply graded branch from the Folkestone station

Folkestone East railway station

Folkestone East is a former railway station in Folkestone, England. Opened by the South Eastern Railway in 1843 as part of its main line from London, it was Folkestone's first station and handled substantial boat train traffic travelling to the Continent via Folkestone Harbour...

to the harbour

Folkestone Harbour railway station

Folkestone Harbour station is a railway station built to serve the port of Folkestone in Kent, and is one of three stations in the town. It is at the end of the short 1-in-30 Folkestone Harbour Branch Line, joining the South Eastern Main Line at Folkestone Junction...

.

The SER opened Dover (later Dover Town) station on 7 February 1844. This was originally a terminus, but in 1860 the line was continued to Admiralty Pier. Thereafter the SER concentrated most of its resources into developing Folkestone Harbour, which became its principal base for cross-channel ferries. The company had complete control of Folkestone whereas at Dover it had to negotiate with both the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

and the local town council, and the rail route from Boulogne to Paris was better developed than that from Calais.

In 1848 the SER served two steam ships a day between Folkestone and Boulogne, one a day between Dover and Calais, and one between Dover and Ostend.

Bricklayers' Arms Terminus

During 1843, before the main line was complete, the SER and the L&CR became anxious about the charges imposed by the L&GR for the use of the terminus at London Bridge and its approaches. Parliament had relaxed restrictions on new railways into London and so SER sought authority to construct a branch from Corbett's Lane to a new temporary passenger terminus and goods station at Bricklayers' Arms

Bricklayers' Arms

Bricklayers' Arms is a busy road intersection between A2 and the London Inner Ring Road in south London, England. It is the junction of Tower Bridge Road, Old Kent Road, New Kent Road and Great Dover Street; Old Kent Road and New Kent Road east-bound are connected by a flyover.The area is named...

, for use by both railways, removing the need to use the Greenwich Railway. This opened 1 May 1844. According to Charles Vignoles, 'the making of Bricklayers' Arms station was a matter of compulsion in driving the Greenwich people to reasonable terms'. Plans to extend from Bricklayers' Arms to a new SER terminus at Hungerford Bridge

Hungerford Bridge

The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. It is a steel truss railway bridge—sometimes known as the Charing Cross Bridge—flanked by two more recent, cable-stayed, pedestrian bridges that share the railway bridge's...

, nearer the centre of London, were rejected by Parliament. Similarly, a revised proposal to extend the line to Waterloo Road

Waterloo Road, London

Waterloo Road is a road straddling Lambeth and Southwark, London, England. It runs between Westminster Bridge Road close to St George's Circus at the south-east end and Waterloo Bridge across the River Thames towards London's West End district at the north-west end.At the northern end near the...

in 1846 was rejected by a committee of Parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

.

The L&GR was nearly bankrupt in 1844 and the SER leased its line from 1 January 1845. It became the Greenwich branch

Greenwich Line

The Greenwich Line is a short railway line in South London that follows the route of the London and Greenwich Railway, which was the first railway line in London....

of that railway. Thereafter further developments were at London Bridge, and following a shunting accident during August 1850 which caused the collapse of a large part of the station roof, the SER closed Bricklayers' Arms terminus to passenger traffic in 1852 converting it into a goods facility.

Secondary Main lines and Branch lines

Over the next two decades the SER system spread throughout Kent and Surrey, building lines to connect towns to its main line or acquiring those already in existence.

Canterbury & Whitstable Railway

In 1844 the SER took over the bankrupt Canterbury and Whitstable Railway

Canterbury and Whitstable Railway

, which had opened in 1832. This continued to be worked as an isolated line until the SER reached Canterbury from Ashford in 1846, with its line to Ramsgate

Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line

The Ashford to Ramsgate line is the railway that runs from Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West. The same termini can be reached by the Kent Coast LineThe line is electrified .-Services:...

Medway Valley Line

The first branch built by the SER was the Medway Valley Line

Medway Valley Line

The Medway Valley Line is the name given to the railway line linking and the Medway Towns with and onward to , and London St Pancras International...

on 24 September 1844, from Paddock Wood

Paddock Wood

Paddock Wood is a small town and civil parish in the Borough of Tunbridge Wells and county of Kent in England, about southwest of Maidstone. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 8,263, and is the centre for hop growing in Kent.-History:...

to Maidstone

Maidstone

Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...

. This was continued to Strood railway station

Strood railway station

Strood Railway Station serves the town of Strood in Medway. It is on the North Kent Line and is a terminus for the Medway Valley Line. Train services are operated by Southeastern.-History:...

on 18 June 1856.

Greenwich Line

Leasing the London and Greenwich Railway from 1 January 1845 gave the company control of its main line into London and provided a branch line

Greenwich Line

The Greenwich Line is a short railway line in South London that follows the route of the London and Greenwich Railway, which was the first railway line in London....

to Greenwich. Further eastward extension was not possible due to opposition from the Greenwich Hospital, but it was eventually opened in 1878 when the line joined the North Kent Line

North Kent Line

The North Kent Line is a railway line which connects central and south east London with Dartford and Medway.-Construction:The North Kent Line was the means by which the South Eastern Railway were able to connect its system to London at London Bridge...

at Charlton

Charlton railway station

Charlton railway station is in Charlton in the London Borough of Greenwich. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...

Tunbridge Wells and Hastings Line

A secondary main line

Hastings Line

The Hastings Line is a railway line in Kent and East Sussex linking Hastings with the main town of Tunbridge Wells, and from there into London via Sevenoaks.-Openings:The line was opened by the South Eastern Railway in main three stages: – :...

from Tonbridge

Tonbridge

to the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells

Royal Tunbridge Wells

Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...

opened 20 September 1845. It was extended to Tunbridge Wells Central

Tunbridge Wells railway station

Tunbridge Wells railway station serves Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The station and all trains serving it are currently operated by Southeastern. It is located directly on the double-tracked electrified Hastings Line....

on 25 November 1846. By 1 September 1851 the line

Hastings Line

had reached Robertsbridge

Robertsbridge

Robertsbridge is a village in East Sussex, England within the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge. It is approximately 10 miles north of Hastings and 13 miles south-east of Tunbridge Wells...

and was extended to Battle

Battle

Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...

, Bopeep Junction and on 1 February 1852. By this time Hastings had already been reached by the SER in a roundabout route

Marshlink Line

The Marshlink Line is the name given to services on the railway line linking Ashford with Hastings in the South East of England. The line was part of an original proposal by a company named the Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway to extend its coast route to Hastings...

from Ashford

Ashford International railway station

Ashford International railway station serves Ashford in Kent, England. Services are provided by Southeastern, Southern and Eurostar.International services use platforms 3 & 4, whilst domestic trains use the original platforms 1 & 2, and a new island built when the Channel Tunnel opened...

, which opened 13 February 1851. From this line was a short branch to Rye Harbour

Rye, East Sussex

Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...

Ramsgate, Margate and Deal Lines

During 1846 the SER opened another secondary main line

Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line

The Ashford to Ramsgate line is the railway that runs from Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West. The same termini can be reached by the Kent Coast LineThe line is electrified .-Services:...

from Ashford

Ashford International railway station

to Ramsgate

Ramsgate railway station

Ramsgate railway station serves the town of Ramsgate in Thanet in Kent, England, and is located about 10 minutes away on foot from the town centre. The station lies on the Chatham Main Line 127 km east of London Victoria, the Kent Coast Line, and the Ashford to Ramsgate line...

with a branch from there to Margate

Margate railway station

Margate railway station serves the town of Margate in Thanet in Kent, England. Train services are provided by Southeastern.Trains from the station generally run to London Victoria via , or to via Ramsgate, Canterbury West and Ashford International...

on 1 December 1846. A further branch from this line

Kent Coast Line

The Kent Coast Line is railway line that runs from Dover Priory to Margate in the English county of Kent.It was electrified by BR under the 1955 Modernisation Plan.- Services :...

from Minster

Minster-in-Thanet

Minster-in-Thanet, also known as Minster, is a village and civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. The village is situated to the west of Ramsgate and to the north east of Canterbury; it lies just south west of Kent International Airport and just north of the River Stour...

to Deal

Deal railway station

Deal railway station serves Deal in Kent, England. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southeastern. The station is on the Kent Coast Line north east of Dover Priory and south east of London Charing Cross.-Early Years:...

was opened 7 July 1847.

Gravesend and Strood Lines (North Kent)

As the SER was prevented from extending its Greenwich line, it opened a secondary main line

North Kent Line

from Lewisham to Gravesend

Gravesend railway station

Gravesend railway station serves the town of Gravesend in north Kent; train services are operated by Southeastern. The station is 24 miles from London Charing Cross...

and then to Strood

Strood railway station

Strood Railway Station serves the town of Strood in Medway. It is on the North Kent Line and is a terminus for the Medway Valley Line. Train services are operated by Southeastern.-History:...

on the banks of the Medway

Medway

Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...

on 30 July 1849. The second half between Gravesend and Strood had been built as the Gravesend and Rochester canal and a single track railway had been added to form the Gravesend and Rochester Railway. The SER offered to buy the canal and railway in 1845 and filled in the canal and doubled the track. The first section (built by the SER) connected Woolwich

Woolwich railway station

Woolwich railway station is a planned new station of the Crossrail rail project in London, UK. The station, which would serve the Woolwich area, was not initially proposed as part of the route but was added after a House of Commons Select Committee suggested its inclusion and after additional...

and Dartford

Dartford railway station

Dartford railway station serves the town of Dartford in Kent, England. All train services from the station are operated by Southeastern, which also manages the station...

to the railway network.

In 1852 a freight branch was constructed from this line at Charlton to the Thames at Angerstein's Wharf, used for landing coal. A line opened on 18 June 1856 up the Medway valley to Maidstone West

Maidstone West railway station

Maidstone West railway station is one of three railway stations which serve the Town Centre of Maidstone, the County Town of Kent.It lies approximately halfway along the Medway Valley Line from Paddock Wood; from Strood) and train services are provided by Southeastern.- History :Due largely to...

Early Management of the Company 1843-1855

In September 1845 the SER appointed James McGregor (sometimes spelled M'Gregor) to a new post combining the roles of Chairman and Managing Director, and who exercised absolute power over the company for the next nine years, until he was ultimately forced to resign in 1854 and leave the Board in 1855. McGregor's lack of accountability, his opaque and at times dubious working methods led to a number of strategic errors in the building of new lines and in the company's relations with its neighbours, which would have an adverse impact on the company for decades to come.

Reading Guildford and Reigate Railway

In 1846 the SER supported the formation of the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway, a scheme to build a line connecting the London to Brighton main line at Redhill with the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

(GWR) main line at Reading

Reading Southern railway station

Reading Southern railway station was the western terminus of the South Eastern Railway's route from . It was also used by London and South Western Railway services from London Waterloo....

, and agreed to operate its services. The new line

North Downs Line

The North Downs Line is the name of the passenger train service connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Gatwick Airport, on the Brighton Main Line...

was completed 4 July 1849, and in 1852 was absorbed by SER. Both the LB&SCR and London and South Western Railway

London and South Western Railway

The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

(L&SWR) regarded this line as a significant incursion into their areas of operation. Likewise the acquisition of a line so remote from its main area of operation, and of doubtful profitability, caused heated discussion and the resignation of several directors, who felt that the company should rather secure its territory and develop services in Kent, as the LB&SCR was doing in Sussex. It would also ultimately bring about McGregor's downfall. Nevertheless, in 1858 the GWR, L&SWR, and SER made a three-year agreement to share traffic and provide a connecting line between their stations at Reading.

Early relations with the London Brighton and South Coast Railway

During the first years, relations between the SER, L&CR and L&BR were cordial, with the companies pooling locomotives and forming a joint locomotive committee. However, all three considered they were disadvantaged by this arrangement and in 1845 gave notice of withdrawal. The merger of the L&BR and L&CR to form the LB&SCR in July 1846 created a powerful rival to the SER in areas of east Sussex and east Surrey not yet connected to the railway. Relations between the two companies were bad from the outset, especially at those sites where they shared facilities, such as the approaches to London Bridge, East Croydon, and Redhill

Redhill railway station

Redhill railway station serves the town of Redhill, Surrey, England. The station is a major interchange point on the Brighton Main Line 21 miles south of London Victoria...

. Also the SER had long wanted to build a line to Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

, and the LB&SCR had inherited plans for a line into mid-Kent from the L&CR, and from Bulverhythe (St Leonards)

Bulverhythe railway station

Bulverhythe was a temporary railway station on the Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway in Bulverhythe, now part of Hastings, East Sussex.- History :...

to Ashford via Hastings

Hastings railway station

Hastings railway station is in Hastings in East Sussex, England. It is situated on the Hastings Line to Tunbridge Wells, the East Coastway Line to Brighton and the Marshlink Line to Ashford International....

from the L&BR. Matters were further complicated in 1846 when the SER was empowered to build a line from its existing branch at Tunbridge Wells

Tunbridge Wells railway station

to Hastings.

Unsuccessful discussions took place regarding a merger of the two companies, but eventually an agreement on 10 July 1848 (ratified in Parliament in 1849) abolished tolls for using each other's lines and prevented further eastward expansion by the LB&SCR beyond Hastings and westward further expansion by the SER. Under this agreement the LB&SCR, would share the line from Bulverhythe to Hastings and transfer to the SER its rights to build a line to Ashford but at the same time itretained the right to use the Bricklayers' Arms branch and construct its own 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) goods depot on the site for a rent of one shilling (£0.05) per year.

The 1848/9 agreement did not prevent further squabbling between the two companies, notably with the opening of the railway from Ashford to Hastings in 1851. The LB&SCR had originally sought to build it and then had attempted to delay its completion by the SER. In retaliation, the SER attempted to deny LB&SCR access to its station at Hastings. The matter was resolved in court in favour of the LB&SCR, but victory was short-lived as the following year the SER opened its lines from Tunbridge Wells, reducing the distance by rail to Hastings from London.

Closing the Capital Account

McGregor's greatest strategic mistake was his failure to address the concerns of the proposers of the East Kent Railway

East Kent Railway

The East Kent Railway was an early railway operating between Strood and the town of Faversham in Kent England, during 1858 and 1859. In the latter year it changed its name to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway to reflect its ambitions to build a rival line from London to Dover via Chatham and...

, which ultimately led to the creation of an important rival in northern Kent and also for the Continental rail traffic.

Between 1844 and 1858, the SER had a monopoly of rail transport in Kent, but served the north of the county poorly. The SER line

North Kent Line

from Strood

Strood railway station

Strood Railway Station serves the town of Strood in Medway. It is on the North Kent Line and is a terminus for the Medway Valley Line. Train services are operated by Southeastern.-History:...

into London had opened in 1849. A plan to continue this line as far as Chilham

Chilham

Chilham is a parish in the English county of Kent. Visited by tourists worldwide, it is known for its beauty. Chilham has been a location for a number of films and television dramas...

where it would join the Ashford to Canterbury Line

Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line

The Ashford to Ramsgate line is the railway that runs from Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West. The same termini can be reached by the Kent Coast LineThe line is electrified .-Services:...

, was rejected by Parliament in 1847 due to financial considerations and never resurrected. One group of SER directors were anxious to 'close the capital account' and build no more lines, even though this might leave the field open to rival projects, as would later prove to be the case. As a result there was no planned service to the north Kent towns to the east of the River Medway

River Medway

The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....

. Likewise SER routes to Margate

Margate

-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....

, Deal

Deal railway station

, and Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

were circuitous and other towns had no railway at all. As a result of the railway's unwillingness to act, plans for an independent line from the SER station at Strood

Strood railway station

Strood Railway Station serves the town of Strood in Medway. It is on the North Kent Line and is a terminus for the Medway Valley Line. Train services are operated by Southeastern.-History:...

to Faversham

Faversham railway station

Faversham railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in north Kent, and serves the town of Faversham, 52 miles from London Victoria and 49 miles from London St. Pancras International. Train services are provided by Southeastern. Typical journey times for fastest services to Victoria is 70...

and Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

were made following a public meeting at Rochester in 1850.

Factionalism and bad management 1854-1866

Following McGregor's resignation in 1854, there followed a decade of factionalism among the directors and equally poor management, described by Samuel Smiles

Samuel Smiles

-Early life:Born in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, the son of Samuel Smiles of Haddington and Janet Wilson of Dalkeith, Smiles was one of eleven surviving children. The family were strict Cameronians, though when Smiles grew up he was not one of them...

the Company Secretary as 'not so much business as speech-making, that seemed to be the work of the Board. It wad during this period that there was a continuing failure to deal with underlying problems in the company, and its relationships with its neighbours together with further strategic errors which weakened what might otherwise have been a profitable enterprise.

East Kent and London Chatham & Dover Railways

The East Kent Railway

East Kent Railway

(EKR) from Strood to Canterbury, proposed in 1850 achieved parliamentary approval in 1853, and also for an extension to Dover

Dover

in 1855, but it failed to secure running powers over the SER line in to London: instead the SER reluctantly agreed to handle London traffic from the line. Many SER directors were convinced the line would never be built, or would go bankrupt, and so took no interest in the scheme or in suggestions that the line should amalgamate with their railway. They were proved wrong.

In 1856 the EKR again unsuccessfully sought running powers over the SER into London, and then obtained powers to build its own route via St Mary Cray railway station

St Mary Cray railway station

St Mary Cray railway station is in the London Borough of Bromley in south-east London, in Travelcard Zone 6. The station is operated by Southeastern, as are all trains serving it.The station is 14.7 miles from London Victoria...

and Bromley South railway station

Bromley South railway station

Bromley South railway station is a major interchange and station in Bromley town centre within the London Borough of Bromley in southeast London. It is in Travelcard Zone 5, and the station and all trains are operated by Southeastern...

. The EKR secured running powers over the LB&SCR lines into Pimlico, and after 1860), to Victoria Station. The EKR became the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR) in 1859 and completed its rival route to Dover on 22 July 1861. By July 1863 the LC&DR had its own independent route to Victoria, and in 1864 its own terminus on the edge of the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

at Ludgate Hill

Ludgate Hill railway station

Ludgate Hill railway station was a station in the City of London opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway as its City terminus on 1 June 1865...

. For 36 years it would be an important competitor of the SER both for Continental and also local traffic in Kent.

A further serious strategic mistake was the refusal of the SER to accept the terms of the contract for the cross-channel carriage of mails in 1862, as this stipulated the use of Dover rather than Folkestone. This enabled the London Chatham and Dover Railway which had only reached Dover in 1861 to secure the contract and the following year would give it leverage when it came to negotiating the Continental Traffic Agreement.

Continued Bad Relations with the LB&SCR

A new and protracted dispute with the LB&SCR took place between 1855 and 1862 over the Caterham branch line, which was built by an independent company in SER territory but connected to the railway network at the former LB&SCR station at Purley

Purley railway station

Purley railway station is at Purley in the London Borough of Croydon, on the main London to Brighton line, in Travelcard Zone 6. It is a junction, with branches to Caterham and Tattenham Corner. There are sidings used by the Day and Son gravel company, part of whose installation has been given a...

. The SER refused to allow the line to be leased to the LB&SCR, which in turn refused to re-open its station, delayed opening of the line for a year, and made the Caterham company bankrupt. The SER took over the line in 1859, but the LB&SCR made life difficult for passengers to London.

The SER objected to the LB&SCR agreement with the East Kent Railway

East Kent Railway

(later the London Chatham and Dover Railway) to provide access over its lines to its Pimlico

Pimlico

Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....

station and later the jointly owned Victoria station (see below), and also for handling that company's freight traffic at 'Willow Walk', (a part of the Bricklayers' Arms

Bricklayers' Arms

goods facility). Further difficulties between occurred at East Croydon railway station in 1862. With completion of the LB&SCR line to Victoria station, extra platforms were needed to accommodate the service. The platforms were treated by the LB&SCR as a separate station, named "New Croydon", with its own ticket office, and ran exclusively LB&SCR services. This enabled the railway to offer cheaper fares from New Croydon to London than the SER which only had use of East Croydon station. The SER responded by gaining Parliamentary approval to build its own line from New Beckenham

New Beckenham railway station

New Beckenham railway station serves Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley in south east London, in Travelcard Zone 4. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southeastern.- Services :The typical off peak train service per hour is:...

to a new station at Croydon (Addiscombe Road

Addiscombe railway station

Addiscombe was a terminus station in the district of Addiscombe . It was on Lower Addiscombe Road between Hastings Road and Grant Road. The East India Way housing development now stands on the site....

), which opened 1 April 1864.

Relations with the LB&SCR reached a low point in 1863, when the general manager and secretary had to report the history of relations between the companies since the agreement of 1848-9. This set out the history although from the SER perspective.

A branch from Lewisham to Beckenham

Beckenham

Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...

opened in 1857, becoming the temporary terminus of the East Kent Railway

East Kent Railway

. Following the dispute with the LB&SCR over New Croydon (see below) an extension of this line to Addiscombe (Croydon)

Addiscombe railway station

was opened in 1864.

Continental Traffic Agreement (1863)

The SER and the LC&DR agreed to pool Continental traffic receipts between Hastings

Hastings railway station

and Margate

Margate railway station

, together with local receipts to Dover and Folkestone. It then re-allocated them to a formula which gave the SER two-thirds of the receipts in 1863, gradually reducing to one half in 1872. The agreement appeared to unduly favour the LC&DR, particularly after 1870. It did not prevent competition as the railways could claim additional funds from the pool if they carried more than their proportion of customers. Both companies sought to get round the agreement - the LC&DR by establishing a Continental service from Queenborough

Queenborough

Queenborough is a small town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England.Queenborough is two miles south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to The Swale where it joins the River Medway...

on the Isle of Sheppey

Isle of Sheppey

The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some to the east of London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale...

, which was outside the scope of the agreement. Similarly, the SER built a local station at Shorncliffe

Folkestone West railway station

Folkestone West railway station is one of two open railway stations in Folkestone in Kent. The station is operated by Southeastern.The ticket office, in a room on the extensive 'up' side buildings on the London-bound platform, is manned only during part of the day; at other times a PERTIS 'permit...

on the edge of Folkestone, which it claimed was not part of Folkestone, and from which it charged lower fares.

Following establishment of a LC&DR service from Queenborough to Flushing, Netherlands

Flushing, Netherlands

Vlissingen is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315. In the 17th century...

in 1876, the SER was allowed to build the Hundred of Hoo Railway

Hundred of Hoo Railway

The Hundred of Hoo Railway is a railway line in Kent, England, following the North Kent Line from Gravesend before diverging at Hoo Junction near Shorne Marshes and continuing in an easterly direction across the Hoo Peninsula, passing near the villages of Cooling, High Halstow, Cliffe and Stoke...

from its line near Gravesend to a new port on the across the Medway from Queenborough, called Port Victoria

Port Victoria railway station

Port Victoria railway station is a disused station in Kent, United Kingdom which opened on 11 September 1882 and closed in 1951. It was located at the head of a long timber pier reaching in the River Medway estuary....

. The line opened in September 1882.

Improvements to the main line

In 1860 the LCDR had a more direct route to Dover than the SER, and both the company's rivals had access to a London terminus in the prosperous West End of London

West End of London

The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...

while the SER only had its terminal on the south side of the river Thames at London Bridge.

Charing Cross and Cannon Street Stations

The SER converted part of London Bridge to through platforms and extended to near Waterloo, over Hungerford Bridge

Hungerford Bridge

to a station at Charing Cross

Charing Cross railway station

Charing Cross railway station, also known as London Charing Cross, is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...

which opened on 11 January 1864. When the LC&DR built a line to Ludgate Hill railway station

Ludgate Hill railway station

Ludgate Hill railway station was a station in the City of London opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway as its City terminus on 1 June 1865...

in the City of London

City of London

in 1865, the SER built a new bridge

Cannon Street Railway Bridge

Cannon Street Railway Bridge is a bridge in central London, crossing the River Thames. Downstream, the next bridge is London Bridge, and upstream Southwark Bridge. It carries trains over the river to Cannon Street station on the north bank...

over the Thames and a city terminus at Cannon Street railway station, which opened 1 September 1866. These extensions were difficult to operate and were congested at peak times.

On 16 August 1866 the SER agreed with the London and North Western Railway

London and North Western Railway

The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...

to build a joint line between Euston railway station

Euston railway station

Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...

and Charing Cross, with interchange of traffic, but the scheme was abandoned as a result of the 1867 financial crisis.

Orpington cut-off & Darford Loop

The SER therefore constructed the direct line via Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...

to Tonbridge

Tonbridge

. It involved crossing the North Downs

North Downs

by summits and long tunnels at Knockholt

Knockholt

Knockholt is a village and civil parish in Kent, England, lying approximately 5 miles south of Orpington and 3 miles northwest of Sevenoaks. It is part of the Sevenoaks district and according to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,166...

and Sevenoaks. The latter was the longest tunnel in southern England at 3451 yards (3,156 m). This cut-off line, 24 miles (39 km) long, reached Chislehurst

Chislehurst

Chislehurst is a suburban district in south-east London, England, and an electoral ward of the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

on 1 July 1865, but took three more years to reach Orpington

Orpington

Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...

and Sevenoaks (2 March 1868). The new main line opened onn 1 May 1868 when the line reached Tonbridge.

Construction of the main line provided the opportunity to build an improved route

Dartford Loop Line

The Dartford Loop Line is one of three lines linking London with Dartford in Kent, England. It lies to the south of the other two: the North Kent Line and the Bexleyheath Line.-Construction:...

to Dartford

Dartford railway station

Dartford railway station serves the town of Dartford in Kent, England. All train services from the station are operated by Southeastern, which also manages the station...

from Hither Green

Hither Green railway station

Hither Green is a railway station located in Hither Green in the London Borough of Lewisham, in southeast London, United Kingdom. Hither Green is a busy commuter station with services to several London termini and destinations to the southeast Hither Green is a railway station located in Hither...

via Sidcup

Sidcup

Sidcup is a district in South East London in the London Borough of Bexley and small parts of the district in the London Borough of Greenwich.Located south east of Charing Cross, Sidcup is bordered by the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bromley and Kent County Council, and whilst now part of...

. This opened 1 September 1866.

East London Railway

In 1865 the SER joined a consortium of six railways to form the East London Railway

East London Line

The East London Line is a London Overground line which runs north to south through the East End, Docklands and South areas of London.Built in 1869 by the East London Railway Company, which reused the Thames Tunnel, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, the line became part of the London...

, which used the existing Thames Tunnel

Thames Tunnel

The Thames Tunnel is an underwater tunnel, built beneath the River Thames in London, United Kingdom, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping. It measures 35 feet wide by 20 feet high and is 1,300 feet long, running at a depth of 75 feet below the river's surface...

to connect Wapping

Wapping

Wapping is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets which forms part of the Docklands to the east of the City of London. It is situated between the north bank of the River Thames and the ancient thoroughfare simply called The Highway...

on the north bank of the Thames with Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...

on the south. The other partners were: the Great Eastern Railway

Great Eastern Railway

The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...

(GER), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...

(LB&SCR), the London, Chatham and Dover Railway

London, Chatham and Dover Railway

(LC&DR), the Metropolitan Railway

Metropolitan railway

Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...

, and the Metropolitan District Railway

Metropolitan District Railway

The Metropolitan District Railway was the predecessor of the District line of the London Underground. Set up on 29 July 1864, at first to complete the "Inner Circle" railway around central London, it was gradually extended into the suburbs...

. Over the next four years it was converted to railway use and connected with existing lines.

The line was principally used for freight across London but the SER introduced a service between and Liverpool Street from April 1880 until March 1884. From March to September 1884 the service ran from Addiscombe to St Mary's Whitechapel Road.

Chairmanship of Edward Watkin

This period of factionalism was eventually ended with the appointment of a new and able Chairman in March 1866. This was Edward (later Sir Edward) Watkin

Edward Watkin

Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet was an English railway chairman and politician.- Biography :Watkin was born in Salford, Lancashire, the son of a wealthy cotton merchant, Absalom Watkin who was noted for his involvement in the Anti-corn Law League.After a private education, he returned to...

who was also chairman of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway

The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was formed by amalgamation in 1847. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension.-Origin:...

and the Metropolitan Railway

Metropolitan railway

Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...

, as well as being a director of Chemin de Fer du Nord

Chemin de Fer du Nord

Chemin de Fer du Nord , often referred to simply as the Nord company, was a rail transport company created in September 1845, in Paris, France. It was owned by among others de Rothschild Frères of France, N M Rothschild & Sons of London, England, Hottinger, Laffitte and Blount...

in France. However his appointment was quickly followed by the collapse of bankers Overend, Gurney and Company

Overend, Gurney and Company

Overend, Gurney & Company was a London wholesale discount bank, known as "the bankers' bank", which collapsed in 1866 owing about 11 million pounds, equivalent to £981 million at 2008 prices.-Early years:...

on 10 May 1866 and the subsequent financial crisis during the following year. This had a severe effect on expansion plans of several railways. No new lines were built by the SER until the opening of the Sandling

Sandling

Sandling is a small hamlet north of Saltwood in Kent. It has a railway station connected to Saltwood village by a bus service. It is also the location of Sandling Park, a large estate and house, which stretches around the village of Saltwood and ends at Saltwood's other satellite hamlet, Pedlinge...

to Hythe

Hythe, Kent

Hythe , is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place....

branch line on 9 October 1874. The LC&DR went bankrupt and was taken into administration 12 July 1866, and in 1867 the LB&SCR was also on the brink of bankruptcy. The directors and shareholders saw that constant quarrelling between the three companies had damaged their interests and began talks to merge or to work together. In 1868 a Bill

Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

was presented to Parliament to allow for co-operative working of railways of southern England (the SER, the LC&DR, the LB&SCR and the L&SWR). However this failed at a late stage when Parliament sought to limit the fares charged by the SER to those of the LB&SCR, and the SER withdrew. A further attempt to merge the SER and LC&DR in 1875 failed when the latter withdrew after shareholders felt it favoured the SER.

Watkin had long-term ambitions for the SER to become one link in a chain of 'Watkin' railways from the industrial north of England to the Continent via a proposed Channel Tunnel

Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...

. His plans for a Channel Tunnel were ultimately blocked by the War Office

War Office

The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...

, and suspicion fell on J.S. Forbes, Chairman of the LC&DR for having urged the decision.

Oxted & Westerham Lines

One result of improved relations between the SER and the LB&SCR during the 1870s was that the two collaborated in construction of a line

Oxted Line

The Oxted Line is a railway line in southern England. It was originally operated jointly by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the South Eastern Railway. It is now part of the Southern franchise....

between South Croydon

South Croydon railway station

South Croydon railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, in Travelcard Zone 5. It is on the Brighton Line at its junction with the Oxted Line. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern.-History:...

on the main Brighton line and Oxted

Oxted railway station

Oxted railway station is a relatively busy interchange station and terminus located in Surrey, in the South East region of England. At present, all train services are provided by Southern. The station is the busiest suburban station on the Oxted Line and is a terminus for some services on the...

. The completion of the Orpington cut-off in 1866 reduced services to and from the growing town of Croydon

Croydon

Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

. The LB&SCR had supported a plan to build the Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway

Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway

The Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway was an abortive railway scheme which obtained powers in July 1865 to build a line from Croydon to Tunbridge Wells, via Oxted with the intention that it should be worked by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway...

along this route in 1865, but its involvement had been opposed by the SER as being contrary to their agreement, and the scheme was abandoned during the 1867 financial crisis. However, following a revised agreement, the scheme was revived as a joint venture. Beyond Oxted the LB&SCR linked with its lines to East Grinstead

East Grinstead railway station

East Grinstead railway station serves the town of East Grinstead in West Sussex. The station was formerly divided into two levels: the higher level platforms serving the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line, whilst the lower level platforms received services from the Oxted Line 49 km ...

and Tunbridge Wells

Tunbridge Wells railway station

, while the SER joined its original main line to Tonbridge

Tonbridge railway station

Tonbridge railway station is a station serving the town of Tonbridge in Kent, England. It is a junction between two important commuter routes; the South Eastern Main Line serving Ashford, Ramsgate and Dover and the Hastings Main Line serving Tunbridge Wells and Hastings, as well as a branch to...

Tunbridge Wells and Hastings

Hastings railway station

. Authority for construction of these lines was granted in 1878 and they opened in 1884.

As a part of the same scheme, the SER at last began to implement plans for the a line from Dunton Green

Dunton Green

Dunton Green is a small village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, lying in the valley of the River Darent, three miles north of Sevenoaks. The original ecclesiastical parish of Dunton Green was part of Otford parish...

on its new main line to Oxted via Westerham

Westerham railway station

Westerham railway station served the village of Westerham in Kent from 1881 until its closure in 1961.- History :No railway was ever constructed all the way between Sevenoaks and Redhill to parallel what is now the A25 road and the Pilgrims' Way...

, the first phase of which opened on 7 July 1881. Authorisation for line was first obtained in 1864, but no progress had been made by 1876, when local inhabitants sponsored a bill

Bill (proposed law)

their own bill, forcing the hand of the SER. In the event only the first phase (from Dunton Green to Westerham) was built, leaving a Branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

rather than a through route. The remaining four miles (6 km) to the new Oxted Line

Oxted Line

(then still under construction) were never completed due to opposition in the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

and the difficult terrain between Westerham and Oxted.

Unpopularity of the SER

During the 1880s and 1890s the SER was accused of only caring about Continental travellers and of neglecting the interests of its other customers. A series of letters to The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

in London in 1883 demonstrated how unpopular the railway had become with its regular commuters. Ernest Foxwell, also writing in 1883, stated 'The great blots on the South Eastern are its unpunctuality, its fares, its third class carriages, and the way in which local interests are sacrificed to Continental traffic.' Hamilton Ellis later described both the SER and the LCDR at this time as 'bywords of poverty stricken inefficiency and dirtiness'. In spite of these criticisms the shareholders stuck with their chairman, until they eventually realised that their own interests were suffering as well. A scathing article in The Investors Review for June 1894 demonstrated how poorly Watkin's railways had performed financially compared to others, and referred to the SER's 'bitter hatred towards all but first-class travellers, [and] their determined cultivation of the art of running empty coaches'. The article finished,

the Company is now almost too weak to turn round and adopt a wise policy. It might become bankrupt in the process ; so the best thing to do is to leave it severely alone. Just as none travel by it who can find another route, so none should touch its common stocks who are free to do otherwise. Watkin retired shortly afterwards.

Some of the complaints of unpunctuality of the SER may have been exaggerated, or were at least soon remedied after Watkin's departure, since a statistical survey of the company's services conducted in 1895 by William Acworth found that, with the exception of the heavily congested and difficult to operate lines between London Bridge and Cannon Street and Charing Cross, the company did not perform significantly worse than others in London in terms of timekeeping.

Later branches and proposed lines

During the 1870s and the 1880s the railway attempted to exploit the potential of the East Kent coast as both holiday destinations and potential new channel ports. Thus branches were built from Sandling

Sandling railway station

Sandling railway station serves Sandling in Kent, England. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southeastern. The station is also 7 km west of Folkestone Central on the South Eastern Main Line...

near Folkestone to Hythe and Sandgate

Sandgate Branch

The Sandgate branch was a three mile long railway branch line that ran from Sandling railway station in Kent on the South Eastern Main Line to Hythe and Sandgate railway stations...

, (opened 9 October 1874); from Dover to Deal

Deal railway station

and Sandwich

Sandwich railway station

Sandwich railway station serves Sandwich in Kent, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern. The station is 8¼ miles south of Ramsgate on the Kent Coast Line....

(jointly with the LC&DR

Kent Coast Line

The Kent Coast Line is railway line that runs from Dover Priory to Margate in the English county of Kent.It was electrified by BR under the 1955 Modernisation Plan.- Services :...

, which opened 15 June 1881); from Appledore to Dungeness

Dungeness railway station (SER)

Dungeness was a railway station which served the Dungeness headland in Kent, England. Opened in 1883 by The Lydd Railway Company, it closed to passengers in 1937...

(1 April 1883) and New Romney

New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea railway station

New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea was a railway station which lay in between the villages of New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea in Kent, England. The station opened in 1884 and closed in 1967.- Early years :...

(19 June 1884). (In 1897 the SER obtained powers to build a branch line from Crowhurst railway station

Crowhurst railway station

Crowhurst railway station is on the main London - Tunbridge Wells - Hastings line in East Sussex in England, and serves Crowhurst. Train services are provided by Southeastern.- History :...

to its own station at Bexhill-on-sea

Bexhill-on-Sea

Bexhill-on-Sea is a town and seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000...

in opposition to the existing LB&SCR service to the town.) However this line was not completed until 1902.

On 4 July 1887 the railway opened the Elham Valley Line

Elham Valley Railway

The Elham Valley Railway is a disused railway line that runs through the Elham Valley connecting Folkestone and Canterbury in East Kent. It was operational from 1887 to 1947.- History :...

from Canterbury West

Canterbury West railway station

Canterbury West railway station is one of two stations in Canterbury in Kent. It is north-northwest of the city centre. It is served by Southeastern....

to Shorncliffe

Folkestone West railway station

. However, there was by then already an LC&DR line from Canterbury to Dover and so the new line did not attract much taffic. Likewise on 1 October 1892 the Hawkhurst Branch from Paddock Wood

Paddock Wood

to Hope Mill

Goudhurst

Goudhurst is a village in Kent on the Weald, about south of Maidstone.It stands on a crossroads , where there is a large village pond. It is also in the Cranbrook School catchment area....

was opened and extended to Hawkhurst

Hawkhurst

Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. The parish lies to the south-east of Tunbridge Wells. Hawkhurst itself is virtually two villages...

on 4 September 1893.

Similarly the company also obtained Parliamentary Powers to build a line from Appledore to Maidstone

Maidstone

via Headcorn

Headcorn railway station

Headcorn is a railway station on the South Eastern Main Line serving the village of Headcorn in Kent. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southeastern...

and the Loose Valley

Loose, Kent

Loose is a village some south of Maidstone, Kent, situated at the head of the Loose Valley. The village and the Loose Valley form the Loose Valley Conservation Area. The fast flowing River Loose which rises near Langley runs through the centre of the village and once supported a paper making...

Chatham extension

Probably the most wasteful competitive venture by the SER was a second bridge over the river Medway between Strood

Strood railway station

Strood Railway Station serves the town of Strood in Medway. It is on the North Kent Line and is a terminus for the Medway Valley Line. Train services are operated by Southeastern.-History:...

leading to a branch to Rochester

Rochester Common railway station

Rochester Common was a station on the Chatham Extension from Strood serving the town of Rochester.The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway which merged with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in 1899...

(opened July 1891) and to Chatham

Chatham Central railway station

Chatham Central was the terminus of the Chatham Extension from Strood serving the towns of Chatham and Rochester.The station was opened by the South Eastern Railway which merged with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in 1899...

. The branch line only had a twenty year life-span as the stations were less conveniently sited than the LC&DR alternatives. The LC&DR main line was however re-aligned after 1911 to use the newer bridge.

London suburbs

Unlike the neighbouring LB&SCR, the SER failed to capitalise on the rapidly growing population of the South London suburbs during the 1870s and 1880s, and to develop effective suburban services. In particular, the area between the North Kent Line

North Kent Line

the Dartford Loop Line

Dartford Loop Line

The Dartford Loop Line is one of three lines linking London with Dartford in Kent, England. It lies to the south of the other two: the North Kent Line and the Bexleyheath Line.-Construction:...

became well populated at this time, but the SER was reluctant to build a proposed Bexleyheath Line

Bexleyheath Line

The Bexleyheath Line runs for 8 miles from Blackheath to Dartford in Kent operating between the North Kent Line just to the east of Blackheath station and to the same line south of Slade Green in Dartford.-History:...

, including stations at Blackheath

Blackheath railway station

Blackheath railway station is situated in the heart of Blackheath village in London at . The track passes through the village and is crossed by a road overbridge on which the station buildings stand....

, Eltham

Eltham railway station

Eltham railway station is a railway station in Eltham, in the London Borough of Greenwich and on the Bexleyheath Line. The station and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern...

, Bexleyheath

Bexleyheath railway station

Bexleyheath railway station is in the London Borough of Bexley in south east London, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southeastern...

and Slade Green

Slade Green railway station

Slade Green railway station is in the London Borough of Bexley, southeast London, on the North Kent Line. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southeastern.- Services :The typical off-peak service from the station is:...

, in spite of public pressure in the 1880s. This line was eventually built as a private concern in 1895, and it was only after the original investors had gone bankrupt and Watkin had retired that the SER eventually agreed to incorporate it into its system.

As mentioned above, the line from London Bridge to Charing Cross and Cannon Street was particularly congested and difficult to operate. During the early 1890s the SER was actively considering extending the Bricklayers' Arms branch into Charing Cross and Cannon Street as a means of relieving this congestion, but deferred making any decision to do so and ultimately the idea was dropped following the operating agreement with the LC&DR in 1899, which provided the new 'joint railway' with two further pathways into London.

One of the last branch lines to be incorporated into the SER was between Purley

Purley railway station

and Tattenham Corner railway station

Tattenham Corner railway station

Tattenham Corner railway station is in Surrey, in England. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern, and it is the terminus of the Tattenham Corner Line. London-bound trains head south as far as Tadworth, then turn east and finally north....

. The line as far as Chipstead and Kingswood were built by the Chipstead Valley Railway from 1893 and opened in 1897. The extension to Tattenham Corner was built by the Epsom Downs Extension Railway from 1894. Both companies were acquired by the South Eastern Railway

South Eastern Railway (UK)

The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...

., but the line to Tattenham Corner was not completed until 1901, after the working agreement with the LC&DR. This line was in the territory of the LB&SCR but provided the railway with access to a proportion of the lucrative Epsom Downs Racecourse

Epsom Downs Racecourse

Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...

traffic.

Cosmo Bonsor and the South Eastern and Chatham Railways Joint Management Committee

During the early 1890s competition between the SER and the LC&DR reached ruinous proportions with both companies offering nearly identical services to and from the same towns, which inevitably lost money for both companies. However, following the resignation of Watkin in 1894, relations between the two companies gradually improved under his successors Sir George Russell (1895) and, most notably, under Cosmo Bonsor (1897). Bonsor managed to persuade the two boards of governors to see sense and from 1 January 1899 the South Eastern and Chatham Railways Joint Management Committee was formed to oversee joint working, with Bonsor as its chairman. On 5 August 1899 the South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover Railway Companies Act was passed, which resulted in the formation of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway

South Eastern and Chatham Railway

The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...

(SE&CR). This was not a true merger since each company kept its individual board of directors within the organisation.

The quality of service of the SE&CR and the level of public estimation of its two constituent railways increased considerably during the next thirty-five years. The SER was however abolished on 1 January 1923 under the terms of the Railways Act 1921

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...

Train services

Throughout its independent existence, the SER was primarily a passenger rather than a freight railway, with passenger receipts accounting for more than 72% of its revenues.

Freight services

Prior to 1862 the company carried international postal traffic. However, in 1862 they refused to renew the contract as it stipulated the Dover-Calais rather than the SER's preferred Folkestone-Boulogne route. As a result the contract went to the LC&DR.

It was not until after the formation of the SECR Management Committee in 1899 that the company began to take the development of its freight traffic seriously, with the ordering of a powerful new freight SECR C class

SECR C Class

The South Eastern and Chatham Railway C Class is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive, designed by Harry Wainwright and built between 1900 and 1908. They were designed for freight duties, although occasionally used for passenger trains. They operated over the lines of the railway in London and...

. Prior to that most freight on the system had either been products imported through the Channel ports, or else locally developed freight, such as farm produce travelling to London. The principal freight depot on the system was at Bricklayers' Arms

Bricklayers' Arms

.

The cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

industry based around Swanscombe and the Medway Towns provided some minerals traffic, but again it was only after the foundation of Blue Circle Industries

Blue Circle Industries

Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900, and was bought out by the French company Lafarge in 2001.-History:...

in 1900 that this was developed. Similarly, the Kent coalfield

Kent coalfield

The Kent Coalfield was a coalfield located in the eastern part of the English county of Kent.Coal was discovered in the area in 1890 while borings for an early Channel Tunnel project were taking place and the resultant Shakespeare colliery lasted until 1915...

was not discovered until 1890 and only developed in the early twentieth century.

Passenger services

As mentioned above, the SER was accused during the 1880s of concentrating on its Boat train

Boat train

A boat train is a passenger train which connects with a passenger ship, such as a ferry or ocean liner. Through ticketing is normally available. -Notable named boat trains:*The Flèche d'Or Paris Gare du Nord to Calais...

s and Continental passenger traffic at the expense of its local services in Kent and the London suburbs.

London suburban services

One area where the SER did fail compared with the LB&SCR and the L&SWR was in developing effective services to the rapidly growing suburbs of south east London. This was probably due to an unwillingness to generate even more traffic through the very restricted entry pathway into London between Deptford

Deptford

Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...

and London Bridge. The SER did however have the advantage of taking commuters far closer to the centres of business and commerce at Charing Cross and Cannon Street, whereas the LB&SCR and LS&WR deposited them south of the river Thames at London Bridge and Waterloo respectively.

Holiday traffic

The SER served an area with a long coastline within easy travelling distance of London. During the 1860s the railway was an important factor in the development of holiday destinations such as Margate

Margate

-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....

and Ramsgate

Ramsgate

Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...

in Kent and St Leonards-on-Sea

St Leonards-on-Sea

St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...

and Hastings

Hastings

in East Sussex.

Continental excursions

In May 1844 the SER organised the first of seven rail and ferry excursions that year from London to Boulogne which together carried more than 2,000 people.

Hop picking

By the 1870s, the South Eastern Railway was running Hop Pickers' Specials

Hopper hut

A hopper hut was a form of temporary accommodation provided for hop-pickers on English farms in the 19th and 20th centuries.-Background:thumb|Hopper huts at Grange Farm, TonbridgeBefore the days of mechanised farming, hop picking was a labour-intensive process, requiring a vastly greater number of...

to transport large numbers of working-class Londoners to towns and villages in Kent and East Sussex for the season.

Electric telegraph

Electric telegraph was installed throughout the SER by 1848. These were sold to the General Post Office

General Post Office

General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...

for £200,000 in 1870.

Signals and signal boxes

Accidents

The SER did not have a good safety record with a large number of both major and minor accidents throughout its independent existence.

One of the most notable accidents occurred on June 9, 1865, when the boat train

Boat train

from Folkestone

Folkestone

ran onto a partly dismantled bridge near Staplehurst

Staplehurst

Staplehurst can mean:* Staplehurst in England* RAF Staplehurst, a World War II airfield in England* Staplehurst railway station* Staplehurst rail crash, a railway accident in 1865* Staplehurst, Nebraska, a small village in the United States...

. The locomotive and tender ran across the timber baulks to reach the far side, but the carriages were derailed and fell into the River Beult

River Beult

The River Beult is a tributary of the River Medway. It has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch. It then flows through Headcorn. At Hunton, above Yalding it is joined by the major stream of the River Teise. Town bridge lies 10¼ miles from Allington, it is the longest...

. The Staplehurst rail crash

Staplehurst rail crash

The Staplehurst rail crash was a railway accident at Staplehurst, Kent, England, which occurred on 9 June 1865 and in which ten passengers were killed and 40 injured...

killed ten passengers and Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

narrowly avoided severe injury, or even death. He was travelling with Nelly Ternan and her mother at the front of the train in a first-class carriage, which escaped complete derailment when the locomotive and tender left the track as a result of repairs to the line. Timber baulks under the track were being replaced but the foreman mis-read the timetable, and two lengths of rail were missing on the viaduct. As the lead vehicles left the line, the impact on the remaining beams caused the cast iron girders below to fracture, and most of the following vehicles left the viaduct and ended up in the River Beult some 15 feet (4.6 m) below. The foreman was indicted and convicted of manslaughter

Manslaughter

Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...

, and served 6 months hard labour for his crime.

Other significant accidents involving multiple fatalities were as follows:

11 December 1844 a boiler explosion caused a bridge collapse at Bricklayers Arms killed two staff.

21 August 1854 a collision at East Croydon railway station killed three passengers. This accident also involved the LB&SCR signalman and was later judged to be partly the result of signalling error and poor communication, as well as the SER driver.

12 September 1855 - a collision between two trains near Reading station
Reading Southern railway station
Reading Southern railway station was the western terminus of the South Eastern Railway's route from . It was also used by London and South Western Railway services from London Waterloo....

killed five.

28 June 1857 - the Lewisham rail crash
Lewisham rail crash (1857)
The Lewisham rail crash occurred just east of Lewisham railway station on 28 June 1857 and killed 11 people. The 14-carriage 21:15 from Strood, which was running 15 minutes late, pulled up 200 yards short of Lewisham station at a red signal. The guard took a red lamp to the rear of the train to...

killed 11 people. An express train ran into the rear of a stationary train due to driver error.

30 June 1858 - a derailment near Chilham railway station
Chilham railway station
Chilham railway station serves the area around the village of Chilham in Kent, including Chilham itself, Shottenden, Old Wives Lees, Selling and Bagham. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern....

due to a mechanical failure killed three persons.

16 December 1864 - a collision near Blackheath
Blackheath railway station
Blackheath railway station is situated in the heart of Blackheath village in London at . The track passes through the village and is crossed by a road overbridge on which the station buildings stand....

. A ballast train had divided in a tunnel, and an express passenger train was allowed to enter due to an error by a signalman. Five platelayers were killed.

January 1877 - a landslip at the eastern end of Martello Tunnel brought down some 60000 cubic yards (45,873.3 m³) of chalk, killing three men. The line was closed for two months.

7 June 1884 - A double-headed freight train ran into the rear of another freight train at Tub's Hill station, . Both crew of the first train were killed. the signalman was charged with causing their deaths. The trains were being worked under the time interval system.

9 October 1894 - a collision near Chartham
Chartham railway station
Chartham railway station serves Chartham in Kent. The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southeastern.The station is unmanned, but has two automated information booths, one on each side of the station...

due to an error by a crossing keeper killed seven.

21 March 1898 – Collision at St Johns railway station
St Johns railway station
St Johns railway station is in the London Borough of Lewisham, in southeast London.-History:The station was opened in 1849 by the South Eastern Railway...

due to incorrect use of signalling equipment, three persons were killed.

Rolling stock

Between March 1842, shortly before the SER began to run its services, and March 1844, the rolling stock

Rolling stock

Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

of the railway was pooled with that of its neighbour and operated by the 'London & Croydon and South Eastern Railways Joint Committee'. The locomotives were then under the supervision of Benjamin Cubitt at New Cross Depot. In the latter month the pool was also joined by the L&BR. However all three railways felt themselves disadvantaged by the arrangement and in October 1844 the SER gave notice six months notice of withdrawal, which was later extended until 31 January 1846. The existing locomotives and carriages, and those on order, were divided between the three companies.

Steam locomotives

The SER owned fifteen locomotives and had a further eleven on order at the formation of the 'London & Croydon and South Eastern Railways Joint Committee' in 1842. Ten locomotives were built by this committee, and a further 45 were either built or ordered by the enlarged Brighton, Croydon, and Dover Joint Committee. The SER received 67 of these existing locomotives at the dissolution of the latter committee in 1846. Having decided to withdraw from the locomotive pool, the SER appointed James Cudworth

James Cudworth

James I'Anson Cudworth was Locomotive Superintendent of the South Eastern Railway . He served in this capacity from 1845–76...

as Locomotive Superintendent on 22 May 1845. Four locomotives were acquired from the 'Gravesend and Rochester Railway in 1847, seven from the L&GR in 1848, but the only locomotive ever to work the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway was not added to stock. Between 1846 and 1898 the SER built or purchased 775 locomotives. Of these, 459 were running on 31 December 1898 when they were handed over to the SE&CR.

Under Cudworth the railway was the largest British user of the experimental and ultimately unsuccessful Crampton locomotive

Crampton locomotive

A Crampton locomotive is a type of steam locomotive designed by Thomas Russell Crampton and built by various firms from 1846. The main British builders were Tulk and Ley and Robert Stephenson and Company....

type with twenty examples built between 1847 and 1851. He also patented a double-firebox which enabled locomotives to burn cheaper coal without smoke, but were considerably more expensive to build and maintain. Cudworth also provided several sound locomotive types for the railway, but resigned in 1876 after Sir Edward Watkin ordered 20 express locomotives against Cudworth's wishes, which subsequently proved to have been unsuccessful.

After a brief interregnum James Stirling was appointed Chief Mechanical Engineer on 28 March 1878. He modernised the locomotive stock and was responsible for the building or acquisition of 401 locomotives. Stirling designed some good quality locomotive classes, notably his R

SER R class

The SER R class was a class of 0-6-0T locomotives on the South Eastern Railway.-History:For many years the South Eastern Railway had possessed very few locomotives designed for shunting...

0-6-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...

, and Q 0-4-4

0-4-4

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-4 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles...

tank classes, and his O 0-6-0

0-6-0

and F 4-4-0

4-4-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...

tender classes. However his determination to maintain standardisation meant that the introduction of larger locomotives was delayed too long and the SER locomotive fleet was underpowered by 1899. As a result future SE&CR locomotive practice was based on developing LC&DR rather than SER designs.

Locomotive Superintendents/Chief Mechanical Engineers

- 1845 - Benjamin Cubitt
1845 - 1876 James I'Anson Cudworth
1876 - A.M.Watkin
1876 - 1878 Richard Mansell
Richard Mansell
Richard Christopher Mansell was an English railway engineer.Mansell was carriage superintendent for the South Eastern Railway at Ashford by 1851, and later works manager for the SER. In 1877 he succeeded Alfred Mellor Watkin as locomotive superintendent of the SER...
1878 - 1898 James Stirling
James Stirling (1835-1917)
James Stirling was a Scottish mechanical engineer. He was Locomotive Superintendent of the Glasgow and South Western Railway and later the South Eastern Railway.-Biography:...

Ships

The South Eastern Railway operated a number of ships from Folkestone

Folkestone

and Dover

Dover

to Boulogne

Boulogne-sur-Mer

-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

and Ostend

Ostend

Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. In 1854 the SER took over the South Eastern & Continental Steam Packet Company.

Launched	Tonnage (GRT)	Notes
1862	365	Wrecked in 1893 at Cap Gris Nez Cap Gris Nez Cap Gris Nez is a cape on the Côte d'Opale in the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France.... .
1880	814	Scrapped 1899.
1864	203	Sold in 1899 to Scott, Calcutta, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... .
1878	407	Sold in 1903 to British Central Africa Co Ltd.
1880	812	Sold in 1882 to Barrow Steam Navigation Co Ltd, renamed Manx Queen.
1895	996	Scrapped in 1904
1862	426	Sold in 1863, became Confederate Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S... blockade runner Cornubia.
1878	398	Scrapped in 1903.
1847	308	Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1881.
1880	818	Scrapped in 1899.
1882	803	Scrapped in 1900
1865	345	Scrapped in 1890.
1846	248	Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1886
1846	288	Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1884.
1847	302	Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1881.
1844	192	Sold in 1874 to Wilhelms, London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... .
1844	187	Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1886.
1898	1,009	Sold in 1910 to Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... , renamed Rio Uruguay.
1844	206	Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1881.
1845	215	Sold in 1863 to a Belgian owner, renamed Saphir.
1861	359	Scrapped in 1895.

External links

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