Maidstone East

Maidstone East

Goods facilities here were quite extensive, but by no means as spacious as those which were present at the SER’s station. Behind the ‘’down’’ building existed a wide platform surface used for the goods yard. Beyond this were six westward-facing sidings, the longest of which measured 550 feet in length. The northern-most of these tracks passed through a 125-foot long brick-built goods shed. Joining these sidings was a 300-foot long westward-facing dock line, which terminated a short way behind the ‘’down’’ platform. The Midland Railway had commissioned sidings at Stewarts Lane and Bricklayers Arms, and around the time of the station rebuilding, the company decided to install more tracks as far south as Maidstone. Four southward-facing sidings were laid at the northern extremity of the station site, spurring off the approaches to the LC&DR’s goods yard. These in turn served another four short sidings, which could only be accessed by one truck at a time by means of a small wagon turntable. The revised layout was signaled by Saxby & Farmer, and one of this contractor’s attractive gabled signal boxes emerged at the western end of the ‘’down’’ platform. This was a typical two-storey affair, with a brick base and timber upper half, complete with a slated pitched roof, and was an enlarged version of the cabin which still exists at Sturry.

The beginning of the joint SE&CR Managing Committee on 1st January 1899 saw LC&DR and SER Maidstone stations receive ‘’East’’ and ‘’West’’ suffixes respectively. Under this company’s auspices, however, both layouts remained little changed – it was left to the Southern Railway to implement station rationalisation. The SR era heralded a new fleet of express locomotives for the Kent Coast routes. To permit these heavier engines to run over ex-SE&CR lines, numerous railway overbridges had to be strengthened or replaced. In 1927, the opportunity was taken to rebuild those bridges at both Strood and Maidstone East. At the latter, a rectangular-shaped lattice girder bridge, of wrought-iron construction and with sloping ends, was installed over the Medway, replacing the existing semi-circular structure. Adjoined to its southern side was a footpath, which provided a direct walkway for passengers between the ex-SER Maidstone Barracks station and the ex-LC&DR site. In the meantime, the small engine shed here had lost independent status and had been brought under Ashford’s wing, like its counterpart at the West station. Both sheds saw closure in 1933, although turntables remained in existence until the advent of electrification.

The year 1935 saw third rail extended beyond Bickley to as far as Swanley on the main line, and to Sevenoaks via the Bat & Ball route. Otford to Maidstone East would be included within the later 1939 electrification scheme, which included extending electric operation from Gravesend Central through to Maidstone West, and from Swanley through to Gillingham, all for a price tag of £1¾ million (circa £80 million by today’s prices). Driver training on the then newly-electrified lines commenced in May 1939, and on 2nd July of that year, scheduled electric services began. To coincide with electrification, the ‘’down’’ side dock line at Maidstone East was converted into a westward-facing bay line, which saw the extension of the platform surface beyond the signal box. Furthermore, electrified sidings appeared on the former site of the locomotive depot, adjacent to the ‘’up’’ bay line. The berthing siding sandwiched in-between the two running lines also received third rail. At this time, the platform canopies on both sides were replaced with arguably more intricate types, and lighting was converted from gas to electric. Five years previously, the former Midland Railway sidings north of the station site were dispensed with; the tracks had been absorbed into the London Midland & Scottish (LMS) Railway during the 1923 Grouping.

The Southern Region’s Kent Coast Electrification Scheme sought to eliminate all steam services which remained on the non-electrified long-distance routes in the county. ‘’Phase 1’’ incorporated the ex-LC&DR routes, except for that between Maidstone and Ashford. The latter was electrified as part of ‘’Phase 2’’, which encompassed ex-SER lines. As part of these works, the ‘’up’’ side bay platform at Maidstone East was decommissioned and the entire layout completely re-signaled. The first scheduled electric services began on 9th October 1961, these of which ran to the existing steam timetable. The East station still retained its Saxby & Farmer cabin during these initial workings; construction of a replacement ‘’power box’’ was ensuing, this being positioned behind the existing cabin, on the opposite side of the goods yard entry lines. The power box came into use on 8th April 1962, and semaphore signals gave way to three-aspect colour lights. The distinctive central berthing siding was signaled for reversible running, and all running lines through the station became fully track-circuited. Hitherto, the centre track had been used by the legendary ''Golden Arrow''; these services were occasionally routed via Otford and Maidstone, re-joining the Dover trunk line at Ashford. The full accelerated electric timetable of ‘’Phase 2’’ came into use on 18th June 1962.

6th September 1993

Laying on its side, Class 47 No. 47288 is seen at the London end of Maidstone East, after its crash at 02:12 that

morning. The locomotive had been hauling the Dover to Willesden Railfreight Distribution train, and had come

through the 25 MPH restricted Week Street and Wheeler Street Tunnels at 60 MPH. Drink driving was the cause

of the accident, and No. 47288 never ran under its own power again, being in store at Tinsley until scrapping at

C.F. Booth’s Rotherham yard in May 1996. © Wayne Walsh

10th June 2008

More recent motive power - and this time on the rails - is seen in the form of a Hanson Class 59, fronting the

10:38 Sevington to Merehead empty box wagons. The timber building behind, with its huge brick base, dates

back to the opening of the line in 1884. © David Glasspool

10th June 2008

This eastward view from the walkway shows the layout to good effect. The platform canopies here are

fundamentally of the Southern Railway's design, but the intricate valances have been truncated. The

blue fence on the right marks the former bay platform face, which was decommissioned as part of

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