Three Oaks & Guestling Halt
South Eastern Division
This was one of a
trio of wooden-fabricated halt affairs brought into use between Ore and
Winchelsea in the early part of the 20th Century. The SE&CR was keen to develop
local passenger traffic along the bleak Ashford to Hastings route. First opened
on 13th February 1851, the line had quickly become a secondary route to
Hastings, after the completion of the much shorter line from Tonbridge to the
Sussex Coast via Tunbridge Wells, on 1st February 1852. Unprofitable for many
years, the ‘’railmotor’’ age sought to improve passenger receipts across the
Romney Marsh, as the SE&CR attempted to devise a cost effective scheme aimed at
increasing traffic. Concentration was made almost exclusively on the southern
section of the line, between Hastings and Rye, where new stations were planned
to serve small populations nearby. The SE&CR was limited in choice of where to
locate the proposed ‘’halt’’ affairs, for not only were settlements few and far
between, but much of the track bed lacked any form of public access from roads.
On 1st July 1907, a railmotor service commenced between Hastings and Rye, and
halts at Three Oaks Bridge (2¾ route miles north of Ore), Guestling (four route
miles from Ore), and Snailham (6⅓ route miles from Ore) came into use. The
latter was the poorer relation from the outset, for it could only be accessed by
means of a dirt track, whilst its counterparts were placed beside already extant
roads. The three halts all comprised a pair of timber-built platforms, either
side of the double-track, and each surface was host to a diminutive clapboard
waiting shelter. Platform lighting was wholly absent, and at night, locomotive
crews would locate the halts by means of small lamps placed beyond the ends of
the surfaces.
The first wave of changes occurred soon after opening. It became apparent that
‘’Three Oaks Bridge Halt’’ was more conveniently sited for the settlement of
Guestling than the ‘’Guestling Halt’’ which purported to serve the community.
Consequently, ‘’Three Oaks Bridge Halt’’ became ‘’Three Oaks & Guestling Halt’’,
whilst ‘’Guestling Halt’’ became ‘’Doleham Halt’’, the name of the latter taken
from a local farm. These alterations had been made by 1910. Eight years later,
the railmotor service was wholly withdrawn, and the rolling stock would
certainly not be missed by passengers. As recounted elsewhere on the website, a
railmotor vehicle comprised a small 0-4-0 tank engine and a fifty-six seat
coach, built upon a common chassis. The seats were reportedly rock hard, the
ride bumpy, and the passengers seated at the carriage end closest to the
locomotive were subject to considerable heat from the boiler’s fire! The
railmotor from Hastings had reached a peak of ten services: eight of these
terminated at Rye, whilst the remaining two continued onto Appledore. After the
cessation of the railmotor, the halts were served by standard locomotive-hauled
stock.
Three Oaks & Guestling Halt remained virtually unchanged until the advent of
British Railways. In 1954, the timber platforms were replaced by ones of
prefabricated concrete construction, manufactured at Exmouth Junction – many
halts across the South Eastern Division received similar treatment during the same
decade. The original timber waiting shelters were retained, and the platform
surfaces were equipped with small, low-level wooden benches. These works
coincided with major engineering on the 1042-yard-long Ore Tunnel, the northern
portal of which resided 1½-miles south of the halt. This necessitated single
line working during 1953 and 1954, between Three Oaks & Guestling and the tunnel, and to
facilitate this, a signal box came into use, bearing the name ‘’Three Oaks’’.
This was positioned approximately 1¼-miles south of the halt, and was
constituted of the same type of brown clapboard timber used in the construction of the former’s waiting shelters. Single storey, it was to be found on the ‘’up’’ side
of the line, and its raison d’être was to control additional crossovers between
the running lines, inserted to allow either line to be taken out of use for
engineering possessions, whilst the other remained operational. Services were
required to stop at the cabin to collect the single line working token from the
signalman, a procedure which continued until the end of 1954.
The route across the Romney Marsh has always been a lightly used one, ever since
its earliest days under the SER. At a time when the British Rail culture was very
much one of cost cutting and modernisation, the line became a candidate for
closure in 1969. The route was saved by a wave of protesting, but economical
measures were enacted ten years later. On 29th April 1979, singling of the
Appledore
of Ore section of the line began, and a number of stations were destined to
become single platform affairs. As part of the works, the ‘’up’’ line and
platform at Three Oaks was taken out of use. The timber waiting shelter was
demolished, but the concrete platform was left standing, and today this can
still be seen in evidence, nature having by now taken a firm hold. Like its
surviving counterpart at Doleham, Three Oaks has at last been equipped with
electric platform lighting.
17th August 2008
The remaining single platform is similar to that still in use at Doleham, but the prefabricated concrete came
to Three Oaks about twenty years later than it did at the former. The sloping entrance path can be seen behind
the clapboard waiting shelter. David Glasspool
17th August 2008
A northward view reveals the road bridge from which the station first took its name (''Three Oaks Bridge Halt''),
before this suffix was replaced by ''& Guestling''. The disused ''up'' platform is still in evidence, and can be seen
emerging from the vegetation on the left. David Glasspool
17th August 2008
A southward view again shows the disused platform, this time on the right, and the vacant space which once
accommodated a second track. The remaining line has been partially slewed onto the bed of the lifted track, as
it curves away. David Glasspool
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