Sevenoaks to Wateringbury rail line (1873)

Post date: Nov 12, 2016 5:43:22 PM

The following is a summary from page 89 of Adrian Gray's book "The London, Chatham and Dover Railway" (LCDR).

In 1872 hostilities broke out over the question of lines to Maidstone. The Sevenoaks, Maidstone and Tonbridge Railway (SMTR) had received an act of Parliament to complete the Otford to maidstone line (abandoned in 1866).

The South Eastern Railway (SER) served Maidstone via Strood or Paddock Wood on the Medway Valley line (through Wateringbury) so it found prospect of competition over the shorter SMTR line very threatening. In 1873 SER therefore planned a new line from Sevenoaks to Wateringbury which roused the fury of the LCDR. But a truce was arranged and the line never built.