1.
South Eastern main line
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The other route is the Chatham main line, which runs along the north Kent coast to Ramsgate and Dover via Chatham. The line was built by the South Eastern Railway, which was in competition with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, the original main line was given sanction by Act of Parliament in 1836. The route first authorised was from London Bridge via Oxted, Tunbridge, Maidstone, Ashford, the route was to make use of the existing London and Croydon Railway and London and Greenwich Railway companies tracks. The SER was not a company that had an amount of capital to spare. As a cost-cutting measure, authorisation was secured in 1837 to make the junction with the London and Croydon Railway at Norwood, however, the London and Brighton Railway were authorised to build from Norwood southwards in 1847. It was suggested by Parliament that further savings could be made by avoiding having lines running in parallel valleys for 12 miles if the SER were to make its junction further south. The London and Brighton were to construct the line, and the SER were to purchase it at cost on completion, both companies would operate trains over the route. The London and Brighton took advantage of this to ensure that gradients would be kept as shallow as possible, even at the expense of substantial earthworks and a mile-long tunnel at Merstham. The SER main line diverged from the London and Brightons line at Reigate Junction, leaving the Brighton line, a beeline was made for Folkestone, plans to serve Maidstone having been abandoned. A branch line was to be built from Maidstone Road instead, the line was almost direct between the two points, not varying by more than ½ mile in either direction between Redhill and Ashford. The engineer was Sir William Cubitt, to facilitate fast running, Tunbridge, Maidstone Road and Ashford stations were built with through roads. Headcorn station was to be rebuilt on a plan in 1924. Construction began in November 1837 from Reigate Junction eastwards, and in both directions from Tunbridge, the line from London Bridge to Tunbridge opened on 26 May 1842. The line between Tonbridge and Ashford opened on 1 December 1842, No major engineering works were needed until Folkestone was reached, where a 100 feet high viaduct was needed to cross the Foord Gap. A temporary station was provided at Folkestone, which opened on 28 June 1843, with the completion of the viaduct, Folkestone station opened on 18 December 1843. East of Folkestone, a hard gault ridge was bored through by the Martello Tunnel, between Folkestone and Dover, there were three headlands, Abbotts Cliff, Round Down Cliff and Shakespeares Cliff. The first and last were of sound chalk, but Round Down Cliffs chalk was of a different character, Cubitt sought the advice of Lieutenant Hutchinson, RE, who had experience in using dynamite in the clearing of the wreck of HMS Royal George in 1840. It was decided to blow the cliff away over a distance of 500 feet, on 18 January 1843, a total of 18,500 pounds of gunpowder was used in three charges to blow away the cliff face
2.
Derailment
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A derailment is said to take place when a vehicle such as a train runs off its rails. This does not necessarily mean that it leaves its track, although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway system, and they are potentially seriously hazardous to human health and safety. In emergency situations, deliberate derailment with derails or catch points is used to prevent a more serious accident. During the 19th century derailments were commonplace, but progressively improved safety measures have resulted in a lower level of such incidents. In the US, derailments have dropped dramatically since 1980 from over 3,000 annually to 1,000 or so in 1986, a traditional track structure consists of two rails, fixed at a designated distance apart, and supported on transverse sleepers. Some advanced track structures support the rails on a concrete or asphalt slab, the running surface of the rails is required to be practically continuous and of the proper geometrical layout. 170 broken rails were reported on Network Rail in the UK in 2008, in jointed track, rails are usually connected with bolted fishplates. The web of the rail experiences large shear forces and these are enhanced around the bolt hole, where track maintenance is poor, metallurgical fatigue can result in the propagation of star cracking from the bolthole. In extreme situations this can lead to a piece of rail at the joint becoming detached. Local embrittlement of the parent metal may take place due to wheel spin, the fishplates in jointed track may fail, allowing the rails to pull apart in extremely cold weather, this is usually associated with uncorrected rail creep. Derailment may take place due to excessive gauge widening, in which the sleepers or other fastenings fail to maintain the proper gauge, the crabbing effect referred to above is more marked in dry conditions, when the coefficient of friction at the wheel to rail interface is high. The running gear — wheelsets, bogies, and suspension — may fail, modern technologies have reduced the incidence of these failures considerably, both by design and intervention. The last condition applies if the suspension springing has a stiffness optimised for the condition, or for a compromise loading condition. The vehicle wheelsets become momentarily unloaded vertically so that the guidance required from the flanges or wheel tread contact is inadequate, a special case is heat related buckling, in hot weather the rail steel expands. This is managed by stressing continuously welded rails and by providing proper expansion gaps at joints, in addition, lateral restraint is provided by an adequate ballast shoulder. If any of these measures are inadequate, the track may buckle, a large lateral distortion takes place, junctions and other changes of routing on railways are generally made by means of points. In the early days of railways these were moved independently by local staff, accidents — usually collisions — took place when staff forgot which route the points were set for, or overlooked the approach of a train on a conflicting route. If the points were not correctly set for either route — set in mid-stroke — it is possible for a passing to derail
3.
Folkestone
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Folkestone /ˈfoʊkstən/ is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20th centuries, there has been a settlement in this location since the Mesolithic era. A nunnery was founded by Eanswith, daughter of Æthelberht of Kent in the 7th century, the harbours use has diminished since the opening of the nearby Channel Tunnel and stopping of local ferry services, but still remains in active use. The area of Folkestone has been occupied since at least the Mesolithic era, in 2010, worked flints were discovered below the remains of the Folkestone Roman Villa. The East Cliff area was excavated in 1924 and most recently from 2010 -2011, on the East Cliff, an extensive Iron Age oppidum existed, which produced quern-stones on an almost industrial scale. These querns, or stones used for grinding cereals into flour, were traded for continental exports such as pottery, a modest Roman style villa was constructed over the Iron Age settlement sometime during the first century AD, followed by a more luxurious one in about 200 AD. The villa was abandoned sometime during the third or fourth century for unknown reasons, in 597 AD, monks led by St Augustine arrived at Ebbsfleet on the Isle of Thanet, on a mission from Pope Gregory to re-Christianise Britain. He was greeted by the Anglo Saxon pagan King of Kent, Ethelbert and his Christian Queen, Augustine was granted land in Canterbury where he built his church and outside the walls founded the monastery of St Peter & St Paul - now known as St Augustines. Ethelbert was succeeded as Anglo-Saxon king of Kent by his son Eadbald, in 630 AD, Eanswythe founded a nunnery on the site of her fathers castle near Folkestone by the present parish Church of St Mary & St Eanswythe. Eanswythe died c 640 AD and was made a saint. Her remains were moved into the chancel of the current church in the 12th century and they became the focus of prayer and pilgrimage such that Eanswythe was quickly adopted as the towns patron. The community grew and developed into a monastery until it was dissolved by Henry VIII and they were rediscovered in June 1885 when workmen, carrying out alterations to the high altar, found a battered lead casket immured in a niche in the north wall of the chancel. Examination by archaeologists at the time and again in 1981 confirmed that the casket was of Anglo-Saxon origin and these relics are still housed in the church close to where they were discovered in the north wall of the chancel flanked by a pair of small brass candlesticks. St Eanswythe is celebrated on 12 September each year - the date on which her relics were moved to the present chancel and she also appears on the towns seal with William Harvey, the Folkestone-born, 17th-century physician who discovered the circulation of the blood. A Norman knight held a Barony of Folkestone, which led to its entry as a part of the Cinque Ports in the thirteenth century, at the start of the Tudor period it had become a town in its own right. Wars with France meant that defences had to be built here, at the beginning of the 1800s a harbour was developed, but it was the coming of the railways in 1843 that would have the bigger impact. Until the 19th century Folkestone remained a fishing community with a seafront that was continually battered by storms
4.
Charles Dickens
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Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the worlds best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era and his works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity, born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors prison. Dickenss literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers, within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the publication of narrative fiction. The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audiences reaction, and he modified his plot. For example, when his wifes chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her disabilities and his plots were carefully constructed, and he often wove elements from topical events into his narratives. Masses of the poor chipped in hapennies to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up. Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age and his 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also adapted, and, like many of his novels. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London, Dickens has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for his realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of depth, loose writing. The term Dickensian is used to something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 1812, at 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport in Portsea Island and his father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office and was temporarily stationed in the district. He asked Christopher Huffam, rigger to His Majestys Navy, gentleman, Huffam is thought to be the inspiration for Paul Dombey, the owner of a shipping company in Dickenss eponymous Dombey and Son. In January 1815 John Dickens was called back to London, when Charles was four, they relocated to Sheerness, and thence to Chatham, Kent, where he spent his formative years until the age of 11. His early life seems to have been idyllic, though he himself a very small. Charles spent time outdoors but also read voraciously, including the novels of Tobias Smollett and Henry Fielding, as well as Robinson Crusoe
5.
Tender (rail)
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A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, a locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel, a brake tender is a tender that is heavy and used to provide greater braking efficiency. The largest steam locomotives are coupled by a drawbar to a tender that carries the water. The fuel source used depends on what is available locally. In the UK and parts of Europe, a supply of coal made this the obvious choice from the earliest days of the steam engine. Until around 1850 in the United States, the vast majority of burned wood until most of the eastern forests were cleared. Subsequently coal burning became more widespread, and wood burners were restricted to rural, according to Steamlocomotive. com, By the mid-1800s, most steam locomotive tenders consisted of a fuel bunker surrounded by a U shaped water jacket. The overall shape of the tender was usually rectangular, the bunker which held the coal was sloped downwards toward the locomotive providing easier access to the coal. The ratio of water to fuel capacities of tenders was normally based on two water-stops to each fuel stop because water was readily available than fuel. One pound of coal could turn six pounds of water to steam, therefore, tender capacity ratios were normally close to 14 tons of coal per 10,000 gallons of water. The water supply in a tender was replenished at water stops, refilling the tender is the job of the fireman, who is responsible for maintaining the locomotives fire, steam pressure, and supply of fuel and water. Water carried in the tender must be forced into the boiler, early engines used pumps driven by the motion of the pistons. Later, steam injectors replaced the pump while some engines used turbopumps, in the UK, the USA and France, water troughs were provided on some main lines to allow locomotives to replenish their water supply while moving. The fuel and water capacities of a tender are usually proportional to the rate at which they are consumed, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad used track pans on many of their routes, allowing locomotives to pick up water at speed. The result was that the tanks on these tenders were proportionally much smaller. In the UK water troughs were used by three of the Big Four railways, the Southerns decision to electrify its routes into London with a third rail system also made the installation of water troughs impractical. Only on the former London and South Western Railway routes west of Salisbury, rather than install troughs the L&SWR equipped its express locomotives with special high-capacity tenders with a water capacity of 4,000 gallons running on a pair of twin-axle bogies
6.
Brake van
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Brake van and guards van are terms used mainly in the UK, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard. Many British freight trains formerly had no continuous brake so the only available brakes were those on the locomotive, because of this shortage of brake power, the speed was restricted to 25 mph. The brake van was marshalled at the rear of the train so both portions of the train could be brought to a stand in the event of a coupling breaking. When freight trains were fitted with braking, brake vans lost their importance. However, they continue on some important railways, such as the Indian Railways. Railways were a development of industrial tramways, which had found need on occasions to add additional braking capacity by adding an empty truck to the rear of a group of tramcars. This allowed the locomotive — often a cableway powered by an engine at the surface — to operate both safely and, more importantly, at higher speed. The first railways, such as the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1830, used a version of the buffer and chain coupling. Vehicles are coupled by hand using a hook and links with a device that draws the vehicles together. Vehicles have buffers, one at each corner on the ends, with no continuous brake across the entire train, the whole train was reliant on the braking capacity of the locomotive, and train lengths were restricted. To allow for trains, early railway companies from the 1840s onwards began replicating industrial tramway practises. The term was derived from their name on the industrial tramways, early railway couplings had been found to be prone to breakages. The term was replaced by brake van from the 1870s onwards. Because of the risks of shortage of brake power and breaking couplings. On unfitted trains, the van has several purposes. Route knowledge would allow the guard to initiate the braking before the driver, to aid in this, signalling regulations mandated that signals be left at clear until the entirety of a train had passed, as the guard would immediately apply brakes upon seeing a signal at danger. As breaking couplings on unfitted trains when starting were a common occurrence. A later job of the guard was the provision of side lamps on brake vans, the white lamp is the tail lamp, whilst the grey lamps are the side lamps, along with the standard tail lamp required on the rear of every train
7.
Steam locomotive
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A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material—usually coal, wood, the steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotives main wheels. Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons pulled behind, the first steam locomotive, made by Richard Trevithick, first operated on 21 February 1804, three years after the road locomotive he made in 1801. The first practical steam locomotive was built in 1812-13 by John Blenkinsop, Steam locomotives were first developed in Great Britain during the early 19th century and used for railway transport until the middle of the 20th century. From the early 1900s they were superseded by electric and diesel locomotives, with full conversions to electric. The majority of locomotives were retired from regular service by the 1980s, though several continue to run on tourist. The earliest railways employed horses to draw carts along railway tracks, in 1784, William Murdoch, a Scottish inventor, built a small-scale prototype of a steam road locomotive. An early working model of a rail locomotive was designed and constructed by steamboat pioneer John Fitch in the US during 1794. His steam locomotive used interior bladed wheels guided by rails or tracks, the model still exists at the Ohio Historical Society Museum in Columbus. The authenticity and date of this locomotive is disputed by some experts, accompanied by Andrew Vivian, it ran with mixed success. The design incorporated a number of important innovations that included using high-pressure steam which reduced the weight of the engine, Trevithick visited the Newcastle area in 1804 and had a ready audience of colliery owners and engineers. The visit was so successful that the railways in north-east England became the leading centre for experimentation. Trevithick continued his own steam propulsion experiments through another trio of locomotives, Four years later, the successful twin-cylinder locomotive Salamanca by Matthew Murray for the edge railed rack and pinion Middleton Railway debuted in 1812. Another well known early locomotive was Puffing Billy built 1813–14 by engineer William Hedley and it was intended to work on the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle upon Tyne. This locomotive is the oldest preserved, and is on display in the Science Museum. George Stephenson built Locomotion No.1 for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, north-east England, in 1829, his son Robert built in Newcastle The Rocket which was entered in and won the Rainhill Trials. This success led to the company emerging as the pre-eminent builder of locomotives used on railways in the UK, US. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened a year later making exclusive use of power for passenger
8.
River Beult
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The River Beult is a tributary of the River Medway. It has several sources west of Ashford, including one at Woodchurch, at Hunton,7 furlongs above Yalding it is joined by the major stream of the River Teise. Town bridge lies 10 1⁄4 miles from Allington, it is the longest mediaeval bridge in Kent, the river enters the Medway at Yalding. The River Beult is crossed by the railway between Headcorn and Staplehurst, the bridge was the scene of the Staplehurst rail crash in 1865 in which Charles Dickens was involved. The River Beult was subject to a Land Drainage Improvement Scheme in the 1930s and this led to the river being widened, deepened and straightened from Smarden to Yalding. Despite this action the river is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and it is one of the few clay rivers in England and Wales to retain much of its characteristic flora. It hasnt been heavily embanked like most clay rivers found in the midlands, the lack of shade coupled with retained areas of grazing means there are many wildlife rich margins to the river, with nearly 100 different species of aquatic and marginal plants recorded. The river is subject to significant agricultural run off and flows from wastewater treatment works, hence despite recent improvements, still suffers water quality problems. At one time the water was apparently crystal clear and this is certainly not the case today. Upstream of Smarden the river retains its natural meandering morphology, although it is subject to water level management. The vegetation communities are not so interesting here as the river is smaller, heavily tree lined, the River Beult and its tributaries powered a number of watermills. From source to mouth these were, - TQ708496 51°13′12″N 0°26′48″E This was a corn mill, the waterwheel was replaced by a turbine made by Messrs Drake & Fletcher of Maidstone. During the Second World War, Italian Prisoners of War were billeted in the mill building, the building survives today, converted into a house. A Domesday site, the mill was still in existence in 1336, the River Beult is unusual in that the majority of its watermills were not on the main river itself, but on the tributaries. A stream rises at Angley Woods, Cranbrook and flows into the Beult at Frittenden and it powered these mills, - This may have been a fulling mill. The miller here was Edmund Luckhurst in 1656 and 1660, TQ771384 approx 51°07′03″N 0°31′53″E An old fulling mill site. TQ775387 51°07′12″N 0°32′14″E This mill was sold to Alexander Courthope in 1523 and it remained in the Hovenden family for many years, until at least 1704. The mill later passed to the Bonnick family, TQ774395 51°07′38″N 0°32′10″E This was a corn mill
9.
South Eastern Railway, UK
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The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover, Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent. The SER absorbed or leased other railways, some older than itself, including the London and Greenwich Railway, most of the companys routes were in Kent, eastern Sussex and the London suburbs, with a long cross-country route from Redhill in Surrey to Reading, Berkshire. However, in 1899 the SER agreed with the LCDR to share operation of the two railways, work them as a system and pool receipts, but it was not a full amalgamation. The SER and LCDR remained separate companies until becoming constituents of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923, on 21 June 1836, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed a Private Act incorporating the South Eastern and Dover Railway, which shortly afterwards changed to the South Eastern Railway. At the time of there were two potential rail pathways south from London, and the Speaker of the House of Commons had said no further pathways would be permitted. The SER therefore considered routes to Dover from the proposed London and Southampton Railway line at Wimbledon, or from the existing London, the former left London in the wrong direction and then on a roundabout route. A new connection on this line near to Norwood could provide access to a route to Dover via Tonbridge, Ashford. This was less direct than the route but passed through easier country. It involved one significant 1, 387-yard tunnel through the Shakespeare Cliff near Dover and this was the route first chosen by the SER at its inauguration. The SER gave way to this proposal as it reduced the costs, although it resulted in a route 20 miles longer than by road, running south for 14.5 miles. It also meant that its trains from London Bridge passed over the lines of three companies, the L&GR to Corbetts Lane Junction, the L&CR as far as Jolly Sailor. Construction began in 1838 at several places simultaneously, and the Shakespeare Tunnel was complete by May 1841, the L&BR line to Redhill opened on 12 July 1841 and the SER line from Redhill to Tonbridge on 26 May 1842, when SER train services began. The main line reached Ashford on 1 December 1842, the outskirts of Folkestone by 28 June 1843, on the same day the SER offered to lease the L&BR for 21 years at £100,000 per year, but the offer was turned down. Later that year, the SER refunded to the L&BR £430,000, Trains ran toll-free to both companies on this stretch but still had pay on the L&CR from Norwood Junction railway station to Corbetts Lane Junction, and the L&GR into London Bridge. In 1843, when the reached the edge of Folkestone. The SER dredged the harbour and arranged for a packet company to provide a ferry to Boulogne. The following year it established the independent South Eastern & Continental Steam Packet Company, in December 1848 it opened a steeply graded branch from the Folkestone station to the harbour
10.
Frances Eleanor Jarman
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Frances Eleanor Jarman was a British actress who appeared in Ireland, Scotland, England, America and Canada. She travelled with Charles Dickens while her daughter was his mistress, another of her daughters married the novelist Thomas Adolphus Trollope. Jarman was born in Hull in 1803 and her mother was a successful actress and after her marriage she continued to appear and from 1812 she appeared with her daughter. Jarman was almost immediately part of the cast and she appeared in one role before she was christened and she continued to be employed in juvenile roles. Whilst she was appearing in Edinburgh she met an Irish actor named Thomas Lawless Ternan and they set off immediately on a long working honeymoon and in 1835 she was on a three-year tour of cities in Canada and the United States. There she gave birth to a daughter Frances Eleanor Ternan on board a steamer in Delaware Bay. According to Tom Ternan the tour was a success making £500 in two nights in Boston. The Tarnans returned to Britain where she found work in cities before appearing at Drury Lane in 1837 to 1838. The Tarnans daughters appeared as Infant Phenomena on the stage, Thomas Ternan became the manager of the Theatre Royal in Newcastle upon Tyne where his wife became the lead actress and all of his daughters acted on the stage. Thomas Ternan had a breakdown in 1844 and he lived for two years in an asylum in Bethnal Green before he died in 1846. In 1865 Charles Dickens was abroad whilst writing Our Mutual Friend with his mistress Ellen Ternan, Ellen was accompanied by her mother. Dickens was travelling with Ellen Ternan but this was not public knowledge although he seemed to no effort to disguise his relationship with her on the ferry home. Dickens had booked three first-class tickets and they boarded the train for London, during the journey there was the Staplehurst rail crash when the train was derailed and some carriages ended up in the river and ten people were killed. Their carriage came close to falling but remained in an unstable condition, Dickens was involved with rescuing several passengers including the Ternans. Dickens made substantial efforts not to give evidence at the enquiry as he wanted to keep his travelling companions identity secret. Dickens talks of this incident at the end of Our Mutual Friend, Jarman died in Oxford in February,1873. Her daughter Maria was a journalist, her daughter Frances was a novelist and Ellen is mentioned above
11.
Headcorn railway station
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Headcorn railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line in England, serving the village of Headcorn, Kent. It is 45 miles 20 chains down-line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Staplehurst and Pluckley, the station and all trains that call are operated by Southeastern. Headcorn was, until 1954, the terminus of the Kent. Headcorn station was opened in August 1842 as part of the extension of the South Eastern Railways main line from Tonbridge, in common with other SER stations outside the London area, staggered platforms and a simple single-storey wooden clapboard station building were provided at Headcorn. The SERs line was opened to Ashford by December 1842, to Folkestone by December 1843, in 1905, the station became the northern terminus of Colonel Stephens Kent and East Sussex Railway, the KESRs tracks entering Headcorn via a siding on the Ashford side of the station. The KESR had its own platform to the rear of the Up main line platform. The station, known as Headcorn Junction by the KESR, was remodelled between 1924 and 1930 by the Southern Railway, with the addition of two new fast lines through the station. This involved the demolition of the main line Up platform, its reconstruction opposite the Down platform, a new concrete KESR platform was provided here facing on a curved alignment. The remodelling included a footbridge across the station and new box for the main line. A connection was provided between KESR metals and the SR Up loop line on the London side of Headcorn station. Following a decline in passenger and freight traffic, the KESR between Headcorn and Tenterden was closed to all traffic in 1954, goods facilities were withdrawn from Headcorn in 1962, and the goods yard became a car park. The SERs original buildings however survived until 1988 when they were swept away by British Rail as part of a modernisation scheme, a new red-brick station building was officially opened on 11 May 1989 by Ann Widdecombe, then Maidstones MP, shelters were provided for the platforms. In 1994, a new loop was built for Channel Tunnel Freight services
12.
All Saints Church, Staplehurst
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All Saints Church, Staplehurst is the Anglican parish church in the village of Staplehurst, Kent, England. It was founded in the 12th century and was enlarged during the 13th to 15th centuries, the church is situated at the south end of the village, on the east side of the High Street, a Roman Road now designated as the A229. The church was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is a Grade I listed building, one of the notable features of the church is the south door, which is thought to date to the 12th century, and displays some very fine early ironwork. The church features a ring of ten bells, the oldest cast in 1605, the current church clock dates from 1888. Owen Jennings of Cox & Barnard, a stained glass designing and manufacturing firm based in Hove and those in the north chapel and the north aisle have heraldic badges and emblems, and another two-light window in the north aisle has a Nativity scene. The rector is the Revd Silke Tetzlaff, Grade I listed buildings in Maidstone Official website
