Tunnel Railway
Encyclopedia
The Tunnel Railway was an underground railway in Ramsgate
, Kent
, England. Following the restructuring of railway lines in Ramsgate in 1926 the section of line between Broadstairs and Ramsgate Harbour including the tunnel was abandoned. This narrow-gauge railway was opened in 1936 to connect tourist attractions and shops near Ramsgate harbour with the new railway main line at Dumpton Park
.
Except for its two stations—one at each end of the tunnel—the line ran entirely underground. The line was built in less than three months, and on its completion in 1936 was one of the shortest independent railway lines in the country. It was open for only three years before being converted to a major air-raid shelter
during World War II
. After the war's end, it was not included in the 1948 nationalisation of British railways but remained in private hands.
Passenger numbers fell during the 1960s, and the line became economically nonviable. Following a train wreck
in 1965, the owners decided to close at the end of September that year. The tunnel still exists, sealed and disused, but no trace of the stations remains.
The coastal resort and port town of Ramsgate
was historically served by a complex network of unconnected railway lines, the legacy of competition between two rival companies to provide links to London and to neighbouring Margate
. The town's first railway station, Ramsgate Town
, was opened by the South Eastern Railway
on 13 April 1846, on what was then the outskirts of the town, about a mile from the seafront. Lines from the station ran north, before splitting west to Canterbury
and on to London, and north to Margate.
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway
opened a second line to Ramsgate on 5 October 1863. This line ran from London via Herne Bay
, Margate and Broadstairs
before descending to sea level at Ramsgate through a 1124 yards (1,027.8 m) tunnel to Ramsgate Harbour station
, on the seafront immediately adjacent to the harbour.
Although very conveniently sited for passengers, Ramsgate Harbour station presented severe operating difficulties. Its situation at the end of a steep gradient in the tunnel meant there was the constant risk that an out-of-control train would run through the station onto the beach, as happened on 3 August 1891 and 24 March 1915. Cramped conditions allowed no room for station growth or improvement, and the small turntable meant larger engines could not be used, so heavier trains needed two engines to haul them up the tunnel's gradient. Additionally, by the 1920s the population of Ramsgate had almost doubled since the station had opened, making the freight facilities inadequate, with no room for expansion.
, which decided to address the duplication of lines and stations at Ramsgate and Margate. It decided to link the two lines at Ramsgate to allow through running between them. This scheme had been proposed by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
before World War I
, but work did not commence until 1925. This meant the closure of the terminus stations at Ramsgate Town and Ramsgate Harbour, and the construction of a line skirting the northern edge of the town to link the two existing lines. New stations on the north-eastern and north-western fringes of the town, at Dumpton Park
and Ramsgate
respectively, replaced the existing stations in the town centre and at the harbour. Construction work on the new line involved over 700 men moving 200000 LT (224,000.7 ST; 203,210 t) of chalk, at a cost of approximately £500,000 (£ as of ).
The new link opened on 2 July 1926, from which date both former Ramsgate stations were closed along with the line through the tunnel to Ramsgate Harbour. The tunnel was sealed and abandoned, and the former Ramsgate Harbour station was sold to Thanet Amusements, who converted it into a zoo
and funfair
called Merrie England.
Although adequate for the town's residents the new stations were a long way from the seafront attractions, which were at the foot of a steep hill. The day-tripper
s on whom Ramsgate's tourist industry depended were therefore increasingly attracted to Margate, where the station was next to the beach.
at Dumpton Park. The two companies eventually agreed on a scheme by which a new line would use the 780 yards (713.2 m) of the tunnel nearest the beach, before branching off into a new 364 yards (332.8 m) tunnel to emerge at a new station at Hereson Road, a 250 yards (228.6 m) walk from Dumpton Park station. Ramsgate Olympia planned the construction of a large-scale housing estate, charabanc
parking facilities, and a 10,000-seat stadium at Dumpton Park to increase passenger numbers and encourage people to use the new rail line.
in the centre for passengers waiting to board trains, and narrower outer platforms from which passengers exited the trains. Although the upper station was known as Hereson Road from the outset, the lower station was never officially named. It was known at various times as "Olympia", "Beach", "Sands" and "Lower Terminus". The platforms and ticket offices were immediately outside the mouth of the tunnel at both stations.
The line ran between Hereson Road, across the road from Dumpton Park station, down a steep gradient of in the new tunnel, before running at a gradient down the original tunnel to the lower terminus. The line consisted of a single line, branching into two platform tracks at the two stations, with a crossing loop halfway along the tunnel. Over the 1444 yards (1,320.4 m) journey between Hereson Road and the lower terminus, the line descended 83 feet (25.3 m).
, a leading figure in the design of narrow-gauge railways. He had begun his career at the Metropolitan Railway
(now part of the London Underground), and had designed the route, buildings, locomotives and rolling stock for the Rhyl Miniature Railway
and the nearby Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
. As the new railway would not be carrying heavy loads and would be travelling only a short distance, it was built as a narrow gauge railway, with a track gauge of 2 feet (61 cm). This allowed the new branch tunnel to be built to far smaller dimensions than the existing tunnel, at just 8 feet (2.4 m) high and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide.
Although a cable haulage
system had initially been considered, Ramsgate Olympia decided early in the line's planning to electrify the line. A third rail
system was rejected due to concerns for the safety of the large numbers of children expected to use the line, and the locomotives had trolley pole
s drawing power from a single 400-volt DC
overhead line
running the length of the tunnel. The wire ran along the wall of the old tunnel, on brackets in the roof of the new tunnel, and was supported by poles at the open-air stations. The electricity was supplied by an electrical substation
built by English Electric
, inside the tunnel near the lower end.
Construction work began on 2 May 1936. The company hoped to have the line open in time to serve the large crowds expected on the August Bank Holiday, leading to a very tight construction deadline of three months. To try to meet the deadline, construction work was carried out both day and night. As the journey would take place entirely underground it was decided to line the wider, original tunnel with illuminated displays showing scenes from around the world. This led to the line becoming semi-officially known as the "World Scenic Railway".
English Electric built two trains for the line, designed to resemble the electric trains already in use on the Southern Railway, but on a smaller scale. A 94 in 6 in (28.8 m) four-car train, painted red, was capable of carrying 108 passengers, and had a driver's cab at each end to avoid the need to turn the train around. A 99 in 6 in (30.33 m) train, painted yellow, was also able to carry 108 passengers, but had two extra driver's cabs in the centre, allowing it to be split into two separate 49 in 9 in (15.16 m) trains, each capable of carrying 54 passengers. It was envisaged that when the line was busy both trains would be used, but during quiet periods the line could be operated by the two halves of the yellow train. The red train was modified so that it could also be split, reducing its capacity to 102 as the two rows of seats at the centre were replaced by driver's cabs.
, Canada
, The Netherlands, Japan
and Egypt
.
The railway proved very popular, and over the Bank Holiday weekend carried 20,000 passengers. As it relied on the tourist trade for business, it closed at the end of September. Throughout the 1937, 1938, and 1939 seasons the railway operated between Whitsun
and the end of September each year, closing for the autumn and winter.
The railway never had a timetable, and operated according to demand. Whenever one station had a sufficient number of passengers the driver signalled to the other station that he was about to depart, and the trains from both stations would set off simultaneously, passing at the halfway crossing loop. The journey took approximately five minutes. Outside of times of peak demand the full-length trains were generally not used, and the trains used split into their two-car sections. There was no depot: trains were stabled in the lower section of the tunnel.
began to seem likely. Ramsgate's location on both the English Channel
and the Thames Estuary
, its large port facilities, and its close proximity to RAF Manston
made it a likely target for heavy aerial bombing
and as a landing site for any German invasion of Britain
. With this in mind the town's borough engineer and surveyor, R. D. Brimmell, devised a scheme in 1938 for a network of tunnels beneath the town, to serve as a vast deep-level air-raid shelter
for the town's inhabitants.
A 3.25 miles (5.2 km) semi-circular network of tunnels was dug beneath northern Ramsgate, connecting to the existing railway tunnel. It was opened by the Duke of Kent
on 1 June 1939, three months before the outbreak of war. The network was capable of sheltering 60,000 people, although Ramsgate's civilian population at the time was approximately 33,000.
and so remained in the hands of Ramsgate Olympia (later Pleasurama). The illuminated tableaux were again removed around 1955, and the station signage changed from World Scenic Railway to Tunnel Railway.
Part of the chalk cliff near the lower terminus collapsed in 1957, forcing the railway's closure while a strengthening concrete wall was built. The new wall reduced the lower terminus to a single length of track. The second track at Hereson Road was closed at the same time, and removed to build a short siding
near the bottom of the tunnel for stabling the trains. The wooden station platforms were replaced by modern concrete structures.
At 2:15 pm on 1 July 1965, one of the two-car yellow trains lost control while approaching the lower terminus and ran off the end of the rails before smashing into a building. The driver, 74-year-old Ernest Brown, was trapped in the cab and suffered pelvic injuries, while a number of passengers suffered minor injuries. Although the station was repaired and services were resumed, Pleasurama decided to close the line at the end of the 1965 holiday season. Services stopped on 26 September 1965.
and remain in use, while the remaining three were given to the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Society. Most of the rails and sleepers were sold to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.
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...
, 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...
, England. Following the restructuring of railway lines in Ramsgate in 1926 the section of line between Broadstairs and Ramsgate Harbour including the tunnel was abandoned. This narrow-gauge railway was opened in 1936 to connect tourist attractions and shops near Ramsgate harbour with the new railway main line at Dumpton Park
Dumpton Park railway station
Dumpton Park railway station serves the district of Dumpton between Broadstairs and Ramsgate, Kent, England and lies on the Chatham Main Line east of Ramsgate...
.
Except for its two stations—one at each end of the tunnel—the line ran entirely underground. The line was built in less than three months, and on its completion in 1936 was one of the shortest independent railway lines in the country. It was open for only three years before being converted to a major air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war's end, it was not included in the 1948 nationalisation of British railways but remained in private hands.
Passenger numbers fell during the 1960s, and the line became economically nonviable. Following a train wreck
Train wreck
A train wreck or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler...
in 1965, the owners decided to close at the end of September that year. The tunnel still exists, sealed and disused, but no trace of the stations remains.
Background
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...
was historically served by a complex network of unconnected railway lines, the legacy of competition between two rival companies to provide links to London and to neighbouring 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....
. The town's first railway station, Ramsgate Town
Ramsgate Town railway station
Ramsgate Town railway station is a former railway station in Ramsgate, in the Thanet district of Kent, England. It was the seaside resort's first station, but was closed in 1926 when a new, more direct railway line bypassed it and the town's other station, Ramsgate Harbour.-History:Ramsgate...
, was opened 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...
on 13 April 1846, on what was then the outskirts of the town, about a mile from the seafront. Lines from the station ran north, before splitting west to 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 on to London, and north to Margate.
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...
opened a second line to Ramsgate on 5 October 1863. This line ran from London via Herne Bay
Herne Bay, Kent
Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, South East England, with a population of 35,188. On the south coast of the Thames Estuary, it is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government district...
, Margate and Broadstairs
Broadstairs
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about south-east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St. Peter's and had a population in 2001 of about 24,000. Situated between Margate and...
before descending to sea level at Ramsgate through a 1124 yards (1,027.8 m) tunnel to Ramsgate Harbour station
Ramsgate Harbour railway station
Ramsgate Harbour railway station is a former railway station in Ramsgate, in the Thanet district of Kent, England. Opened in 1863 as part of the Kent Coast Railway company's extension of its line from Herne Bay, it was conveniently situated for the seaside resort's beach, but it closed in 1926...
, on the seafront immediately adjacent to the harbour.
Although very conveniently sited for passengers, Ramsgate Harbour station presented severe operating difficulties. Its situation at the end of a steep gradient in the tunnel meant there was the constant risk that an out-of-control train would run through the station onto the beach, as happened on 3 August 1891 and 24 March 1915. Cramped conditions allowed no room for station growth or improvement, and the small turntable meant larger engines could not be used, so heavier trains needed two engines to haul them up the tunnel's gradient. Additionally, by the 1920s the population of Ramsgate had almost doubled since the station had opened, making the freight facilities inadequate, with no room for expansion.
1926 restructuring
Following the railway grouping of 1923, both the South Eastern Railway and the London, Chatham & Dover Railway became part of the newly-formed Southern RailwaySouthern 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...
, which decided to address the duplication of lines and stations at Ramsgate and Margate. It decided to link the two lines at Ramsgate to allow through running between them. This scheme had been proposed by 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...
before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, but work did not commence until 1925. This meant the closure of the terminus stations at Ramsgate Town and Ramsgate Harbour, and the construction of a line skirting the northern edge of the town to link the two existing lines. New stations on the north-eastern and north-western fringes of the town, at Dumpton Park
Dumpton Park railway station
Dumpton Park railway station serves the district of Dumpton between Broadstairs and Ramsgate, Kent, England and lies on the Chatham Main Line east of Ramsgate...
and 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...
respectively, replaced the existing stations in the town centre and at the harbour. Construction work on the new line involved over 700 men moving 200000 LT (224,000.7 ST; 203,210 t) of chalk, at a cost of approximately £500,000 (£ as of ).
The new link opened on 2 July 1926, from which date both former Ramsgate stations were closed along with the line through the tunnel to Ramsgate Harbour. The tunnel was sealed and abandoned, and the former Ramsgate Harbour station was sold to Thanet Amusements, who converted it into a zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
and funfair
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
called Merrie England.
Although adequate for the town's residents the new stations were a long way from the seafront attractions, which were at the foot of a steep hill. The day-tripper
Day-tripper
A day-tripper is a person who visits a tourist destination or visitor attraction from his/her home and returns home on the same day.- Definition :In other words, this excursion does not involve a night away from home such as experienced on a holiday...
s on whom Ramsgate's tourist industry depended were therefore increasingly attracted to Margate, where the station was next to the beach.
Tunnel Railway
By 1933 Merrie England, now under the ownership of Ramsgate Olympia, had become extremely popular, and Ramsgate Olympia began to lobby the Southern Railway to reopen the line through the tunnel, with a new junction station between Dumpton Park and Broadstairs. However, the Southern Railway rejected the proposal as too costly and impractical. Ramsgate Olympia and the Southern Railway were keen to make the attractions near the harbour accessible from the railway main line and to provide a service from the seafront to the greyhound stadiumGreyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
at Dumpton Park. The two companies eventually agreed on a scheme by which a new line would use the 780 yards (713.2 m) of the tunnel nearest the beach, before branching off into a new 364 yards (332.8 m) tunnel to emerge at a new station at Hereson Road, a 250 yards (228.6 m) walk from Dumpton Park station. Ramsgate Olympia planned the construction of a large-scale housing estate, charabanc
Charabanc
A charabanc or "char-à-banc" is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early motor coach, usually open-topped, common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It was especially popular for sight-seeing or "works outings" to the country or the seaside, organised by businesses once a year...
parking facilities, and a 10,000-seat stadium at Dumpton Park to increase passenger numbers and encourage people to use the new rail line.
Route
The stations each had three platforms; a broad island platformIsland platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
in the centre for passengers waiting to board trains, and narrower outer platforms from which passengers exited the trains. Although the upper station was known as Hereson Road from the outset, the lower station was never officially named. It was known at various times as "Olympia", "Beach", "Sands" and "Lower Terminus". The platforms and ticket offices were immediately outside the mouth of the tunnel at both stations.
The line ran between Hereson Road, across the road from Dumpton Park station, down a steep gradient of in the new tunnel, before running at a gradient down the original tunnel to the lower terminus. The line consisted of a single line, branching into two platform tracks at the two stations, with a crossing loop halfway along the tunnel. Over the 1444 yards (1,320.4 m) journey between Hereson Road and the lower terminus, the line descended 83 feet (25.3 m).
Construction and infrastructure
The new line's infrastructure was designed by Henry GreenlyHenry Greenly
Henry Greenly was amongst the foremost miniature railway engineers of the 20th century, remembered as a master of engineering design.-Miniature railways:...
, a leading figure in the design of narrow-gauge railways. He had begun his career at 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...
(now part of the London Underground), and had designed the route, buildings, locomotives and rolling stock for the Rhyl Miniature Railway
Rhyl Miniature Railway
The Rhyl Miniature Railway is a gauge miniature railway line located in Rhyl on the North Wales Coast. The line runs in a circle around a boating lake near the promenade, to the west of the town centre...
and the nearby Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a gauge light railway in Kent, England. The line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St...
. As the new railway would not be carrying heavy loads and would be travelling only a short distance, it was built as a narrow gauge railway, with a track gauge of 2 feet (61 cm). This allowed the new branch tunnel to be built to far smaller dimensions than the existing tunnel, at just 8 feet (2.4 m) high and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide.
Although a cable haulage
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
system had initially been considered, Ramsgate Olympia decided early in the line's planning to electrify the line. A third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
system was rejected due to concerns for the safety of the large numbers of children expected to use the line, and the locomotives had trolley pole
Trolley pole
A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" overhead wire to the control and propulsion equipment of a tram or trolley bus. The use of overhead wire in a system of current collection is reputed to be the 1880 invention of Frank J....
s drawing power from a single 400-volt DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
overhead line
Overhead lines
Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
running the length of the tunnel. The wire ran along the wall of the old tunnel, on brackets in the roof of the new tunnel, and was supported by poles at the open-air stations. The electricity was supplied by an electrical substation
Electrical substation
A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions...
built by English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
, inside the tunnel near the lower end.
Construction work began on 2 May 1936. The company hoped to have the line open in time to serve the large crowds expected on the August Bank Holiday, leading to a very tight construction deadline of three months. To try to meet the deadline, construction work was carried out both day and night. As the journey would take place entirely underground it was decided to line the wider, original tunnel with illuminated displays showing scenes from around the world. This led to the line becoming semi-officially known as the "World Scenic Railway".
English Electric built two trains for the line, designed to resemble the electric trains already in use on the Southern Railway, but on a smaller scale. A 94 in 6 in (28.8 m) four-car train, painted red, was capable of carrying 108 passengers, and had a driver's cab at each end to avoid the need to turn the train around. A 99 in 6 in (30.33 m) train, painted yellow, was also able to carry 108 passengers, but had two extra driver's cabs in the centre, allowing it to be split into two separate 49 in 9 in (15.16 m) trains, each capable of carrying 54 passengers. It was envisaged that when the line was busy both trains would be used, but during quiet periods the line could be operated by the two halves of the yellow train. The red train was modified so that it could also be split, reducing its capacity to 102 as the two rows of seats at the centre were replaced by driver's cabs.
Opening
The line opened to passengers on 31 July 1936, less than 12 weeks after construction began. It was formally opened by Lieutenant-Colonel Edwin Charles Cox, Traffic Manager of the Southern Railway, who commented that as the traffic manager of what was then the largest electric rail service in the world, he was now opening what was probably the smallest. Initially, the tunnel was decorated with illuminated scenes depicting SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, The Netherlands, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
The railway proved very popular, and over the Bank Holiday weekend carried 20,000 passengers. As it relied on the tourist trade for business, it closed at the end of September. Throughout the 1937, 1938, and 1939 seasons the railway operated between Whitsun
Whitsun
Whitsun is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples...
and the end of September each year, closing for the autumn and winter.
The railway never had a timetable, and operated according to demand. Whenever one station had a sufficient number of passengers the driver signalled to the other station that he was about to depart, and the trains from both stations would set off simultaneously, passing at the halfway crossing loop. The journey took approximately five minutes. Outside of times of peak demand the full-length trains were generally not used, and the trains used split into their two-car sections. There was no depot: trains were stabled in the lower section of the tunnel.
Wartime
In the late 1930s, war between Britain and GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
began to seem likely. Ramsgate's location on both the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
, its large port facilities, and its close proximity to RAF Manston
RAF Manston
RAF Manston was an RAF station in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site is now split between a commercial airport Kent International Airport and a continuing military use by the Defence Fire Training and Development Centre , following on from a long...
made it a likely target for heavy aerial bombing
Aerial bombing of cities
A species of strategic bombing, the aerial bombing of cities began in 1915 during World War I, grew to a vast scale in World War II, and continues to the present day. The development of aerial bombardment marked an increased capacity of armed forces to deliver explosive weapons in populated areas...
and as a landing site for any German invasion of Britain
Operation Sealion
Operation Sea Lion was Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Second World War, beginning in 1940. To have had any chance of success, however, the operation would have required air and naval supremacy over the English Channel...
. With this in mind the town's borough engineer and surveyor, R. D. Brimmell, devised a scheme in 1938 for a network of tunnels beneath the town, to serve as a vast deep-level air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
for the town's inhabitants.
A 3.25 miles (5.2 km) semi-circular network of tunnels was dug beneath northern Ramsgate, connecting to the existing railway tunnel. It was opened by the Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI...
on 1 June 1939, three months before the outbreak of war. The network was capable of sheltering 60,000 people, although Ramsgate's civilian population at the time was approximately 33,000.
Post-war operations
The Tunnel Railway reopened for the 1946 season as usual. The illuminated tableaux had been removed during the war but were replaced. The line was not included in the 1948 nationalisation of the railwaysTransport Act 1947
The Transport Act 1947 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under it the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the state and handed over to a new British Transport Commission for operation...
and so remained in the hands of Ramsgate Olympia (later Pleasurama). The illuminated tableaux were again removed around 1955, and the station signage changed from World Scenic Railway to Tunnel Railway.
Part of the chalk cliff near the lower terminus collapsed in 1957, forcing the railway's closure while a strengthening concrete wall was built. The new wall reduced the lower terminus to a single length of track. The second track at Hereson Road was closed at the same time, and removed to build a short siding
Rail siding
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...
near the bottom of the tunnel for stabling the trains. The wooden station platforms were replaced by modern concrete structures.
After the closure
After closure the tunnel was sealed, although it remains structurally intact inside. The site of the lower terminus was cleared and is now an empty site surrounded with hoarding. There is a small roundabout directly outside the south tunnel portal. Hereson Road station is now a used car dealership. Four of the cars were sold to the Hollycombe Steam CollectionHollycombe Steam Collection
The Hollycombe Steam Collection is a collection of steam-powered vehicles, rides and attractions based near Liphook in Hampshire. The collection includes fairground rides, a display farm and two railways.- History :...
and remain in use, while the remaining three were given to the Hampshire Narrow Gauge Railway Society. Most of the rails and sleepers were sold to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.