Sandling Junction
The Ashford to
Folkestone section of the SER’s Dover trunk line came into use on 28th June
1843, Westenhanger existing as the sole intermediate station between the two
towns. Over two decades later, in 1864, the SER received Royal Assent for the
construction of a double-track branch line, 3˝-miles in length, to Hythe and
Sandgate, which left the Kent Coast main line at Sandling. The ultimate goal was
to extend the branch line to Folkestone Harbour, to allow direct access to the
Harbour station, avoiding the steep incline to Folkestone Junction, and
bypassing the need for a reversal manoeuvre at the latter. A protracted planning
and construction programme ensued, funding for the scheme decidedly lacking, but
the branch eventually opened through to Sandgate on 9th October 1874. Two years
later, Parliament formally approved the extension of the line to Folkestone
Harbour, which was three miles to the east. The SER planned for the line to run
parallel with the coastline, at the back of Sandgate beach, but trouble was
afoot. With aesthetics in mind, the residents of Folkestone, and the prominent
Lord Radnor, opposed the route: should the eastward extension of the branch go
ahead, the rails must pass under Folkestone by means of a tunnel. Unfortunately
for the SER, boring a tunnel would multiply the cost of the extension by several
times, and as it later transpired, the company took the branch no further than
Sandgate, leaving the 1 in 30 descent from Folkestone Junction as the only means
of access to the Harbour station.
From the outset, passengers made their connections between the main line and the
Sandgate branch at Westenhanger. This situation was markedly improved upon by
the opening of a new station layout at the point of divergence, on 1st January
1888; the station was known as ‘’Sandling Junction’’ from the outset. This was a
spacious arrangement, comprising no less than four platform faces – two for the
main line, and a pair of tightly curving faces for the departing branch line.
The station had, in effect, two main buildings: one upon the ‘’up’’ branch line
platform, and a second alongside the ‘’up’’ main line platform. The architecture
here was untypical of the SER: both structures were single-storey in height, and
were built to a Mock Tudor style. Only the 1883-opened Nutfield station, on the
Redhill to Tonbridge section of the SER’s original main line route, was
completed in this manner. The ‘’up’’ branch platform was without protection from
the elements, but the ‘’down’’ side and both main line surfaces were equipped
with pitched roof canopies. These were simple affairs, featuring a triangular
cross-section and lacking any form of valance. The ‘’up’’ main line platform and
the ‘’down’’ branch platform combined to create a large single triangular
surface, of which can later be appreciated within the accompanying images. The
main line platforms were linked by an 80-foot-long lattice footbridge (of which
acquired a roof three years after opening), whilst the branch surfaces were
instead connected by means of track foot crossings, located at both ends of the
platforms. Mention should also be made of the Station Master’s House: this was a
substantial two-storey affair, complete with a large garden, and resided just to
the west of the ‘’up’’ branch platform.
Since the station’s raison d'ętre was solely to provide an interchange between
the main line and the Sandgate branch, no dedicated goods yard existed at the
layout. Nevertheless, two refuge sidings were still in evidence, these flanking
either side of the branch line platforms. The site was controlled by two
SER-designed timber signal boxes: the first controlled the junction with the
main line, and was positioned on the ‘’up’’ side, to the west of the station;
the second cabin was erected at the southern extremity of the ‘’up’’ branch
platform, and controlled access to the refuge sidings and the platform lines
from the Hythe direction. The tight curvature of the branch line tracks within
the station required the installation of guide rails.
As mentioned earlier, the SER was thwarted in its ambitions to reach Folkestone
Harbour from the main line at Sandling. As a result of the line terminating at
Sandgate, traffic along the branch was consistently light. It was left to the
Southern Railway to implement the first wave of cutbacks: on 1st April 1931, the
Hythe to Sandgate section of the branch line was closed completely, and the
remaining stretch between the former and Sandling Junction was singled. At the
Junction station, the ‘’up’’ branch line platform was taken out of use, its
track lifted, and the signal box on this surface decommissioned. The station
building upon this platform, however, remained in use as a ticket office. The
Hythe branch had only a brief British Railways existence: on 3rd December 1951,
the line was closed to traffic completely. The ‘’Junction’’ suffix was dropped
from the main line station’s name boards, and thereafter, these read ‘’Sandling
for Hythe’’. The remaining single-track which ran alongside the ‘’down’’ branch
platform was, however, retained as a siding, and it also served as an elongated
head shunt for the earlier mentioned refuge sidings. Previously, in 1949, the
Southern Region proposed renaming the station ‘’Hythe Junction’’, but this was
soon rejected in favour of keeping the existing title.
21st June 2007
The pictorial begins with a look at the branch line facilities. In the foreground is the track bed of the Hythe
branch, which has partly become host to a ramped entrance to the platform. On the left is the triangular
platform surface, created by the convergence of the ''down'' branch and ''up'' main line faces. The main line
can just be seen emerging behind the fence, on the far left. David Glasspool
22nd June 2007
A day later, the entire triangular platform surface, now devoid of a canopy, is observed in this eastward view.
The track bed of the ''down'' Hythe platform line can clearly be seen on the right, whilst on the left is the main
station building of the trunk line station. Directly ahead, marked by the small hut emerging from behind the
vegetation, is where one of the refuge sidings terminated. At this point, there is now access to a pleasant foot
path along part of the former track bed. David Glasspool
Next: the History Continues >>
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