Lyminge railway station

Lyminge was a station on the Elham Valley Railway. It opened in 1887 and closed to passengers in 1940 and freight in 1947.

Elham railway station
Lyminge station, now serving as a library.
Location	Elham, Folkestone & Hythe England
Coordinates	51°07′35″N 1°05′28″E
Grid reference	TR 164 409
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
7 October 1946	Re-opened to passengers
14 June 1947	Closed to passengers
1 October 1947	Closed

History

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 21-lever signal box was provided.[2] Initially, there were six passenger trains per day. By 1906 there were nine trains a day, with five on Sunday.[3] Between 1912 and 1916, a summer only railmotor service provided an additional four trains a day between Dover Priory and Elham.[4] The service had been reduced to eight trains a day by 1922. The line north of Lyminge was singled on five trains a day by 1937.[5] The signal box was closed on 1 May 1931 as a cost-cutting measure. It was replaced by a ground frame located in the station building.[2] The double track north of Lyminge was reduced to single track from 25 October 1931.[6]

Passenger services between Canterbury West and Lyminge were withdrawn on 1 December 1940 and the line between Harbledown Junction and Lyminge was placed under military control.[1] The station remained open to freight during the war. Military control was relinquished on 19 February 1945. On 7 October 1946, passenger services were reinstated on the southern section of the railway as far as Lyminge. Six trains a day were operated. This service ceased on 14 June 1947. The Elham Valley Railway closed on 1 October 1947.[7] After closure, the goods yard used by the local coal merchant. In 1987, the station building was converted to serve as Lyminge's library.[2]

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Elham		Southern Railway Elham Valley Railway		Cheriton halt

References

citations

1. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Historical Background.
2. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 116.
3. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Passenger services.
4. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustration 114.
5. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Passenger Services.
6. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Illustrations 104 & 116.
7. Mitchell & Smith 1995, Historical background.

Sources

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