Sittingbourne And Kemsley Light Railway
The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway in Kent is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge heritage railway that operates from Sittingbourne to the banks of The Swale. The line was formerly owned by Bowater, the paper making firm, and was used to carry raw materials and finished products between Ridham Dock and the company's two mills, one at Sittingbourne and the other at Kemsley.
In the late 1960s the railway faced closure by its owners but the Locomotive Club of Great Britain accepted an offer to operate the railway from 1970. The section of line from Kemsley Down to Ridham Dock was however abandoned for redevelopment of the paper mills.
In 2008-09, the line survived a threat of closure due to the owners of Sittingbourne Paper Mill closing the mill and selling the land, the lease then held by the railway expired in January 2009. Negotiations resulted in the railway being saved, although no public trains ran in 2009.
In September 2010, press reports announced the possibility that the railway would operate an anniversary service - over a short section between Kemsley Down Station and the Milton Regis Halt - to celebrate 40 years of operation. The service carried more than 700 passengers over several days during October.
In 2011, the Railway reopened in late May and operated until the end of September. During this time, Milton Regis Viaduct's deferred maintenance, from Winter 2008, was carried out and Essential Land's contractors completed the removal of pipelines around Sittingbourne Viaduct station. The very last train of the Season ran over Milton Regis Viaduct to the gate at Sittingbourne Viaduct station - the first public train to cross the Viaduct since 26 December 2008.
2012 saw the Railway Return to Sittingbourne Viaduct when the Railway reopened on Sunday 27th May. see "Reopening" section below.
Read more about Sittingbourne And Kemsley Light Railway: History, Preservation, Closure Threat, Reopening, Milton Regis Viaduct, Locomotives
Famous quotes containing the words light and/or railway:
“Libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace and wit, reminders of order, calm and continuity, lakes of mental energy, neither warm nor cold, light nor dark. The pleasure they give is steady, unorgastic, reliable, deep and long-lasting. In any library in the world, I am at home, unselfconscious, still and absorbed.”
—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)
“Her personality had an architectonic quality; I think of her when I see some of the great London railway termini, especially St. Pancras, with its soot and turrets, and she overshadowed her own daughters, whom she did not understand—my mother, who liked things to be nice; my dotty aunt. But my mother had not the strength to put even some physical distance between them, let alone keep the old monster at emotional arm’s length.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)