Sandling railway station

Sandling railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the village of Sandling and the town of Hythe, Kent. It is 65 miles 36 chains (105.3 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. The station and all trains that call are operated by Southeastern.

Sandling
Location
Place	Sandling
Local authority	Folkestone & Hythe
Coordinates	51.090°N 1.066°E / 51.090; 1.066
Grid reference	TR148368
Operations
Station code	SDG
Managed by	Southeastern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	107,080
2015/16	98,500
2016/17	93,456
2017/18	86,542
2018/19	94,630
History
Key dates	Opened 1 January 1888 (1 January 1888)
Original company	South Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
1 January 1888	Opened as Sandling Junction
3 December 1951	Renamed as Sandling for Hythe
12 May 1980	Renamed as Sandling
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Sandling from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The station was opened as Sandling Junction on 1 January 1888 by the South Eastern Railway (SER). The station was situated at the junction of the SER mainline (between Ashford and Folkestone and the Sandgate branch line that had opened in 1874 between Westenhanger and Sandgate.[1][2]

There was four platforms with a footbridge over the mainline, two signal boxes and goods sidings either side of the branch line. The goods yard was able to accommodate most types of goods including live stock.[3][4]

The up branch platform was closed when the line to Sandgate was cut back to Hythe and the branch line singled in 1931.[5]

The station was host to a Southern Railway camping coach in 1939.[6]

The branch line to Hythe was closed on 3 December 1951 and the down branch platform was closed.[7] At the same time the station was renamed Sandling for Hythe.[1]

A camping coach was also positioned here by the Southern Region from 1954 to 1959, the coach was replaced in 1960 by two Pullman camping coaches until 1964 then from 1965 to 1967 there were three of them.[8] The coaches were fitted with a full kitchen, two sleeping compartments and a room with two single beds.[9]

On 12 May 1980 the station was renamed as Sandling.[1]

It is the closest station to Saltwood Castle (where Alan Clark lived until his death) and it is frequently mentioned in the Alan Clark Diaries.

In 2020 the disused branch platform is still in situ.

Facilities

The ticket office is manned only during part of the day; at other times a ticket machine, located outside the station building on the 'up' side, suffices.

Services

As of September 2016 the typical off peak services from this station are:

• 1tph to London Charing Cross
• 1tph to Dover Priory[10]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Westenhanger		Southeastern South Eastern Main Line		Folkestone West
	Disused railways
Westenhanger		British Rail Southern Region Sandgate Branch		Hythe

References

1. Quick, Michael (2019) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 356.
2. "Westenhanger Station". Folkestone Express, Sandgate, Shorncliffe & Hythe Advertiser. 31 December 1887. p. 7. Retrieved 10 July 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "Sandling Junction station on OS 25 inch map Kent LXXIV.7 (Newington; Saltwood)". National Library of Scotland. 1898. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
4. The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. p. 476. ISBN 0-7153-5120-6.
5. "Closing of Sandgate Station". Dover Express. 31 December 1887. p. 19. Retrieved 10 July 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 33. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
7. Hurst, Geoffrey (1992). Register of Closed Railways: 1948-1991. Worksop, Nottinghamshire: Milepost Publications. p. 7 (ref 0261). ISBN 0-9477-9618-5.
8. McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. pp. 57 & 59. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.
9. "Pullman Cars as Camping Coaches". Railway Magazine. 107 (711): 449–450. July 1960.
10. Network Rail Timetable January 2015: Table 207

External links

• Train times and station information for Sandling railway station from National Rail