Place Dungeness Grid reference TR088169 Platforms 1 formal + 1 overflow | Area Shepway Managed by RHDR August 1928 Opened | |
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Address Romney Marsh TN29 9NA, United Kingdom Similar Romney Sands railway st, Appledore (Kent) railway st, New Romney railway st, Romney - Hythe and Dymchur, Dungeness Lighthouse | ||
Dungeness railway station is a station on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway on Romney Marsh in Kent.
Contents
History
The first part of line to Dungeness was opened on 24 May 1928, a year after the line reached New Romney. However, construction was complete only as far as The Pilot Inn, where a turning triangle was installed, so that locomotives could change direction when preparing to return to New Romney or Hythe. Construction work continued towards Dungeness, and the final section of the line (including this station) opened in early August 1928. Operations have continued at this station ever since.
Description
It is one of only a very few stations in England to be situated on a balloon loop, allowing trains to return with the engine pointing forwards without needing to uncouple and reverse the locomotive, or use a turntable.
Facilities at this station included two booking offices (one currently redundant), a shop, an extensive cafeteria and restaurant, toilets, and a waiting shelter. There is a water tower for the benefit of steam locomotives. There is only one formal (concreted) platform, although technically this station has two platforms: in the summer, trains sometimes arrive at and depart from the station's run-round loop even though no platform surface is provided.
The station was temporarily closed in October 2015 for extensive re-building with an expected completion date of Easter 2016. This plan was not fulfilled however as the contractor appointed to undertake the work went into receivership shortly after demolition of the existing buildings was complete. Work was re-commenced by a new contractor shortly before Christmas 2015 and by late January 2016 the foundations were largely complete.
The station re-opened for Easter 2016 using RML2360, a Routemaster from the Arriva London heritage fleet, as a temporary booking office and souvenir shop. This vehicle had previously been rebuilt as an exhibition bus and was ideally suited for the purpose. The re-building work at Dungeness was finished in May 2016.