The Light Railways of Kent

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The Light Railways Act of 1896 was designed to foster the construction of lines – particularly in rural areas - where the costs of promotion and construction might otherwise have proved too great, and the following decades saw a number of lines built throughout Great Britain.

The county of Kent was to witness the construction of four lines under the Act and, of these, three were to survive into the post-World War 2 era. Whilst the East Kent Railway and the Kent & East Sussex were both independent lines until Nationalisation in 1958, that on the Isle of Sheppey, linking Queenborough with Leysdown, was promoted by an existing main-line railway - the South Eastern & Chatham.

The light railways all shared a number of facets: they were cheaply built and lacked expensive engineering works. They were also, for the most part, financially unsuccessful and destined to survive the rationalisation of the railway industry after 1948 for only a relatively short period.

Drawing upon the photographs taken over the years after 1948, the Light Railways of Kent explores the history and operation of these three lines through to closure. Sections of two of the lines – the Kent & East Sussex from Tenterden to Bodiam (with work in progress to extend the line over the missing link to Robertsbridge) and the East Kent (from Shepherd’s Well to Eythorne) – have been preserved, allowing passengers to enjoy the atmosphere of Britain’s light railways in the 21st century.