History
The station was located in the Kemptown area of the town, which derives its name from Kemp Town, a 19th century housing development in the east of the area, approximately two miles to the east of the centre of Brighton.
Because of rivalries between the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and London, Chatham and Dover Railway, the LB&SCR decided in 1869 to build a short but expensive branch line from Brighton railway station to Kemptown, chiefly as a blocking move to prevent another line being laid into the town. The branch line with its costly viaducts and tunnel never paid its way, being twice as long as the equivalent journey by road.
The LB&SCR closed the line to passenger traffic as early as 1917, but reinstated the services in 1919. The branch line and its remaining stations finally closed to passenger traffic in 1933 and to freight by 1971, having been used as a "Brighton East" freight depot to help reduce the work of the main depot sited near the main Brighton Station. The final use of the line was made on the 26th June 1971 when a special passenger train service operated at hourly intervals during the daytime to give the public a last opportunity to travel over it.
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Hartington Road Halt operated for only five years, being opened on 1 January 1906 and closing April 1911.
Read more about this topic: Kemp Town Railway Station
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