Chattenden and Upnor Railway

Chattenden and Upnor Railway
Locale	England
Dates of operation	1873 – 1961
Track gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Headquarters	Chattenden

The Chattenden and Upnor Railway (later known as the Lodge Hill and Upnor Railway) was a narrow gauge railway serving the Chatham Dockyard and associated munitions and training depots. It was built in 1873 and continued in use until 1961.

History

The 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge Chattenden and Upnor Railway was laid in 1873 initially as a training exercise for the Royal School of Military Engineering which was then based at Chattenden. The line ran from Pontoon Hard by the River Medway and climbed steeply towards Chattenden. A spur lead from Church Crossing to the Upnor Depot of the Royal Engineers and until 1895 a branch ran from Chattenden to Hoo.

In 1891 the Admiralty took over Upnor Depot to use as a gun and ammunition store. Another armaments depot was constructed at Lodge Hill, north of Chattenden which was also served by the railway. In 1905 the entire Chattenden enclosure was taken over by the Navy, and in 1906 the railway was also taken over by the Navy and renamed the Lodge Hiill and Upnor Railway. The Navy extended the line to connect with the standard gauge branch from Sharnel Street on the South Eastern & Chatham Railway.

The railway saw intensive use during the Second World War, but use declined after the end of hostilities and the railway closed in 1961.

Locomotives

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
	Sulphur	Yorkshire Engine Company	0-4-2T	1885	405	Sold for scrap by 1931
	Carbon	Yorkshire Engine Company	0-4-2T	1886	404	Scrapped by 1931
	Cheshire	W.G. Bagnall	0-4-2T	1890	1260	ex-War Department, Crewe. Sold for scrap 1931 or 1932
	Lancashire	Yorkshire Engine Company	0-4-4T	1891	462	Sold for scrap by 1932
	Cumberland	Lowca Engine Company	0-4-2T	1893	220	Scrapped by 1904
	Eardley Wilmot	W.G. Bagnall	0-6-0T	1897	1513	ex-War Department, South Africa, 1901. Scrapped by 1904
	Bagnall	W.G. Bagnall	0-6-0ST	1897	1514	ex-War Department, South Africa, 1901. Scrapped 1931 or 1932
	Kitchener	Yorkshire Engine Company	0-6-2T	1902	711	ex-War Department, Egypt. To Chatham Dockyard for scrap 1948; scrapped 1954.
	Yorkshire	John Fowler	0-4-4T	before 1897	5350	Scrapped 1931.
	Pioneer	Yorkshire Engine Company	2-6-2PT	1904	757	To War Department, Woolmer Instructional Military Railway, 1905
	Ascension	Avonside Engine Company	0-4-2T	1904	1480	To Admiralty, Hoo Ness, by 1928.
	Fisher	Dick Kerr and Company	0-6-2T	1915	13996	Scrapped 1954
	Chevalier	Manning Wardle	0-6-2T	1915	1677	Sold to the Bowaters Paper Railway in 1950, subsequently sold to the Great Whipsnade Railway
	Burnett Hall	Avonside	0-4-2T	1933	2070	Scrapped 1956
	Norbury	Peckett	0-4-2T	1934	1868	Scrapped 1955
		Hunslet	6wDM	1946	3301
		Drewry	6wDM	1949	2263	Sold to the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway in 1968 and named Chattenden
		Hibberd Planet	4wDM	1954	3687	Sold to the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway in 1961, named Upnor Castle, sold to the Ffestiniog Railway and regauged to 1 ft 111⁄2 in (597 mm)
89		Greewood & Batley	BE			Used for shunting ammunition wagons

References

• Thomas, Cliff (2002). The Narrow Gauge in Britain & Ireland. Atlantic Publishers. ISBN 1-902827-05-8. 
• Yeatan, D. (December 1966). "Lodge Hill and Upnor Railway". The Industrial Railway Record 12: 277-292. 
• Mitchell, Vic and Smith, Keith (2000). Kent Narrow Gauge. Middleton Press. ISBN 1901706451. 

See also

• British narrow gauge railways