Greatstone Dunes Railway Station

Greatstone Dunes railway station was a station on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in Kent, England. Opened on 24 May 1928, and bearing the attractive name 'Greatstone Dunes' this station served little obvious purpose, particularly as it was located only 1. 3 miles south of the station at New Romney. However, there were extensive contemporary plans for the development of a new community named 'Greatstone-on-Sea' and it was with this possible future traffic in mind that the station was built, and heavily equipped. Some records imply that the station may have been erected at the specific request of the building company contracted to construct the local houses, although the evidence remains ambiguous. The station was equipped with two platforms, with waiting rooms on each, plus a ticket office, and a signal box. There was also a water tower. Photographs taken in the 1920s and 1930s clearly show a footbridge between the platforms, as does a 1930s railway advertising poster, but contemporary eye-witness accounts record that this footbridge was never completed, with no steps installed on either side. Photographic evidence from 1936 (now in the 'Real Photographs Co. ' collection) shows a tearoom on the seaward platform. Although bungalows were constructed at Greatstone-on-Sea, the size of the development was considerably smaller than originally expected. The attractive little station was too large for the limited traffic generated. When the railway re-opened after World War II, 'Greatstone Dunes' was renamed 'Greatstone Halt', unstaffed, with its buildings closed. The waiting room on the inland platform had been incorporated into an army pillbox during hostilities.

Greatstone Dunes railway station was a station on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in Kent, England. Opened on 24 May 1928, and bearing the attractive name 'Greatstone Dunes' this station served little obvious purpose, particularly as it was located only 1. 3 miles south of the station at New Romney. However, there were extensive contemporary plans for the development of a new community named 'Greatstone-on-Sea' and it was with this possible future traffic in mind that the station was built, and heavily equipped. Some records imply that the station may have been erected at the specific request of the building company contracted to construct the local houses, although the evidence remains ambiguous. The station was equipped with two platforms, with waiting rooms on each, plus a ticket office, and a signal box. There was also a water tower. Photographs taken in the 1920s and 1930s clearly show a footbridge between the platforms, as does a 1930s railway advertising poster, but contemporary eye-witness accounts record that this footbridge was never completed, with no steps installed on either side. Photographic evidence from 1936 (now in the 'Real Photographs Co. ' collection) shows a tearoom on the seaward platform. Although bungalows were constructed at Greatstone-on-Sea, the size of the development was considerably smaller than originally expected. The attractive little station was too large for the limited traffic generated. When the railway re-opened after World War II, 'Greatstone Dunes' was renamed 'Greatstone Halt', unstaffed, with its buildings closed. The waiting room on the inland platform had been incorporated into an army pillbox during hostilities.