Sittingbourne
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Magazine
Sittingbourne’s
Steam Railway Steam locomotives Premier and Leader took over operation of Edward Lloyd’s paper mill horse-powered tramway at Sittingbourne moving wagons of raw materials and finished products between the wharf at the end of Milton Creek and the mill itself. Thames Barges would take the finished product to London for that night’s printing presses to produce the next day’s newspapers.
last steam operated narrow gauge industrial railway in the UK. Steam locomotives Premier, Leader, Melior, Triumph, Alpha, Superb and Unique remain at what became the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, in 1972, as does Bowater’s sole diesel loco (now named Victor after the only scrapped steam loco). Another two diesel locomotives have joined the fleet since then.
The creek kept silting up so an extension was planned to connect Sittingbourne Mill with a new dock at Ridham but the First World War slowed work and The Admiralty took over operations at Ridham Dock for the duration. Post-war the extension was completed, including the kilometre-long reinforced concrete Milton Regis Viaduct, which was under construction 100 years ago this year.
The Railway was forced to close, by its landlords, in 2008 to allow for the sale of Sittingbourne Paper Mill and the ‘service corridor’ (the route of the Railway) but reopened to Milton Regis (Asda) Halt in 2010 and to Sittingbourne Viaduct in 2012, after the demolition of the mill and the pipelines across the site. The Railway is here to stay, so why not come along and support the last reminder of Sittingbourne’s paper making past.
In the 1920s the world’s biggest paper mill (at that time, but still Britain’s largest) was built at Kemsley Down, a new ‘workers’ town’ was started to be built close by and became Kemsley Village.
What’s happening
The locomotive fleet grew and, in the Railway heyday, in the 1950s saw 13 steam and one diesel locomotive operating the vast network at and between the two mills and Ridham Dock. There was a 24 hour passenger (for workers) and freight service almost all year round. In 1969, the ‘main line’ section of Bowater’s Light Railway was handed over to the Locomotive Club of Great Britain for preservation, it was the 8
Please mention
Classic children’s favourite ‘Ivor the Engine’ visits Kemsley Down for the August bank holiday weekend (30th/31st) where he will, no doubt, be causing trouble with his naughty driver! Trains leave Sittingbourne Viaduct hourly 11am - 4pm. The End of Season Gala Weekend sees the Season end in style on 26/27th September. This year’s fares are the same as last year’s - £6 for adults, £3 for children (aged 3-13), £4 for concessions and £17 for families (up to 2 adults and 4 children). You may wish to walk back Magazine when responding to advertisements