The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London commuter network. From the start the railway was in an impecunious position.
The Chatham, as it was always known, was much criticised for its often lamentable carriage stock and poor punctuality, but in two respects it was very good: it used the highly effective Westinghouse brake on its passenger stock, and the Sykes 'Lock and Block' system of signalling. It had an excellent safety record.
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The LCDR began as the East Kent Railway (EKR). Its first line was from Strood near Rochester to Faversham, opened in two parts:
The Mid Kent line connected with the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway (WELCPR) which later provided the necessary access to London. After absorbing the Crays Company, and gaining running rights over the Mid Kent metals to Beckenham Junction, the LCDR was to later buy the track between Beckenham Junction, Birkbeck and Bromley Junction, while the LBSCR absorbed the rest of the WELCP. In 1859 the EKR changed its name to the LCDR though Dover had not then been reached. This coincided with the Western Extension via Longfield to join the Crays Company metals at Southborough Road (now Bickley). As can be seen the evolution of the lines in the Bromley area was confused to say the least, one can best refer the reader to Adrian Gray's London Chatham & Dover Railway book (page 44).
Stations on the City Branch were
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Dates to be established
Authorised from the future site of Nunhead on 28 July 1863; Nunhead opened 1 September 1871; Greenwich Park branch opened from Nunhead to Blackheath Hill on 18 September 1871; opened through to Greenwich Park on 1 October 1888.
Stations on the Greenwich Branch were
On 1 January 1899 the undertaking of the LCDR was, by arrangement, joined with that of the South Eastern Railway for united working under a Management Committee composed of the directors of the two Companies. The arrangement was confirmed by Act of Parliament on 5 August 1899 by the South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover Railway Act 1899.
The rolling stock and steamboats of the two companies were thereafter worked as one concern. Some rationalisation of competing stations occurred but it was not fully resolved. Between 1902 and 1904, connections were built to allow LCDR trains through running on ex-SER lines, notably in the Bickley area where the two main lines crossed. The rationalisation of the lines in Thanet to create a line which ran through from Margate via Ramsgate to Minster did not take place until after the grouping. In 1936 the former tunnel to Ramsgate Harbour became part of the Tunnel Railway underground railway system linking Ramsgate beach to Hereson Road, near Dumpton Park mainline station. See South Eastern and Chatham Railway and South Eastern Railway.
Both the South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover Railway companies' locomotives were painted black each with their own style of lining but, when taken over by the South Eastern and Chatham Railways Managing Committee (SE&CR), dark green was adopted with an elaborate lining scheme. After some trials with a hybrid colour scheme (SER maroon on the upper parts and LC&DR teak on the lower), the SE&CR adopted the dark maroon/lake livery for passenger stock. Ex-LC&DR locomotives were renumbered by adding 459 to the running numbers (i.e. locomotive No 1 became No 460, etc.); SER locomotives retained their existing mumbers.
For a small and indigent company the Chatham was lucky in its locomotive engineers. After a very patchy start, with a miscellany of Cramptons and other oddities, it had two very competent engineers.
William Martley was appointed in 1860, and commissioned some very effective performers, notably the 0-4-2 well tanks of the 'Scotchmen' (1866) and 'Large Scotchmen' (1873) classes for the suburban services; and the 'Europa' class (1873) of 2-4-0s, which ran the mail trains to and from Dover, the Chatham's crack service.
William Kirtley came from the Midland Railway in 1874, following the death of Martley. He was the nephew of Matthew Kirtley, the Midland's famous locomotive superintendent. Kirtley produced a series of excellent designs, robust and good performers - the A series of 0-4-4 tanks for suburban services, the B series of 0-6-0 goods engines; the T class of shunting engines; the M series of 4-4-0 express passenger engines; and a final R series of enlarged 0-4-4 tanks.
These rather than Stirling's Ashford products formed the basis for SE&CR development under Wainwright, not least because it was Robert Surtees from Longhedge who led design work for the successor organisation. The R series led to the SE&CR's R1 and subsequent H class; the Bs to the famous C class; and the Ms to the D and E classes, which in their rebuilt Maunsell form may have been the best British inside-cylinder 4-4-0s.
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway operated a number of steamships from 1864, when they took over Jenkins & Churchward's fleet.[2]
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bessemer | 1875[2] | 1,886[2] | Owned by the Bessemer Steamship Co Ltd. Operated by LCDR for a period in 1875 then returned to her owners.[2] |
| Breeze | 1863[2] | 385[2] | Scrapped in 1899.[2] |
| Calais | 1896[2] | 979[2] | Sold in 1911 to Hater, Boulogne, renamed Au Revoir.[2] |
| Calais-Douvres | 1878[2] | 1,924[2] | Acquired in 1878 from English Channel Steamship Co Ltd. Previously named Express. Sold in 1891.[2] |
| Calais-Douvres | 1889[2] | 1,212[2] | Sold in 1900 to Liverpool & Douglas Steamers.[2] |
| Castalia | 1874[2] | 1,533[2] | Acquired in 1878 from English Channel Steamship Co Ltd. Sold in 1883 to Metropolitan Asylums Board for use as a hospital ship.[2] |
| Dover | 1896[2] | 979[2] | Scrapped in 1911.[2] |
| Empress | 1854[2] | 196[2] | Acquired in 1864, scrapped in 1878.[2] |
| Empress | 1887[2] | 1,213[2] | Scrapped in 1906[2] |
| Etoile du Nord | 1862[2] | 503[2] | Renamed Petrel in 1880. Scrapped in 1899.[2] |
| Foam | 1862[2] | 495[2] | Scrapped in 1901.[2] |
| France | 1864[2] | 365[2] | Scrapped in 1899.[2] |
| Invicta | 1882[2] | 1,282[2] | Scrapped in 1899.[2] |
| John Penn | 1860[2] | 220[2] | Sold in 1863 to Belgian State Railways, renamed Perle.[2] |
| Lord Warden | 1896[2] | 979[2] | Scrapped in 1911.[2] |
| Maid of Kent | 1861[2] | 364[2] | Acquired in 1864, scrapped in 1898.[2] |
| Pioneer | 1854[2] | 196[2] | Acquired in 1864, previously named Queen. Sold in 1878 to Potter, London.[2] |
| Prince | 1864[2] | 338[2] | Renamed Prince Imperial in 1891. Scrapped in 1899.[2] |
| Prince Frederick William | 1857[2] | 219[2] | Acquired in 1864, sold in 1874 to Potter, Liverpool.[2] |
| Samphire | 1861[2] | 336[2] | Scrapped in 1899.[2] |
| Scud | 1862[2] | 495[2] | Acquired in 1864, sold c1867.[2] |
| Victoria | 1886[2] | 1,042[2] | Scrapped in 1904[2] |
| Wave | 1863[2] | 385[2] | Acquired in 1864, scrapped in 1899[2] |
In 1923 the LCDR and the South Eastern Railway (SER), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR), and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) were joined to form the Southern Railway.
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