Tunnel Railway

Layout of pre- and post-1926 lines and stations in Ramsgate

Following the railway grouping of 1923, both the South Eastern Railway and the London, Chatham & Dover Railway became part of the newly formed Southern Railway, which decided to address the duplication of lines and stations at Ramsgate and Margate. It decided to link the two lines at Ramsgate to allow through running between them. This scheme had been proposed by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway before World War I, but work did not commence until 1925.[7] This meant the closure of the terminus stations at Ramsgate Town and Ramsgate Harbour, and the construction of a line skirting the northern edge of the town to link the two existing lines. New stations on the north-eastern and north-western fringes of the town, called Dumpton Park and Ramsgate respectively, replaced the existing stations in the town centre and at the harbour.[8] Construction work on the new line involved over 700 men moving 200,000 long tons (224,000 short tons; 203,200 t) of chalk, at a cost of approximately £500,000 (£30 million in 2023).[9][10]

The new link opened on 2 July 1926, from which date both former Ramsgate stations were closed along with the line through the tunnel to Ramsgate Harbour. The tunnel was sealed and abandoned, and the former Ramsgate Harbour station was sold to Thanet Amusements, who converted it into a zoo and funfair called Merrie England.[11]

Although adequate for the town's residents the new stations were a long way from the seafront attractions, which were at the foot of a steep hill. The day-trippers on whom Ramsgate's tourist industry depended were therefore increasingly attracted to Margate, where the station was next to the beach.[12]

By 1933 Merrie England, now under the ownership of Ramsgate Olympia, had become extremely popular, and Ramsgate Olympia began to lobby the Southern Railway to reopen the line through the tunnel, with a new junction station between Dumpton Park and Broadstairs.[13] However, the Southern Railway rejected the proposal as too costly and impractical.[5][lower-roman 2] Ramsgate Olympia and the Southern Railway were keen to make the attractions near the harbour accessible from the railway main line and to provide a service from the seafront to the greyhound stadium at Dumpton Park. The two companies eventually agreed on a scheme by which a new line would use the 780 yards (710 m) of the tunnel nearest the beach, before branching off into a new 364-yard (333 m) tunnel to emerge at a new station at Hereson Road, a 250-yard (230 m) walk from Dumpton Park station.[13] Ramsgate Olympia planned the construction of a large-scale housing estate, charabanc parking facilities, and a 10,000-seat stadium at Dumpton Park to increase passenger numbers and encourage people to use the new rail line.[12]

Trains at the lower station, immediately outside the tunnel entrance

The stations each had three platforms; a broad island platform in the centre for passengers waiting to board trains, and narrower outer platforms from which passengers exited the trains. Although the upper station was known as Hereson Road from the outset, the lower station was never officially named. It was known at various times as "Olympia", "Beach", "Sands" and "Lower Terminus".[14] The platforms and ticket offices were immediately outside the mouth of the tunnel at both stations.[14]

The line ran between Hereson Road, across the road from Dumpton Park station, down a steep gradient of 1 in 15 in the new tunnel,[13] before running at a 1 in 75 gradient down the original tunnel to the lower terminus.[2] The line consisted of a single line, branching into two platform tracks at the two stations, with a crossing loop halfway along the tunnel.[14] Over the 1,444-yard (1,320 m) journey between Hereson Road and the lower terminus, the line descended 83 feet (25 m).[15]

The new line's infrastructure was designed by Henry Greenly, a leading figure in the design of narrow gauge railways. He had begun his career at the Metropolitan Railway (now part of the London Underground), and had designed the route, buildings, locomotives and rolling stock for the Rhyl Miniature Railway and the nearby Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.[16] As the new railway would not be carrying heavy loads and would be travelling only a short distance, it was built as a narrow gauge railway, with a track gauge of 2 ft. This allowed the new branch tunnel to be built to far smaller dimensions than the existing tunnel, at just 8 feet (2.4 m) high and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide.[13]

Although a cable haulage system had initially been considered,[13] Ramsgate Olympia decided early in the line's planning to electrify the line. A third rail system was rejected due to concerns for the safety of the large numbers of children expected to use the line,[12] and the locomotives had trolley poles drawing power from a single 400-volt DC overhead line running the length of the tunnel.[13] The wire ran along the wall of the old tunnel, on brackets in the roof of the new tunnel, and was supported by poles at the open-air stations. The electricity was supplied by an electrical substation built by English Electric, inside the tunnel near the lower end.[17]

The junction of the main tunnel and the narrow tunnel to Hereson Road in 1984, 19 years after closure

Construction work began on 2 May 1936. The company hoped to have the line open in time to serve the large crowds expected on the August Bank Holiday, leading to a very tight construction deadline of three months.[16] To try to meet the deadline, construction work was carried out both day and night.[18] As the journey would take place entirely underground it was decided to line the wider, original tunnel with illuminated displays showing scenes from around the world.[12] This led to the line becoming semi-officially known as the "World Scenic Railway".[13]

English Electric built two trains for the line,[19] designed to resemble the electric trains already in use on the Southern Railway, but on a smaller scale.[5] A 94 ft 6 in (28.80 m) four-car train, painted red, was capable of carrying 108 passengers, and had a driver's cab at each end to avoid the need to turn the train around. A 99 ft 6 in (30.33 m) train, painted yellow, was also able to carry 108 passengers, but had two extra driver's cabs in the centre, allowing it to be split into two separate 49 ft 9 in (15.16 m) trains, each capable of carrying 54 passengers. It was envisaged that when the line was busy both trains would be used, but during quiet periods the line could be operated by the two-halves of the yellow train.[19] The red train was modified so that it could also be split, reducing its capacity to 102 as the two rows of seats at the centre were replaced by driver's cabs.[20]

The line opened to passengers on 31 July 1936, less than 12 weeks after construction began.[21] It was formally opened by Lieutenant-Colonel Edwin Charles Cox, Traffic Manager of the Southern Railway, who commented that as the traffic manager of what was then the largest electric rail service in the world, he was now opening what was probably the smallest.[5] Initially, the tunnel was decorated with illuminated scenes depicting Switzerland, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan and Egypt.[5]

The railway proved very popular, and over the Bank Holiday weekend carried 20,000 passengers.[22] As it relied on the tourist trade for business, it closed at the end of September. Throughout the 1937, 1938, and 1939 seasons the railway operated between Whitsun and the end of September each year, closing for the autumn and winter.[23]

The railway never had a timetable, and operated according to demand. Whenever one station had a sufficient number of passengers the driver signalled to the other station that he was about to depart, and the trains from both stations would set off simultaneously, passing at the halfway crossing loop.[15] The journey took approximately five minutes.[12] Outside of times of peak demand the full-length trains were generally not used, and the trains used split into their two-car sections.[20] There was no depot: trains were stabled in the lower section of the tunnel.[15]