| Date opened: | 15.5.1905 |
| Location: | On the south side of the existing Headcorn Station |
| Company on opening: | Kent & East Sussex Railway |
| Date closed to passengers: | 4.1.1954 |
| Date closed completely: | 4.1.1954 |
| Company on closing: | British Railways (Southern Region) |
| Present state: | Unknown |
| County: | Kent |
(Brief history of the Kent & East Sussex Railway)
The Rother Valley Railway was proposed in 1896 and was the first line to be built under the 1896 Light Railway Act that permitted lightly constructed lines to be built in rural areas. The line was engineered by Holman Stephens (later Colonel Stephens) who went on to build a number of light railways around the country. The first section between Robertsbridge and Tenterden (later renamed Rolvenden) opened on 2.4.1900. The line was extended to Tenterden Town in 1903 and Headcorn in 1905.
The line was renamed the Kent & East Sussex Railway was initially moderately profitable although the northern section was subsidised by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway. After WW1 there were heavy losses eventually leading to bankruptcy in 1931. The line had remained independent after the 1923 amalgamation and despite loss of revenue with many of its passengers switching to busses it continued to provide a valuable service, especially to the farming community, through the 1930's.
Shortly after final closure a preservation society was formed but it was a further 13 years before trains returned to the line, the main stumbling block being the large number of road crossings. Eventually a compromise was agreed once the Society agreed to drop the section of line between Bodiam and Robertsbridge from the restoration proposal. The Kent & East Sussex Railway Company became a registered charity and work progressed quickly with the first section of restored line opening at Tenterden on 3.2.1974; this was extended to Wittisham Road in 1977, Northiam in 1990 and Bodiam in 2000.
Following a decline in passenger and freight traffic, the KESR between Headcorn and Tenterden was closed to all traffic in 1954. Goods facilities were withdrawn from Headcorn in 1962, and the goods yard became a car park. The SER's original buildings however survived until 1988 when they were swept away by British Rail as part of a modernisation scheme
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| JAN 2017 |
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| STATION PLATFORM |
