Ashford West railway station

Ashford West railway station is a former railway station in Ashford, Kent. It was the terminus of the Maidstone Line from 1884 to 1898, constructed by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. On the formation of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, passenger services were transferred to the former South Eastern Railway's Ashford station. The station buildings and infrastructure survived and was used for various purposes until the late 20th century.

Ashford West
LocationEngland
Coordinates51.1476°N 0.8663°E / 51.1476; 0.8663
Grid referenceTR 005 426
Platforms3
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyLondon, Chatham and Dover Railway
Pre-groupingSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
1 July 1884 (1884-07-01)Station opened
1 January 1899 (1899-01-01)Closed to passengers
1990sclosed for all traffic

History

Opening

The station opened on 1 July 1884 as the new terminus of the Maidstone Line by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), who had extended it from Maidstone East.[1] A connection between the LCDR and the rival SER South Eastern Railway's South Eastern main line opened to traffic on 1 November 1891. The station was located off Gasworks Lane, near Ashford's cattle market,[2] and was used for cattle and sheep traffic after it had closed to passengers.[3]

Facilities comprised three platforms. There was a carriage shed and an engine shed,[2] with a turntable, which was removed and installed at Deal in 1904.[4] Two signal boxes controlled the station.[5]

Closure

From 1 January 1899, passenger services were transferred to the former SER station. The engine shed closed on this date.[6] was later converted into a works for cleaning cloths used in locomotive cleaning. Over a million were processed annually, with the reclaimed oil being re-used in the lubrication of points and point rodding.[7] The platform canopies were intact in the mid 1930s,[4] but had been removed by July 1957.[8]

The station site was largely intact as late as 1985.[9] The main station building was used for railway offices and residential accommodation, and was still standing as of 1994.[10] They were demolished in 1999 for the construction of HS1.[11]

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Terminus   London, Chatham and Dover Railway
Maidstone Line		   Hothfield

References
  1. Mitchell & Smith 1994, Historical Background.
  2. Mitchell & Smith 1994, Ashford West.
  3. Mitchell & Smith 1994, Illustration 117.
  4. Mitchell & Smith 1994, Illustration 112.
  5. Mitchell & Smith 1994, Illustration 115.
  6. "Ashford". Kentrail. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  7. Mitchell & Smith 1994, Illustration 116.
  8. Mitchell & Smith 1994, Illustration 113.
  9. Mitchell & Smith 1994, Illustration 119.
  10. Mitchell & Smith 1994, Illustration 114.
  11. Ashton, Ben. "The second abandoned Ashford railway station everyone has forgotten about". Kent Live. Local World. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
Sources
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1994). Swanley to Ashford. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1 873793 45 6.
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