TheSouth Eastern Railway (SER) was a railway company in south-easternEngland from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route fromLondon toDover. Branch lines were later opened toTunbridge Wells,Hastings,Canterbury and other places in Kent. TheSER absorbed or leased other railways, some older than itself, including theLondon and Greenwich Railway and theCanterbury and Whitstable Railway. Most of the company's routes were inKent, easternSussex and the London suburbs, with a long cross-country route fromRedhill in Surrey toReading, Berkshire.
Much of the company's early history saw attempts at expansion and feuding with its neighbours; theLondon Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in the west and theLondon, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) to the north-east. However, in 1899 theSER agreed with theLCDR to share operation of the two railways, work them as a single system (marketed as theSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway) and pool receipts: but it was not a full amalgamation. TheSER andLCDR remained separate companies until becoming constituents of theSouthern Railway on 1 January 1923.
| South Eastern Railway Act 1836 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for making a Railway from the London and Croydon Railway to Dover, to be called "The Southeastern Railway." |
| Citation | 6 & 7 Will. 4. c. lxxv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 June 1836 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
There had been proposals for a railway between London and Dover in 1825, 1832 and 1835, but they came to nothing due to opposition from landowners or the difficulties of bridging theRiver Medway near its mouth.[1] On 21 June 1836, theParliament of the United Kingdom passed alocal act theSouth Eastern Railway Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. lxxv) incorporating theSouth Eastern and Dover Railway, which shortly afterwards changed to the South Eastern Railway.[2]
At the time of inauguration there were two potential rail pathways south from London, and theSpeaker of the House of Commons had said no further pathways would be permitted.[3] TheSER therefore considered routes to Dover from the proposedLondon and Southampton Railway line atWimbledon, or from the existingLondon and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) at Greenwich. The former left London in the wrong direction and then on a roundabout route. The latter provided a useful way for a northern route viaGravesend,Rochester, andCanterbury, except that lengthening the line beyond Greenwich was blocked by opposition from theAdmiralty, and this route would involve tunnelling through theNorth Downs.
The engineer of the new line,William Cubitt, was also engineer of theLondon and Croydon Railway (L&CR), which planned to useL&GR lines as far as Corbett's Lane inBermondsey before turning south towardsCroydon. A new connection on this line near toNorwood could provide access to a southerly route to Dover viaTonbridge,Ashford andFolkestone. This was less direct than the northerly route but passed through easier country. It involved one significant 1,387-yard (1,268 m) tunnel through theShakespeare Cliff near Dover. This was the route first chosen by theSER at its inauguration.
During parliamentary discussions on the proposed route of theLondon and Brighton Railway (L&BR) during 1837, pressure was put on theSER to divert its proposed route so it could also share theL&BR mainline betweenJolly Sailor (Norwood) andEarlswood Common, and then travel eastwards toTonbridge. Under the scheme proposed by Parliament, the railway from Croydon toRedhill would be built by theL&BR but theSER would have the right to refund half the construction costs and own that part of the line betweenMerstham and Redhill. TheSER gave way to this proposal as it reduced the construction costs, although it resulted in a route 20 miles (32 km) longer than by road, running south for 14.5 miles (23 km) and then turning east. It also meant that its trains fromLondon Bridge passed over the lines of three other companies: theL&GR to Corbett's Lane Junction, theL&CR as far as 'Jolly Sailor', and theL&BR to Merstham.[4]
Construction began in 1838 at several places simultaneously, and the Shakespeare Tunnel was complete by May 1841 . TheL&BR line to Redhill opened on 12 July 1841 and theSER line fromRedhill to Tonbridge on 26 May 1842,[5] whenSER train services began.[6] The main line reachedAshford on 1 December 1842; the outskirts ofFolkestone by 28 June 1843; andDover by 7 February 1844.[7] On the same day the SER offered to lease theL&BR for 21 years at £100,000 per year, but the offer was turned down.[8] Later that year, theSER refunded to theL&BR £430,000 and took ownership of the southern half of theCroydon-Redhill line.[9] Trains ran toll-free to both companies on this stretch but still had pay on theL&CR fromNorwood Junction railway station to Corbett's Lane Junction, and theL&GR into London Bridge.
In 1843, when the railway reached the edge of Folkestone, the company bought the silted and nearly derelict harbour, built byThomas Telford in 1809, for £18,000.[10] TheSER dredged the harbour and, after a trial with the paddle steamerWater Witch, which also demonstrated that aday excursion from London toBoulogne was feasible, arranged for apacket company to provide a ferry to Boulogne.[11] The following year it established the independentSouth Eastern & Continental Steam Packet Company, which it absorbed in 1853.[10] James Broadbridge Monger was the master of theWater Witch from 1839 to 1844. From 1844 on, he was master of three vessels which steamed from Dover and Folkestone to Boulogne, Calais and Ostend with passengers and cargo:Lord Warden,Princess Helena andPrincess Maude. In December 1848 it opened a steeply graded branch from theFolkestone station to theharbour.[12]
TheSER openedDover (later Dover Town) station on 7 February 1844. This was originally a terminus, but in 1860 the line was continued to Admiralty Pier. Thereafter theSER concentrated most of its resources into developing Folkestone Harbour, which became its principal base for cross-channel ferries.[13] The company had complete control of Folkestone whereas at Dover it had to negotiate with both theAdmiralty and the local town council, and the rail route from Boulogne to Paris was better developed than that from Calais.
In 1848 theSER served two steam ships a day between Folkestone and Boulogne, one a day between Dover and Calais, and one between Dover and Ostend.[14]
During 1843, before the main line was complete, theSER and theL&CR became anxious about the charges imposed by theL&GR for the use of the terminus at London Bridge and its approaches. Parliament had relaxed restrictions on new railways into London and soSER sought authority to construct a branch from Corbett's Lane to a new temporary passenger terminus and goods station atBricklayers Arms railway station, for use by both railways, removing the need to use the Greenwich Railway.[15] This opened 1 May 1844.[5] According toCharles Vignoles, 'the making of Bricklayers Arms station was a matter of compulsion in driving the Greenwich people to reasonable terms'.[16] Plans to extend from Bricklayers Arms to a newSER terminus atHungerford Bridge, nearer the centre of London, were rejected by Parliament.[17] Similarly, a revised proposal to extend the line toWaterloo Road in 1846 was rejected by a committee ofParliament.[18]
TheL&GR was nearly bankrupt in 1844 and theSER leased its line from 1 January 1845. It became theGreenwich branch of that railway.[19] Thereafter further developments were at London Bridge, and following a shunting accident during August 1850 which caused the collapse of a large part of the station roof,[20] theSER closed Bricklayers Arms terminus to passenger traffic in 1852 converting it into a goods facility.
Over the next two decades theSER system spread throughout Kent and Surrey, building lines to connect towns to its main line or acquiring those already in existence.
In 1844 theSER took over the bankruptCanterbury and Whitstable Railway, which had opened in 1830. This continued to be worked as an isolated line until theSER reached Canterbury from Ashford in 1846, with its line toRamsgate.[21]
The first branch built by theSER was theMedway Valley Line on 24 September 1844, fromPaddock Wood toMaidstone. This was continued toStrood railway station on 18 June 1856.[22]
| South-eastern Railway Act 1871 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to enable the South-eastern Railway Company to complete their authorised Greenwich Line. |
| Citation | 34 & 35 Vict. c. iv |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 25 May 1871 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Leasing the London and Greenwich Railway from 1 January 1845 gave the company control of its main line into London and provided a branchline toGreenwich. Further eastward extension was initially not possible due to opposition from theGreenwich Hospital, but it was eventually opened in 1878 when the line joined theNorth Kent Line atCharlton.
| South Eastern Railway (Branch to Tunbridge Wells) Act 1845 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 8 & 9 Vict. c. clxvii |
A secondarymain line fromTonbridge to the outskirts ofTunbridge Wells opened 20 September 1845. It was extended toTunbridge Wells Central on 25 November 1846.[23] By 1 September 1851the line had reachedRobertsbridge and was extended toBattle,Bopeep Junction andHastings on 1 February 1852. By this time Hastings had already been reached by theSER in aroundabout route fromAshford, which opened 13 February 1851.[24] From this line was a short branch toRye Harbour.
During 1846 theSER opened another secondarymain line fromAshford toRamsgate with a branch from there toMargate on 1 December 1846.[23] A further branch from thisline fromMinster toDeal was opened 7 July 1847.
| Gravesend and Rochester Railway and Canal Act 1845 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 8 & 9 Vict. c. clxviii |
As theSER was prevented from extending its Greenwich line, it opened a secondarymain line fromLewisham toGravesend and then toStrood on the banks of theMedway on 30 July 1849.[24] The second half between Gravesend and Strood had been built as theGravesend and Rochester Canal and a single track railway had been added to form the Gravesend and Rochester Railway. TheSER offered to buy the canal and railway in 1845, filled in the canal through the Higham to Strood tunnel and doubled the track.[25] The first section (built by theSER) connectedWoolwich andDartford to the railway network.
In 1852 a freight branch was constructed from this line at Charlton to the Thames atAngerstein's Wharf, used for landing coal.[26] A line opened on 18 June 1856 up the Medway valley toMaidstone West.
In September 1845 theSER appointedJames Macgregor (sometimes spelled McGregor or M'Gregor) to a new post combining the roles of Chairman and Managing Director. He exercised absolute power over the company for the next nine years, until he was ultimately forced to resign in 1854 and leave the Board in 1855.[27] Macgregor's lack of accountability, his opaque and at times dubious working methods led to a number of strategic errors in the building of new lines and in the company's relations with its neighbours, which would have an adverse impact on the company for decades to come.[28]
| Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway Act 1846 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act for making a Railway from Reading to Guildford and Reigate. |
| Citation | 9 & 10 Vict. c. clxxi |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 16 July 1846 |
| Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway Amendment Act 1847 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to authorize a certain Alteration in the Line of the Reading, Guildford, and Reigate Railway, and to amend the Act relating thereto. |
| Citation | 10 & 11 Vict. c. ccxli |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 22 July 1847 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (Connection with London and South Western Railway) Act 1849 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 12 & 13 Vict. c. xxviii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 26 June 1849 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| South Eastern and Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railways Amalgamation Act 1852 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Citation | 15 & 16 Vict. c. ciii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 17 June 1852 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| South Eastern Railway (Reading Extension) Act 1853 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to enable the South-eastern Railway Company to extend the Reading, Guildford, and Reigate Railway to the Great Western Railway at Reading; and for other Purposes. |
| Citation | 16 & 17 Vict. c. cxxi |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 4 August 1853 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
TheSER supported the formation of the Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway under theReading, Guildford and Reigate Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. clxxi), a scheme to build a line connecting the London to Brighton main line at Redhill with theGreat Western Railway (GWR) main line atReading,[29] and agreed to operate its services. Thenew line was completed 4 July 1849, and in 1852 was absorbed bySER under theSouth Eastern and Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railways Amalgamation Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. ciii).[30] Both theLBSCR andLondon and South Western Railway (L&SWR) regarded this line as a significant incursion into their areas of operation. Likewise the acquisition of a line so remote from its main area of operation, and of doubtful profitability, caused heated discussion and the resignation of several directors, who felt that the company should rather secure its territory and develop services in Kent, as theLBSCR was doing in Sussex.[31] It would also ultimately bring about Macgregor's downfall.[32] Nevertheless, in 1858 theGWR,L&SWR, andSER made a three-year agreement to share traffic and provide a connecting line between their stations at Reading.[33] As of 2015[update] the line forms part of theNorth Downs Line.
During the first years, relations between theSER,L&CR andL&BR were cordial, with the companies pooling locomotives and forming a joint locomotive committee.[34] However, all three considered they were disadvantaged by this arrangement and in 1845 gave notice of withdrawal. The merger of theL&BR andL&CR to form theLBSCR in July 1846 created a powerful rival to theSER in areas of east Sussex and east Surrey not yet connected to the railway. Relations between the two companies were bad from the outset, especially at those sites where they shared facilities, such as the approaches to London Bridge,East Croydon, andRedhill. Also theSER had long wanted to build a line toBrighton,[35] and theLBSCR had inherited plans for a line into mid-Kent from theL&CR,[36] and fromBulverhythe (St Leonards) toAshford viaHastings from theL&BR. Matters were further complicated in 1846 when theSER was empowered to build a line from its existing branch atTunbridge Wells to Hastings.[37]
Unsuccessful discussions took place regarding a merger of the two companies, but eventually an agreement on 10 July 1848 (ratified in Parliament in 1849) abolished tolls for using each other's lines and prevented further eastward expansion by theLBSCR beyond Hastings and westward further expansion by theSER.[38] Under this agreement theLBSCR, would share the line from Bulverhythe to Hastings and transfer to theSER its rights to build a line to Ashford but at the same time it retained the right to use the Bricklayers Arms branch and construct its own 15-acre (61,000 m2) goods depot on the site for a rent of one shilling (£0.05) per year.[39]
The 1848/9 agreement did not prevent further squabbling between the two companies, notably with the opening of the railway from Ashford to Hastings in 1851. TheLBSCR had originally sought to build it and then had attempted to delay its completion by theSER. In retaliation, theSER attempted to denyLBSCR access to its station at Hastings. The matter was resolved in court in favour of theLBSCR, but victory was short-lived as the following year theSER opened its lines from Tunbridge Wells, reducing the distance by rail to Hastings from London.[40]
Macgregor's greatest strategic mistake was his failure to address the concerns of the proposers of theEast Kent Railway, which ultimately led to the creation of an important rival in northern Kent and also for the Continental rail traffic.
Between 1844 and 1858, theSER had a monopoly of rail transport in Kent, but served the north of the county poorly. TheSERline fromStrood into London had opened in 1849. A plan to continue this line as far asChilham where it would join theAshford to Canterbury Line, was rejected by Parliament in 1847 due to financial considerations and never resurrected.[41] One group ofSER directors were anxious to 'close the capital account' and build no more lines,[42] even though this might leave the field open to rival projects, as would later prove to be the case. As a result, there was no planned service to the north Kent towns to the east of theRiver Medway. LikewiseSER routes toMargate,Deal, andCanterbury were circuitous and other towns had no railway at all. As a result of the railway's unwillingness to act, plans for an independent line from theSER station atStrood toFaversham andCanterbury were made following a public meeting atRochester in 1850.[43]
Following Macgregor's resignation in 1854, there followed a decade of factionalism among the directors and equally poor management, described bySamuel Smiles the company Secretary as 'not so much business as speech-making, that seemed to be the work of the Board.'[44] It was during this period that there was a continuing failure to deal with underlying problems in the company, and its relationships with its neighbours together with further strategic errors which weakened what might otherwise have been a profitable enterprise.[citation needed] One nickname for theSER in the 1860s was the Rattle and Smash Railway.[45]
TheEast Kent Railway (EKR) from Strood to Canterbury, proposed in 1850 achieved parliamentary approval in 1853, and also for an extension toDover in 1855, but it failed to securerunning powers over theSER line into London: instead theSER reluctantly agreed to handle London traffic from the line.[46] ManySER directors were convinced the line would never be built, or would go bankrupt, and so took no interest in the scheme or in suggestions that the line should amalgamate with their railway.[47] They were proved wrong.
In 1856 the EKR again unsuccessfully sought running powers over theSER into London, and then obtained powers to build its own route viaSt Mary Cray railway station andBromley South railway station. The EKR secured running powers over theLBSCR lines into Pimlico and, after 1860, toVictoria Station.[48] The EKR became theLondon, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1859 and completed its rival route to Dover on 22 July 1861. By July 1863 theLCDR had its own independent route to Victoria, and in 1864 its own terminus on the edge of theCity of London atLudgate Hill.[49] For 36 years it would be an important competitor of theSER both for Continental and also local traffic in Kent.
A further serious strategic mistake was the refusal of theSER to accept the terms of the contract for the cross-channel carriage of mails in 1862, as this stipulated the use of Dover rather than Folkestone.[50] This enabled theLCDR, which had only reached Dover in 1861, to secure the contract and the following year would give it leverage when it came to negotiating the Continental Traffic Agreement.
A new and protracted dispute with theLBSCR took place between 1855 and 1862 over theCaterham branch line, which was built by an independent company inSER territory but connected to the railway network at the formerLBSCR station atPurley. TheSER refused to allow the line to be leased to theLBSCR, which in turn refused to re-open its station, delayed opening of the line for a year, and made the Caterham company bankrupt. TheSER took over the line in 1859, but theLBSCR made life difficult for passengers to London.
TheSER objected to theLBSCR agreement with the East Kent Railway to provide access over its lines to itsPimlico station and later the jointly ownedVictoria station (see below), and also for handling that company's freight traffic at 'Willow Walk', (a part of theBricklayers Arms goods facility). Further difficulties between occurred atEast Croydon railway station in 1862. With completion of theLBSCR line toVictoria station, extra platforms were needed to accommodate the service. The platforms were treated by theLBSCR as a separate station, named "New Croydon", with its own ticket office, and ran exclusivelyLBSCR services. This enabled the railway to offer cheaper fares from New Croydon to London than theSER which only had use of East Croydon station.[51] TheSER responded by gaining parliamentary approval to build its ownline fromNew Beckenham to a new station at Croydon (Addiscombe Road), which opened 1 April 1864.
Relations with theLBSCR reached a low point in 1863, when the general manager and secretary had to report the history of relations between the companies since the agreement of 1848–9.[52] This set out the history although from theSER perspective.
A branch from Lewisham toBeckenham opened in 1857, becoming the temporary terminus of theEast Kent Railway. Following the dispute with theLBSCR over New Croydon (see below) an extension of thisline toAddiscombe (Croydon) was opened in 1864.[53]
TheSER and theLCDR agreed to pool Continental traffic receipts betweenHastings andMargate, together with local receipts to Dover and Folkestone. It then re-allocated them to a formula which gave theSER two-thirds of the receipts in 1863, gradually reducing to one half in 1872.[54] The agreement appeared to unduly favour theLCDR, particularly after 1870. It did not prevent competition as the railways could claim additional funds from the pool if they carried more than their proportion of customers. Both companies sought to get round the agreement – theLCDR by establishing a Continental service fromQueenborough on theIsle of Sheppey, which was outside the scope of the agreement. Similarly, theSER built a local station atShorncliffe on the edge of Folkestone, which it claimed was not part of Folkestone, and from which it charged lower fares.[55]
Following establishment of aLCDR service from Queenborough toFlushing, Netherlands in 1876, theSER was allowed to build theHundred of Hoo Railway from its line near Gravesend to a new port on the across the Medway from Queenborough, calledPort Victoria. The line opened in September 1882.
In 1860 theLCDR had a more direct route to Dover than theSER, and both the company's rivals had access to a London terminus in the prosperousWest End of London while theSER only had its terminal on the south side of the riverThames atLondon Bridge.
TheSER converted part of London Bridge to through platforms and extended tonear Waterloo, overHungerford Bridge to a station atCharing Cross which opened on 11 January 1864.[56] When theLCDR built a line toLudgate Hill railway station in theCity of London in 1865, theSER built a newbridge over theThames and a city terminus atCannon Street railway station, which opened 1 September 1866.[57] These extensions were difficult to operate and were congested at peak times.
On 16 August 1866 theSER agreed with theLondon and North Western Railway to build a joint line betweenEuston railway station and Charing Cross, with interchange of traffic,[58] but the scheme was abandoned as a result of the 1867 financial crisis.
TheSER therefore constructed the direct line viaSevenoaks toTonbridge. It involved crossing theNorth Downs by summits and long tunnels atKnockholt and Sevenoaks. The latter was the longest tunnel in southern England at 3,451 yards (3,156 m). This cut-off line, 24 miles (39 km) long, reachedChislehurst on 1 July 1865, but took three more years to reachOrpington and Sevenoaks (2 March 1868). The new main line opened on 1 May 1868 when the line reached Tonbridge.[57]
Construction of the main line provided the opportunity to build an improvedroute toDartford fromHither Green viaSidcup. This opened 1 September 1866.
In 1865 theSER joined a consortium of six railways to form theEast London Railway, which used the existingThames Tunnel to connectWapping on the north bank of the Thames withRotherhithe on the south. The other partners were: theGreat Eastern Railway (GER), theLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR), theLondon, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), theMetropolitan Railway, and theDistrict Railway. Over the next four years it was converted to railway use and connected with existing lines.[59]
The line was principally used for freight across London but theSER introduced a service betweenAddiscombe and Liverpool Street from April 1880 until March 1884. From March to September 1884 the service ran from Addiscombe toSt Mary's Whitechapel Road.
This period of factionalism was eventually ended with the appointment of a new and able Chairman in March 1866.[60] This wasEdward (later Sir Edward) Watkin who was also chairman of theManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and theMetropolitan Railway, as well as being a director of theChemins de fer du Nord in France. However his appointment was quickly followed by the collapse of bankersOverend, Gurney and Company on 10 May 1866 and the subsequent financial crisis during the following year. This had a severe effect on expansion plans of several railways. No new lines were built by theSER until the opening of theSandling toHythe branch line on 9 October 1874. TheLCDR went bankrupt and was taken into administration 12 July 1866,[61] and in 1867 theLBSCR was also on the brink of bankruptcy.[62] The directors and shareholders saw that constant quarrelling between the three companies had damaged their interests and began talks to merge or to work together.[63] In 1868 abill was presented to Parliament to allow for co-operative working of railways of southern England (theSER, theLCDR, theLBSCR and theL&SWR). However this failed at a late stage when Parliament sought to limit the fares charged by theSER to those of theLBSCR, and theSER withdrew.[64] A further attempt to merge theSER andLCDR in 1875 failed when the latter withdrew after shareholders felt it favoured theSER.
Watkin had long-term ambitions for theSER to become one link in a chain of 'Watkin' railways from the industrial north of England to the Continent via a proposedChannel Tunnel. His plans for a Channel Tunnel were ultimately blocked by theWar Office, and suspicion fell onJames Staats Forbes, chairman of theLCDR for having urged the decision.[65]
One result of improved relations between theSER and theLBSCR during the 1870s was that the two collaborated in construction of aline betweenSouth Croydon on the main Brighton line andOxted. The completion of theOrpington cut-off in 1866 reduced services to and from the growing town ofCroydon. TheLBSCR had supported a plan to build theSurrey and Sussex Junction Railway along this route in 1865, but its involvement had been opposed by theSER as being contrary to their agreement, and the scheme was abandoned during the 1867 financial crisis. However, following a revised agreement, the scheme was revived as a joint venture. Beyond Oxted theLBSCR linked with its lines toEast Grinstead andTunbridge Wells, while theSER joined its original main line toTonbridge Tunbridge Wells andHastings. Authority for construction of these lines was granted in 1878 and they opened in 1884.
As a part of the same scheme, theSER at last began to implement plans for thea line fromDunton Green on its new main line to Oxted viaWesterham, the first phase of which opened on 7 July 1881. Authorisation for line was first obtained in 1864, but no progress had been made by 1876, when local inhabitants sponsored their ownbill, forcing the hand of theSER.[66] In the event only the first phase (from Dunton Green to Westerham) was built, leaving abranch line rather than a through route. The remaining four miles (6 km) to the newOxted Line (then still under construction) were never completed due to opposition in theHouse of Commons and the difficult terrain between Westerham and Oxted.[67]
| South Eastern Railway Act 1887 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act for conferring further powers with reference to the South-eastern Railway Company's undertaking and the undertakings of other Companies and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 50 & 51 Vict. c. cx |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 12 July 1887 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
During the 1880s and 1890s theSER was accused of only caring about Continental travellers and of neglecting the interests of its other customers. A series of letters toThe Times in London in 1883 demonstrated how unpopular the railway had become with its regular commuters.[68] Ernest Foxwell, also writing in 1883, stated 'The great blots on the South Eastern are its unpunctuality, its fares, its third class carriages, and the way in whichlocal interests are sacrificed to Continental traffic.'[69] Hamilton Ellis later described both theSER and theLCDR at this time as 'bywords of poverty stricken inefficiency and dirtiness'.[70] In spite of these criticisms the shareholders stuck with their chairman, until they eventually realised that their own interests were suffering as well. A scathing article inThe Investors Review for June 1894 demonstrated how poorly Watkin's railways had performed financially compared to others, and referred to theSER's 'bitter hatred towards all but first-class travellers, [and] their determined cultivation of the art of running empty coaches'. The article finished,
the Company is now almost too weak to turn round and adopt a wise policy. It might become bankrupt in the process ; so the best thing to do is to leave it severely alone. Just as none travel by it who can find another route, so none should touch its common stocks who are free to do otherwise.[71]
Watkin retired shortly afterwards.
Some of the complaints of unpunctuality of theSER may have been exaggerated, or were at least soon remedied after Watkin's departure, since a statistical survey of the company's services conducted in 1895 by William Acworth found that, with the exception of the heavily congested and difficult to operate lines between London Bridge and Cannon Street and Charing Cross, the company did not perform significantly worse than others in London in terms of timekeeping.[72]
| South Eastern Railway Act 1897 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act for conferring further powers on the South Eastern Railway Company and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 60 & 61 Vict. c. ccxxvii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 August 1897 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
During the 1870s and the 1880s the railway attempted to exploit the potential of the East Kent coast as both holiday destinations and potential new channel ports. Thus branches were built fromSandling near Folkestone toHythe and Sandgate, (opened 9 October 1874); from Dover toDeal andSandwich (jointly with the LCDR, which opened 15 June 1881); fromAppledore toDungeness (1 April 1883) andNew Romney (19 June 1884). (In 1897 theSER obtained powers in theSouth Eastern Railway Act 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c. ccxxvii) to build a branch line fromCrowhurst railway station to its own station atBexhill-on-sea in opposition to the existingLBSCR service to the town.) However this line was not completed until 1902.[73]
On 4 July 1887 the railway opened theElham Valley Line fromCanterbury West toShorncliffe. However, there was by then already anLCDR line from Canterbury to Dover and so the new line did not attract much traffic. Likewise on 1 October 1892 theHawkhurst Branch fromPaddock Wood toHope Mill was opened and extended toHawkhurst on 4 September 1893.
Similarly the company also obtained Parliamentary Powers to build a line fromAppledore toMaidstone viaHeadcorn and theLoose Valley.[74]
Probably the most wasteful competitive venture by theSER was a second bridge over the river Medway betweenStrood leading to a branch toRochester (opened July 1891) and toChatham. The branch line only had a twenty-year life-span as the stations were less conveniently sited than theLCDR alternatives. TheLCDR main line was however re-aligned after 1911 to use the newer bridge.[75]
Unlike the neighbouringLBSCR, theSER failed to capitalise on the rapidly growing population of the South London suburbs during the 1870s and 1880s, and to develop effective suburban services. In particular, the area between theNorth Kent Line theDartford Loop Line became well populated at this time, but theSER was reluctant to build a proposedBexleyheath Line, including stations atBlackheath,Eltham,Bexleyheath andSlade Green, in spite of public pressure in the 1880s. This line was eventually built as a private concern in 1895, and it was only after the original investors had gone bankrupt and Watkin had retired that theSER eventually agreed to incorporate it into its system.
As mentioned above, the line from London Bridge to Charing Cross and Cannon Street was particularly congested and difficult to operate. During the early 1890s theSER was actively considering extending the Bricklayers Arms branch into Charing Cross and Cannon Street as a means of relieving this congestion, but deferred making any decision to do so and ultimately the idea was dropped following the operating agreement with theLCDR in 1899, which provided the new 'joint railway' with two further pathways into London.
One of the last branch lines to be incorporated into theSER was betweenPurley andTattenham Corner railway station. The line as far as Chipstead and Kingswood were built by theChipstead Valley Railway from 1893 and opened in 1897. The extension to Tattenham Corner was built by theEpsom Downs Extension Railway from 1894. Both companies were acquired by theSER,[76] but the line to Tattenham Corner was not completed until 1901, after the working agreement with theLCDR. This line was in the territory of theLBSCR but provided the railway with access to a proportion of the lucrativeEpsom Downs Racecourse traffic.
During the early 1890s competition between theSER and theLCDR reached ruinous proportions with both companies offering nearly identical services to and from the same towns, which inevitably lost money for both companies.[65] However, following the resignation of Watkin in 1894, relations between the two companies gradually improved under his successors Sir George Russell (1895) and, most notably, underCosmo Bonsor (1897). Bonsor managed to persuade the two boards of governors to see sense and from 1 January 1899 theSouth Eastern and Chatham Railways Joint Management Committee was formed to oversee joint working, with Bonsor as its chairman. On 5 August 1899 theSouth Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover Railways Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. clxviii) was passed, which resulted in the formation of theSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR). This was not a true merger since each company kept its individual board of directors within the organisation.
The quality of service of theSE&CR and the level of public estimation of its two constituent railways increased considerably during the next thirty-five years. TheSER was however abolished on 1 January 1923 under the terms of theRailways Act 1921.
Throughout its independent existence, theSER was primarily a passenger rather than a freight railway, with passenger receipts accounting for more than 72% of its revenues.[77]
Prior to 1862 the company carried international postal traffic. However, in 1862 they refused to renew the contract as it stipulated the Dover-Calais rather than theSER's preferred Folkestone-Boulogne route. As a result, the contract went to theLCDR.[78]
It was not until after the formation of theSE&CR management committee in 1899 that the company began to take the development of its freight traffic seriously, with the ordering of a powerful new freightSECR C class.[79] Prior to that most freight on the system had either been products imported through the Channel ports, or else locally developed freight, such as farm produce travelling to London. The principal freight depot on the system was at Bricklayers Arms.
Thecement industry based aroundSwanscombe and theMedway Towns provided some minerals traffic, but again it was only after the foundation ofBlue Circle Industries in 1900 that this was developed. Similarly, theKent coalfield was not discovered until 1890 and only developed in the early twentieth century.
As mentioned above, theSER was accused during the 1880s of concentrating on itsBoat trains and Continental passenger traffic at the expense of its local services in Kent and the London suburbs.
One area where theSER did fail compared with theLBSCR and theL&SWR was in developing effective services to the rapidly growing suburbs of south east London. This was probably due to an unwillingness to generate even more traffic through the very restricted entry pathway into London betweenDeptford and London Bridge. TheSER did however have the advantage of taking commuters far closer to the centres of business and commerce at Charing Cross and Cannon Street, whereas theLBSCR and LS&WR deposited them south of the river Thames at London Bridge andWaterloo respectively.
TheSER served an area with a long coastline within easy travelling distance of London. During the 1860s the railway was an important factor in the development of holiday destinations such asMargate andRamsgate in Kent andSt Leonards-on-Sea andHastings in East Sussex.
In May 1844 theSER organised the first of seven rail and ferry excursions that year from London to Boulogne which together carried more than 2,000 people.[80]
By the 1870s, the South Eastern Railway was runningHop Pickers' Specials to transport large numbers of working-class Londoners to towns and villages in Kent and East Sussex for the season.
Electric telegraph was installed throughout theSER by 1848.[14] These were sold to theGeneral Post Office for £200,000 in 1870[81] (equivalent to £24,170,000 in 2023).[82]
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One of the most notable accidents occurred on 9 June 1865, when theboat train fromFolkestone ran onto a partly dismantled bridge nearStaplehurst. The locomotive and tender ran across the timber baulks to reach the far side, but the carriages were derailed and fell into theRiver Beult. TheStaplehurst rail crash killed ten passengers andCharles Dickens narrowly avoided severe injury, or even death. He was travelling withNelly Ternan and her mother at the front of the train in a first-class carriage, which escaped complete derailment when the locomotive and tender left the track as a result of repairs to the line. Timber baulks under the track were being replaced but the foreman mis-read the timetable, and two lengths of rail were missing on the viaduct. As the lead vehicles left the line, the impact on the remaining beams caused the cast iron girders below to fracture, and most of the following vehicles left the viaduct and ended up in the River Beult some 15 feet (4.6 m) below. The foreman was indicted and convicted ofmanslaughter, and served six months hard labour for his crime.[83]
Other significant accidents involving multiple fatalities were as follows:
Between March 1842, shortly before theSER began to run its services, and March 1844, therolling stock of the railway was pooled with that of its neighbour and operated by the 'London & Croydon and South Eastern Railways Joint Committee'. The locomotives were then under the supervision ofBenjamin Cubitt atNew Cross Depot. In the latter month the pool was also joined by theL&BR. However all three railways felt themselves disadvantaged by the arrangement and in October 1844 theSER gave notice six months notice of withdrawal, which was later extended until 31 January 1846.[93] The existing locomotives and carriages, and those on order, were divided between the three companies.
TheSER owned fifteen locomotives and had a further eleven on order at the formation of the 'London & Croydon and South Eastern Railways Joint Committee' in 1842.[94] Ten locomotives were built by this committee, and a further 45 were either built or ordered by the enlargedBrighton, Croydon and Dover Joint Committee. TheSER received 67 of these existing locomotives at the dissolution of the latter committee in 1846.[95] Having decided to withdraw from the locomotive pool, theSER appointedJames Cudworth as Locomotive Superintendent on 22 May 1845. Four locomotives were acquired from the 'Gravesend and Rochester Railway in 1847,[25] seven from theL&GR in 1848, but theonly original locomotive to work theCanterbury and Whitstable Railway was not added to stock.[96] Between 1846 and 1898 theSER built or purchased 775 locomotives.[97] Of these, 459 were running on 31 December 1898 when they were handed over to theSE&CR.[98]
Under Cudworth the railway was the largest British user of the experimental and ultimately unsuccessfulCrampton locomotive type with twenty examples built between 1847 and 1851.[99] He also patented a double-firebox which enabled locomotives to burn cheaper coal without smoke, but were considerably more expensive to build and maintain.[100] Cudworth also provided several sound locomotive types for the railway, but resigned in 1876 after Sir Edward Watkin ordered 20 express locomotives against Cudworth's wishes, which subsequently proved to have been unsuccessful.[101]
After a brief interregnumJames Stirling was appointed Chief Mechanical Engineer on 28 March 1878. He modernised the locomotive stock and was responsible for the building or acquisition of 401 locomotives.[102] Stirling designed some good quality locomotive classes, notably hisR0-6-0, andQ0-4-4 tank classes, and hisO0-6-0 andF4-4-0 tender classes. However his determination to maintain standardisation meant that the introduction of larger locomotives was delayed too long and the SER locomotive fleet was underpowered by 1899.[103] As a result, futureSE&CR locomotive practice was based on developingLCDR rather thanSER designs.
The South Eastern Railway operated a number of ships fromFolkestone andDover toBoulogne,France andOstend,Belgium. In 1854 theSER took over the South Eastern and Continental Steam Packet Company.[104]
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Edward | 1862[104] | 365[104] | Wrecked in 1893 atCap Gris Nez.[104] |
| Albert Victor | 1880[104] | 814[104] | Scrapped 1899.[104] |
| Alexandra | 1864[104] | 203[104] | Sold in 1899 to Scott,Calcutta,India.[104] |
| Boulogne | 1878[104] | 407[104] | Sold in 1903 to British Central Africa Co Ltd.[104] |
| Duchess of Edinburgh | 1880[104] | 812[104] | Sold in 1882 to Barrow Steam Navigation Co Ltd, renamedManx Queen.[104] |
| Duchess of York | 1895[104] | 996[104] | Scrapped in 1904[104] |
| Eugenie | 1862[104] | 426[104] | Sold in 1863, becameConfederate blockade runnerCornubia.[104] |
| Folkestone | 1878[104] | 398[104] | Scrapped in 1903.[104] |
| Lord Warden | 1847[104] | 308[104] | Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1881.[104] |
| Louise Dagmar | 1880[104] | 818[104] | Scrapped in 1899.[104] |
| Mary Beatrice | 1882[104] | 803[104] | Scrapped in 1900[104] |
| Napoleon III | 1865[104] | 345[104] | Scrapped in 1890.[104] |
| Prince Ernest | 1845[105] | 248[104] | Scrapped in 1886[104] |
| Princess Clementine | 1846[104] | 288[104] | Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1884.[104] |
| Princess Helena | 1847[104] | 302[104] | Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1881.[104] |
| Princess Mary | 1844[104] | 192[104] | Sold in 1874 to Wilhelms,London.[104] |
| Princess Maud | 1844[104] | 187[104] | Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1886.[104] |
| Princess of Wales | 1898[104] | 1,009[104] | Sold in 1910 toArgentina, renamedRio Uruguay.[104] |
| Queen of the Belgians | 1844[104] | 206[104] | Acquired in 1854, scrapped in 1881.[104] |
| Queen of the French | 1845[104] | 215[104] | Sold in 1863 to a Belgian owner, renamedSaphir.[104] |
| Victoria | 1861[104] | 359[104] | Scrapped in 1895.[104] |
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