History
Queenborough was opened on 19 July 1860 by the Sittingbourne and Sheerness Railway (S&SR), a nominally independent company which had powers to construct a 7.125-mile (11.467-kilometre) branch line from Sittingbourne across the River Swale to a terminus near the entrance of Sheerness Dockyard. The line was worked from the outset by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway which absorbed the S&SR in 1876.
On 15 May 1876, Queenborough became a junction station with the opening of a short spur to Queenborough Pier to serve steam ship services. A second line was added on 1 August 1901 with the opening of the Sheppey Light Railway, a 8.75-mile (14.08-kilometre) light railway across the Isle of Sheppey to Leysdown. There was no direct connection with the Sheerness Line and trains for Leysdown departed from the outer face of a newly-constructed island platform at Queenborough. An iron footbridge was erected at the southern end of the platforms to facilitate passengers changing between main line and branch services. Services on the Sheppey Light Railway ceased as from 4 December 1950.
Until the opening of Swale Halt in 1922, Queenborough was the only intermediate station on the Sheerness Line. The imposing two-storey station building has a strong Victorian character with their high-pitched gables and round-headed sash windows. The building is in a similar style to Lymington Town railway station which dates from the same period, a resemblance which may be explained by the fact that the construction of both the Lymington Branch Line and the S&SR was overseen by John Cass Birkinshaw who was replaced as engineer on the S&SR after the company's directors blamed him for the line's slow construction.
A wooden waiting shelter was provided on the Up side but not on the Down side. The station also had a sizeable goods shed and goods yard on the Up side adjacent to the main station building. Sidings on the Down side served the Sheerness Steel plant and provided connections for MCD car traffic and shipbreaking activities. There was a signal box on the Up side which was located at the point where the Sheppey branch curved away to the east; this closed on 24 May 1959. By this time, the goods shed had already been demolished although the goods yard remained open until 16 August 1971. The line through Queenborough was electrified and the platforms were lengthened in 1959 as part of phase I of the Kent Coast Electrification.
By 1993, much of the station building was no longer in use and only the booking office was staffed on weekdays until mid-morning.
Read more about this topic: Queenborough Railway Station
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