Elham railway station

Elham railway station is a disused railway station on the Elham Valley Railway which served the village of Elham in Kent and the surrounding villages. Situated to the east of Elham the clapboard station was opened in 1887. In 1931 the line was singled and one platform was closed. Regular passenger services were withdrawn on 1 December 1940 when the line was taken over for military use. In 1946 the line was reopened for goods traffic but a year later this service ceased when the station was officially closed. After closure the station building was demolished but one platform still exists forming a retaining wall of a garden for a house now built on the station site.

Elham railway station
General view of Elham in 1912. Station in foreground.
Location	Elham, Folkestone & Hythe England
Coordinates	51°09′06″N 1°06′54″E
Grid reference	TR 1795 4376
Platforms	2 (1 from 1931)
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	South Eastern Railway South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
4 July 1887	Opened
1 December 1940	closed for regular passenger trains
16 June 1947	Closed

History

The site of the station in 2015

The station opened on 4 July 1887 with the opening of the Elham Valley Railway from Cheriton Junction, on the South Eastern Main Line as far as Barham.[1] A public siding was located at Ottinge, just over 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Elham.[2] It was controlled by a ground frame.[3] Initially, there were six passenger trains per day. By 1906 there were nine trains a day, with five on Sunday.[4] Between 1912 and 1916, a summer only railmotor service provided an additional four trains a day between Dover Priory and Elham.[5] The service had been reduced to eight trains a day by 1922 and five trains a day by 1937.[6]

Passenger services between Canterbury West and Lyminge were withdrawn on 1 December 1940 and the line was placed under military control.[1] Two rail-mounted 12-inch howitzers were stationed at Elham during the war. The track had to be strengthened to cope with the recoil when the guns were fired.[7] The station remained open to freight during the war. Military control was relinquished on 19 February 1945. The Elham Valley Railway closed on 1 October 1947.[8] The station building was demolished in 1964.[9]

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Barham		Southern Railway Elham Valley Railway		Lyminge

References

citations

1. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Historical Background.
2. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Ottinge.
3. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 115.
4. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Passenger services.
5. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 114.
6. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Passenger Services.
7. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 113.
8. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Historical background.
9. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 112.

Sources

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1995). Branch Lines Around Canterbury. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1 873793 58 8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Station on 1947 OS Map