Northiam railway station
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England
Northiam | |
|---|---|
| Station on heritage railway | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Northiam, Rother, East Sussex England |
| Coordinates | 51°00′34″N 0°36′53″E / 51.009475°N 0.614716°E |
| Grid reference | TQ835265 |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| Original company | Rother Valley Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Kent and East Sussex Railway |
| Post-grouping | Southern Region of British Railways |
| Key dates | |
| 2 April 1900[1] | Opened |
| 4 January 1954 | Closed to passengers |
| 12 June 1961[2] | Goods services withdrawn |
| 19 May 1990 | Services resumed |
| 4 June 1990 | Officially reopened |
Northiam railway station is on the Kent and East Sussex Railway. It is located to the west of the level crossing on the A28 road linking the Kentish village of Newenden and the East Sussex village of Northiam. Having served the area for over sixty years, the station closed with the line in 1961, but was later reopened in 1990 by the Kent and East Sussex Railway heritage organisation.
Northiam was one of the original stations on the 12-mile (19 km) line opened by the Rother Valley Railway between Rolvenden and Robertsbridge in 1900.[3] All the original three stations were slightly remote from the villages which they were purporting to serve; Northiam, which was in fact closer to Newenden, lay 1.75 miles (2.82 km) to the north of Northiam village.[4] As with all K&ESR stations except Tenterden Town, Northiam had a simple wooden-frame, corrugated iron clad station building.[5]
A long curving passing loop ran between two platform faces; Northiam was the only station south of Tenterden to be afforded such facilities,[6] possibly on account of its location half-way between Robertsbridge and Tenterden.[7] Two sidings led into a small goods yard and cattle dock to the south of the station.[8] This saw use when, during the early part of the 20th century, Howse & Co. held fortnightly livestock sales in a nearby field. Two simple wooden bungalows were later erected in Northiam's goods yard as staff accommodation.[9] By the 1950s, the second platform had fallen into disuse and British Railways had installed catch points to the goods yard sidings to prevent wagons rolling on to the main line.[10] Regular passenger services on the line last ran on Saturday 2 January 1954,[11] the line between Tenterden and Robertsbridge remaining open for goods traffic until 12 June 1961.[12]
