Rainham
At one time this was
a quintessential LC&DR station, demonstrating architecture which could once be
found along the whole of the trunk line to Dover Priory, via Faversham and
Canterbury East. Over subsequent years, however, Rainham has been transformed
into a modern and somewhat unlovely affair, historical structures having been
wholly swept away. The station came into use with the initial Chatham to
Faversham section of the East Kent Railway’s London to Dover route on 25th
January 1858, and was known as ‘’Rainham & Newington’’ from the outset. The main
building was positioned on the ‘’up’’ side and was a mirror image of that which
was provided on the ‘’down’’ platform at nearby Gillingham. Sadly, neither still
exists, but variations of the same design can still be witnessed at Farningham
Road, Adisham, and Sole Street stations, to name but three. Two storeys in
height, the main building demonstrated the typical LC&DR whitewashed surface on
its upper half, and incorporated the Station Master’s accommodation;
construction was crème brick throughout. Unusually, the platforms here were
arranged in a staggered formation (a well known SER practice at the time), the
‘’down’’ side surface being positioned west of its ‘’up’’ side counterpart. A
timber waiting shelter was provided on the ‘’down’’ side, and both platform
surfaces were linked by a track foot crossing. The ‘’up’’ side main building
came complete with a modest platform canopy, an identical example of which can still be
seen at Shepherds Well.
Initially, goods facilities were concentrated on the ‘’up’’ side: two
westward-facing sidings terminated behind the London end of the platform, and
one of these passed through a single-track, pitched-roof goods shed (an
identical example remains in existence at Teynham). Both
sidings were equipped with a wagon turntable, these of which resided directly
opposite each other; thus, wagons could be switched between sidings in close
proximity to the goods shed, eliminating the need for rolling stock to be
shunted beyond the set of points where the sidings converged. Like so many
stations in the earliest years of operation, no signal box was in evidence from
the outset, and all points were operated by manual ground levers.
After only 4½ years of existence, the station was subject to a name change. On
1st August 1862, a station opened to the east, at Newington, which resulted in
the dropping of the ‘’& Newington’’ suffix from the name boards. Significant
layout changes were also enacted by the LC&DR, circa 1897, at the time of the
Faversham station rebuilding. The works at Rainham included the abandonment of a
staggered platform arrangement: the existing ‘’down’’ platform was substantially
extended at its eastern end, bringing it directly in line with the ‘’up’’
surface, and a new waiting shelter provided. In addition, the ‘’up’’ platform was lengthened considerably at its
western end, taking it far beyond the aforementioned wagon turntables of the
adjacent sidings. Indeed, the presence of the latter required the platform’s
rear edge to literally curve around the nearest turntable, which produced a neat
semicircular indentation in the platform’s rear wall. The new arrangement
brought the luxury of a lattice footbridge, this of which was positioned
immediately west of the main building. Goods facilities were enhanced at the
same time: a lengthy eastward-facing refuge siding, of little under 400 yards,
was laid behind the ‘’down’’ platform, and Rainham at last acquired a signal
box. This was an in-house product of the LC&DR, virtually identical to the cabin
still in use at Shepherds Well, built on a site just
beyond the eastern end of the ‘’up’’ platform, and in addition to the sidings,
the signalman was also responsible for the immediately adjacent level crossing.
The changes of 1897 saw that Rainham remained little changed during SE&CR
ownership. The station became part of the Southern Railway in 1923, and before
the end of the decade, this company installed a prefabricated concrete
footbridge – an Exmouth Junction product – immediately east of the level
crossing. This was in addition to replacing the traditional Victorian
diamond-shaped platform gas lamps with the equally attractive swan-neck variant,
complete with ‘’Target’’ name signs. It also appears that the wagon turntables
in the goods yard were dispensed with under this company’s tenure.
In early 1957, the platform
surfaces were extended at their western ends with concrete cast components, in
readiness for the twelve vehicle formations proposed as part of the February
1956-approved Kent Coast Electrification Scheme. Third rail was installed
throughout on the ‘’Chatham’’ main line during 1958, and in the same year,
construction of a then new ‘’power box’’ commenced at Rainham. This was
positioned on the ‘’down’’ side, immediately opposite its LC&DR
predecessor. It appears that the building of the new signalling panel necessitated the
decommissioning of the lengthy ‘’down’’ refuge siding – the site where this
siding’s connection with the ‘’down’’ line was made was now required for the
signal box structure. Work also began on quadrupling 2¼ miles of route between Rainham and Newington, which would allow fast trains to overtake both
stopping services and freights after the commencement of the full accelerated electric timetable. Rainham’s ‘’power box’’ came into use on 26th April 1959,
and semaphore signals were replaced with three-aspect colour lights. For the
time being, goods traffic remained, and the
level crossing was still manually worked. The full-accelerated electric
timetable came into use on the ‘’Chatham’’ route on 15th June 1959; the ex-SER
Weald of Kent main line continued to feature steam haulage until June 1962.
The British Rail era at Rainham is a sad story of decline, as the station
succumbed to the so-called ‘’modern image’’ of BR.
Significant change at the site began with the decommissioning of goods
facilities on 2nd April 1962. Around eight years later, all existing station structures
were unceremoniously bulldozed, leaving nothing but the bricks of the platform
surfaces and the rear backing walls as testament to the LC&DR. The station
became a CLASP (Consortium of Local Authorities Special
Programme) affair,
seemingly in a bid to make it harmonious with the modern-looking power box
nearby. The ‘’up’’ side became host to a single-storey prefabricated structure,
measuring 20-foot wide by 60-foot long, and both platforms acquired a 25-foot
long CLASP waiting shelter. Naturally, the replacement footbridge was also of
CLASP design, and this was erected upon the same site as its predecessor. A
single-storey staff office building of the same ilk also appeared alongside the
''power box'', upon part of the site of the former ''down'' siding connection. The
novelty of traditional level crossing gates ceased when full lifting barriers
were commissioned on 17th December 1972, operated from the adjacent power box.
The 1986-inaugurated Network SouthEast Business Sector attempted to make the
station a little more attractive: during 1989, the ‘’up’’ side CLASP ticket
office was flattened, and a more permanent-looking structure completed in the
following year. The
latter was single-storey, of crème brick construction, and demonstrated a glazed
arched roof reminiscent of the Crystal Palace. Rainham celebrated its 150th
Birthday in January 2008, but sadly, not a brick remains of the original East
Kent Railway buildings of 1858.
1984
Four track running commences ⅜-mile east of Rainham. The quadrupling task involved 94,000 cubic
yards of soil excavation, the provision of a completely new station at Newington, and the rebuilding
of eight bridges, six of which supported the line. In the above view, a 4 CEP + 4 VEP formation, led
by 4 CEP No. 1504, is observed on the Rainham approaches, where the four tracks converge. The
pair were forming a Dover Priory to Victoria service. Chris
1984
A westward view from the SR concrete footbridge shows 4 CEP No. 1533 departing the ''down'' platform,
forming a Victoria to Dover Western Docks service. Prominent on the right is the ''power box'' of 1959,
whilst in the foreground are the full lifting barriers of 1972. The station structures of about 1970 origin
can be seen in the background, which includes the ''up'' CLASP ticket office and footbridge – a contrast
to the vintage Oast Houses alongside. Chris
20th June 2007
A 2007 westward view reveals the replacement station building of 1990, and new rolling stock. Stabled
in the ''down'' platform is Class 375 No. 375708; trailing on the rear of the London-bound service is No.
375712. At the time of the 1990 rebuild, the CLASP waiting shelters were replaced by fully glazed bus
shelter equivalents. David Glasspool
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