Grid reference TR 005 426 1 July 1884 (1884-07-01) Station opened Platforms in use 3 | Post-grouping Southern Railway 1 January 1899 (1899-01-01) Closed to passengers | |
Original company London, Chatham and Dover Railway Pre-grouping South Eastern and Chatham Railway Original companies Maidstone Line, London, Chatham and Dover Railway Similar Teston Crossing Halt railw, St Lawrence for Pegw, Smeeth railway station, East Minster railway st, Longfield Halt railway st | ||
Ashford West railway station was the terminus of the Maidstone Line from 1884 to 1898. It was built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. On the formation of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, passenger services were transferred to the former South Eastern Railway's Ashford station.
History
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) extended their line from Maidstone East to Ashford, Kent in 1884. From 1 January 1899, passenger services were transferred to the former South Eastern Railway (SER) station. A connection between the LCDR and SER having opened to traffic on 1 November 1891. The station was located near Ashford's cattle market, and was used for cattle and sheep traffic after it had closed to passengers. The platform canopies were intact in the mid 1930s, but had been removed by July 1957.
Facilities comprised three platforms. There was a carriage shed and an engine shed, with a turntable, which was removed and installed at Deal in 1904. Two signal boxes controlled the station. The engine shed closed on 1 January 1899. was later converted into a works for cleaning cloths used in locomotive cleaning. Over a million were processed annually, with the reclaimed oil being re-used in the lubrication of points and point rodding. The station site was largely intact as late as 1985, with the main station building still standing in 1994. They were demolished in 1999 for the construction of HS1.