Lyminge railway station

The station opened on 4 July 1887 with the opening of the Elham Valley Railway from Cheriton Junction, on the South Eastern Main Line as far as Barham.^[1] A 21-lever signal box was provided.^[2] Initially, there were six passenger trains per day. By 1906 there were nine trains a day, with five on Sunday.^[3] Between 1912 and 1916, a summer only railmotor service provided an additional four trains a day between Dover Priory and Elham.^[4] The service had been reduced to eight trains a day by 1922. The line north of Lyminge was reduced to five trains a day by 1937.^[5] The double track north of Lyminge was reduced to single track from 25 October 1931.^[6] The signal box was closed on 1 May 1937 as a cost-cutting measure. It was replaced by a ground frame located in the station building.^[2]

Passenger services between Canterbury West and Lyminge were withdrawn on 1 December 1940 and the line between Harbledown Junction and Lyminge was placed under military control.^[1] Passenger services to Folkestone continued until withdrawn on 3 May 1943.^[7] The station remained open to freight during the war. Military control was relinquished on 19 February 1945. On 7 October 1946, passenger services were reinstated on the southern section of the railway as far as Lyminge. Six trains a day were operated until the last train ran on 14 June 1947. The Elham Valley Railway closed on 1 October 1947.^[8] After closure, the goods yard used by the local coal merchant. In 1987, the station building was converted to serve as Lyminge's library.^[2]