The Manston Camp Light Railway

The often unknown story of the railway serving RAF Manston from 1918 to around 1929 and narrow guage lines used in the construction of the semi-underground hangars.

This post is currently an amalgamation from a number of sources, some holding conflicting information or details without any known source. As such this should be considered as a work in progress and should not be relied on as fact or for authoritative references.

If you have any additional information or corrections concerning the railway lines to and at Manston, please contact us. We will continue to update this post as more information comes to light.

On 31st July 2023, Thanet Parkway railway station opened on the main line between Ramsgate and Minster at Cliffsend, less than a kilometre as the crow flies, from Manston’s runway.

Speculation about this new station has continued since it was announced, especially in connection with if or how it might be usable for a re-opened Manston airport and the effect it might have on the other railway stations in Thanet. The project’s objective was suggested as to support development at Manston Airport, business parks around Westwood and the Discovery Park Enterprise Zone in Sandwich. Originally the project was named Manston Parkway and the goal of improving rail links to the airport have long been included in Masterplans for Manston with suggestions of bus links to existing or a new rail station as well as a dedicated spur rail line to a stop close to the passenger terminal.

That was an unusual branch into the present time of the area, but also an interesting link back into Manston’s history. Back in December 1917 the idea behind any form of rail link to Manston seemed a way off.

Various works additions were authorised, e.g. on 20th September the erection of permanent Handley Page sheds commenced, on 2nd October work started on large workshops suitable for Handley Page repairs, on 22nd November a semi-permanent shed was put up, and on 11th December a light railway to Birchington was mooted. The latter scheme was however eventually abandoned.

Royal Air Force Station, Manston, Operations Record Book (ORB) - Autumn 1917

Although the Operational Records Book for Manston from its start to the end of 1928 looks to have been typed up from original records of some description, possibly by F/O Empson in 1928, there is often very little detail in them; the nature of wartime probably had a part to play but maybe there was no formal structure in place for records to be made. No official starting date for the light railway has yet been confirmed but photographs indicate it was under construction by January 1918. It has been said that about 2,000 Royal Engineers were building the camp at some point. It seems quite a turnaround from the previous month if that is indeed correct. No further details are given in the ORB for Manston.

On the 22nd January 1918, the Air Council decided to construct the semi-underground hangars at Manston, with two of the five approved eventually completed. For all this mass of construction, a railway connection seems to have been essential after all. There are some reports that a railway was constructed in 1916 but there is currently no evidence to support that.

Official records apparently indicate that the date of completion for the main Camp line was in July 1918, but again we haven’t found where this came from so far. In “Sittingbourne to Ramsgate” ⁽¹⁴⁾ it also suggests 28th July 1918.

At request of the War Department a siding connection has been constructed between Birchington and Herne Bay stations, for working traffic over the Government Light Railway to the RAF camp at Manston. It is proposed to bring the works into use on Sunday 28th (July) 1918...

Source unknown

On 26th August 1918, Colonel John Wallace Pringle who was the Chief Inspecting Officer of the Railways Inspectorate of the Ministry of Transport, wrote in regards to his inspection of the railway to recommend the Board of Transport approve the works.

SIR,

I have the honour to report, for the information on the Board of Trade, that, in accordance with the Minute of the 24th July, I made an inspection, on the 22nd instant, of the new works in connection with the Military Light Railway to Manston Camp, on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway.

A new trailing connection has been made with the up line between Birchington and Herne Bay Stations.  There are also trailing crossovers between the main lines on each side of the new siding connection.  In addition to the ground signals for working these new connections, up and down line running signals have been erected, and the new signalling and connections are patrolled from a new signal-box known as Birchington "A".  This new box forms an additional block post on the line, and contains an additional block post on the line, and contains a frame with 16 working and 2 spare levers.  The interlocking is correct.

I noted that the up and down starting signals are located more than 400 yds. from the signal-box.  On a road of this type track circuitting would normally be necessary in rear of these signals to prevent the signalman losing sight, or forgetting the position, of a train standing at the signals; but at the present moment the box is only intended to be opened for an hour or two every day, and lock and block working also is installed.  I do not therefore now make a requirement in this direction.

The longitudinal section of the Manston Railway shows a falling gradient extending for over a mile towards the main line.  There is some risk, therefore, if vehicles run down the falling gradient, of the up main line being fouled when they strike the buffer stops.  To prevent this occurring, it will be advisable to arrange that the points outside the Railway Company's boundary now worked by hand shall lie normally for the shunting neck and be worked from the signal-box.  There will be no difficulty in connecting these points by rodding with the lever which now works No.10 points.

Subject to the completion of this alteration, I recommend the Board to approve these new works.

I have, etc., 

J.W. Pringle

The proposed alteration to add in electric locking work is thought to have been carried out by The Sykes Interlocking Signal Co. for a cost of about £320, paid by the Government.

This standard gauge line would be used to carry oil to the 220v DC power station, coal for heating, general supplies, goods and bombs to the airfield as well as aeroplane parts conveyed by specially adapted wagons to the workshops. RAF personnel could also buy tickets (exchange warrants) at a small office on the platform by the workshop for any town in the country – these were ‘leave tickets’. No civilian passengers were allowed to travel on this line.

Just beyond Cheeseman’s Farm, a turn out was built to supply materials to the construction of the nearby pair of semi-underground hangars; one built next to Cheeseman’s farm and the other further south off Alland Grange Lane, now a riding school. The gauge for this turn out is currently thought to have been 2ft 0” although it seems there may have been some confusion at the time as well. So far there is no evidence of any rail connection to the other semi-underground hanger locations to the north of the site.

From the S.E.C.R. Goods Working Book for January 1st 1919 there is the following notice:

Manston Camp Siding
The siding situated on the UP side of the line between Birchington and Herne Bay, has been brought into use. The siding will be worked by the 9.45 pm Stewarts Lane to Ramsgate and 1.40 pm Margate to Stewarts Lane Goods Train, which have been retimed.

S.E.C.R. Goods Working Book for January 1st 1919

From the S.E.C.R. Working Time Table (Supplement 2) for the same day, January 1st 1919 there are details for the carrying of RAF personnel:-

“The following arrangements will be carried out for the conveyance of RAF personnel and baggage travelling to and from London. Warrants covering the journey will be held by these Passengers and examination of same to take place at Herne Bay on UP Journey. Connections to be made at Birchington on DOWN journey.”

S.E.C.R. Goods Working Book for January 1st 1919

The same Working Time Table gives further details regarding the use of the siding.

“Manston Camp Railway. The working of this line has now been taken over by the Managing Committee. The connection with the Light Railway and Sidings is made at Birchington ‘A’ cabin, UP side. Speeds on the line must not exceed 10 mph and boards have been erected in the siding, indicating the point beyond which engines other than the official ones are not allowed to work. The Station Master at Birchington will be responsible for the working of the Camp Railway and all communication therewith must be addressed to him.”

The S.E.C.R. Working Time Tables for February 8th 1919 state that the weight of load for Goods Trains passing over the Manston Camp Siding should not exceed 200 tons, with a vehicle limit of 18 tons. The trucks were always pulled and never pushed, the engine was not turned. The number of trucks taken up varied but it was probably 6 or 7, and the empties were brought back from the previous days run.

It appears that generally there was one run each day from Birchington to the Camp at 9.45 am, going up with loaded wagons with a stay at Manston of 1¼ hours. Each train had a driver, fireman and guard in a brake van.

Construction

The ground over which the main line was to run was fairly flat so since it needed little in the way of excavations or embankments, the construction likely proceeded quickly. A 12″ ballast bed of granite chippings was laid directly on the ground – land normally growing crops. Upon this, sleepers were placed at 3 foot centres with rails held in by dog spikes. This was a new American pattern known as flat bottomed.

The laying of the line by Royal Engineers started at the Birchington end where the turnout from the main line had been constructed by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). Sleepers and rail were pushed forward on a truck in front of the engine as the line was laid, thought to be an 0-4-0 saddle tank brought down by road from Scotland to Richborough, possibly previously used at a colliery.

Work on the line included four road crossings and re-alignment of the Birchington to Manston road near Cheesemans Farm where there was a large chalk hole with caves by the roadside, so the road was moved over about 20 feet to accommodate the rail line.

The Birchington Junction

Details for this end of the branch line were taken from a Southern Railway plan from May 1929, prepared at the time the junction was to be removed.

A signal box (Birchington ‘A’) was constructed for the reception sidings, being 55 chains (a chain is equivalent to 22 yards, so 1,210 yards, or just over 1,106 metres) on the Herne Bay side of Birchington station and containing 18 levers. This signal box was only used whilst wagons were delivered and collected from the reception sidings. Once they had passed into the sidings they were the responsibility of the military, The branch line had no signals and all the points were hand worked.

The procedure at Birchington for getting Wagons into the sidings from the Margate direction (UP line) is remembered as:

1. Trucks were pulled passed turn-out and stopped
2. Reversed into siding then pulled into reception siding
3. Run round

The gate to the mainline was shut whilst the train was on the light railway.

Birchington Junction to Manston

The total length of the branch line was 3 miles, 752 yards (nearly 3½ miles) and had a maximum gradient of 1 in 75. It started near the end of Old Farm Road, curving slightly to cross the Canterbury Road some 300 feet SW. of King Edward Road. Keeping in a South West direction for just under ½ mile it then curved round in a westerly direction to cross Acol Hill just below an avenue of trees leading to Quex Park. It continued straight until nearing the water pumping station on the Manston Road where it curved again to follow the line of the road to Manston Camp by Cheesman’s Farm. There is no evidence that gates were used at the crossings except the one over the main Canterbury Road.

Manston Sidings

The only turn out (A as indicated above) on the line between Birchington and Manston was just beyond Cheesman’s Farm and was possibly included to supply the underground hangars during construction in early 1918, for photographs show a Barclay 0-4-0 tank engine and contractor’s trucks on the site of the excavations. This spur was later reduced to one capable of holding six 12 ton trucks.

Siding (B) held about eight 12 ton trucks. It had a water tower for supplying the locomotives and a concrete ash pit for drawing the fires.

Siding (C) took 2 or 3 oil tankers, the oil being used to supply the boilers in the power station which produced electricity for the camp at 220V D.C. This power station building was later used as a store and still seems to exist.

The main line (D) along the 1000 foot platform served the hangars and two workshops. A plan of the siding shows two sets of rails and points to act as a ‘run round’. The hangar was 400 feet long, 100 feet wide and 86 feet high. It had no struts inside, the roof bracing occurring on the outside. There were two 100 foot doors on the opposite side to the platform to allow planes ready for flying to be taken straight into the field.

Two tracks were laid leading into a store yard (siding E) where a weighbridge was incorporated on one of the lines. Somewhere in this area was a dump for coal.

‘The South-Eastern & Chatham Railway in the 1914-18 War’, by David Gould goes into some detail of the services that were run, at least in the early years:

On Mondays to Fridays, a goods train left Margate West at 9.10 am, Birchington 'A' Junction 9.45-10.05, arriving at Manston Camp at 10.20. The train then returned at 11.35, taking 15 minutes to the junction, and was back at Margate at 12.25 pm.

On Saturdays the goods service left Margate West at 8.40 am and ran half-an-hour earlier throughout departure from Manston was at 10.25 for Birchington 'A' Junction only. The Q tank then returned light to Manston to work the 11.20 am passenger train to Herne Bay. The two coaches that formed this train, which was for R.A.F. personnel and baggage travelling to London, had been had been sent earlier to Manston by Birchington Station, which had itself received them from Margate West. Leaving Manston, the coaches were a bogie Third brake, with guard's compartment next to engine, and a bogie First saloon. On arrival at Herne Bay, the coaches were attached to the front of the 11.35 am train from Ramsgate to Victoria; the Q tank that had brought the train from Manston ran back to Birchington light, there picking up a goods brake, which it conveyed to Margate for the Monday morning working.

Also on Saturdays, there was a Down through portion from Victoria to Manston: a bogie First saloon and bogie Third brake were attached to the rear of the 2.05 p.m. from Victoria, reserved and labelled for Manston. These were detached at Birchington Station, where an engine was attached to the London end of the vehicles, then worked back to Birchington 'A' Junction, where the locomotive ran round; then, leaving at 4.42, the train at last arrived at the Aerodrome Platform twenty minutes later. Later, the stock was returned empty to Margate West for cleaning, after which it would. go to Manston in readiness for the following Saturday's working to Victoria. The men travelling by these trains held Warrants, which were examined at Herne Bay on the Up journey, and collected at Birchington on the Down.

Main Line Rolling Stock

By the end of 1918, the working of the light railway had been taken over by the Managing Committee, and a ‘Q’ Class 0-4-4 Tank was provided; no other type was at first allowed, and the maximum speed over the line was 10mph. ⁽¹⁵⁾. Boards were set up in the sidings at Birchington ‘A’ to indicate the point beyond which other locomotives could not pass.

In later years it is thought that the branch was probably in the hands of a ‘P’ Class 0-6-0 Tank, with some observations noting that it had the number 555. That number would have denoted that it was at the time run by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). In 1923, the Southern Railway was formed in 1923 from the South Eastern and Chatham Railway and other companies, in an event known as “The Amalgamation”. Previous SECR locomotive numbers were prefixed initially with an ‘A’ from 1923 and 1928 upon the almagamation with the Southern Railway, later replaced by adding 1,000 to the original number and then added 30,000 upon the takeover by British Rail. So an SECR No.15 would have become S.R. No.A15, then 1015 then a B.R. No.31015.

Towards the end of the line’s life, the locomotive classes that were permitted to use the main Camp line, according to the S.E.C.R. Passenger Goods and Empty Trains Working Timetable for 2nd April 1923 were: ‘A’ 0-4-4 Tank; ‘O’/’O1′ 0-6-0; ‘P’ 0-6-0 Tank and ‘Q’ 0-4-4T (Tank), provided they did not exceed the line’s speed limit of 10 mph.

SECR ‘Q’ Class 0-4-4T (Tank)

This is thought to have been the first class of engine used on the Manston Camp Light Railway, although there are currently no clues as to the running number of the engine.

SECR ‘P’ Class 0-6-0 Tank No.325 and No.555 (Later 1555)

The South Eastern and Chatham Railway’s P-Class were 0-6-0T locomotives, designed by Harry Wainright. They were inspired and loosly based on the more successful LB&SCR (London, Brighton and South Coast Railway) A1 class “Terriers” and eight were built in 1909 and 1910. They were originally intended for lightweight passenger trains, but cost-saving design compromises had been made and when compared to the Terrier design, the P class were found to be underpowered, having only 73% of the Terrier’s tractive effort. The P class were later re-allocated to shunting and station pilot duties.

No.325 and No.555 were built in June 1910 in Ashford Works as part of a batch of locomotives that re-used numbers of withdrawn locomotives and numbered 27, 178, 323, 325, 555 and 558.

According to ‘The Locomotive History of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway’, it suggests by January 1917 (a questionable date given the Manston Camp Railway wasn’t operational until summer 1918):

At this time No.27 was working at Folkestone Harbour while Nos.325 and 555 were stationed at Ashford to work the War Department railway from Westenhanger to Manston aerodrome and Lympne Camp. Both were required daily, one leaving Ashford at 6.50 a.m. and the other at 8.30 a.m. The traffic mainly consisted of bogie aircraft vans, fuel tankers and flat wagons carrying aero engines. Because of the steep gradients the maximum loadings, inclusive of brake vans, were restricted to 70 tons down and 100 tons between the Camp and Westenhanger, and it was frequently necessary to resort to double heading when the sidings at either end of the line became overcrowded.

After the Armistice, No.555 along with No.323 were moved to work the Margate Sands to Minster service. That service was extended to Canterbury West and Ramsgate Town in the early morning and evening, but proving not to be attractive to the local population, the services were withdrawn in September 1919 when No.555 became the Margate shed pilot and No.323 joined No.325 (our other Manston Camp loco) at Hastings.

On 3rd January 1923, No.325 along with No.558 were taken to Ashford works for attention to their motor-train fittings before being sent to the Isle of Sheppey for service between Sheerness and Leysdown. Later No.555 shunted in and around Dover docks.

After July 1931, when they next visited Ashford works for repairs, the locos of the class had 1000 added to their numbers.

In June 1938, No.555 (now 1555) was loaned to the Horton Institute of the London County Council. After the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, No.1325 and 1555 (along with 1027 and 1178) were transferred to Folkestone Junction for service over the harbour line and station piloting at Folkestone Central.

In June 1945, No.1325 and 1555 (along with 1027) were stationed at Dover.

No.1325 was hired to the Kent & East Sussex Railway during 1946 and in January of the same year, 1555 was borrowed by Tunbridge Wells West when the Grove tunnel was under repair.

After Nationalisation and subsequent re-numbering and with plain black liveries, No.31555 was transferred to Battersea for service in Milk Dock sidings in July 1949, the same month that No.31325 appeared at Winchester. Shortly after, No.31325 was despatched to Bournemouth Central for the Poole Harbour line but was not well received and returned to Eastleigh the following month when it was usually then found at Winchester. In January 1951, No.31325 moved to Brighton.

No.31555 was condemed and withdrawn in February 1955 when it reached Ashford Works, by when half the class was already out of use in store.

In June 1957, because of a shortage of serviceable LB&SCR Terriors, No.31325 was hurriedly set to work on the Havant to Hayling Island branch. By January 1959 No.31325 was back at Brighton. In March 1960 it was condemned.

The Manston Camp ‘P’ Class engines were both scrapped at Ashford Works.

At this time, four of the eight engines remain. Although No.555 doesn’t, No.323 of the same batch is at the Bluebell Railway undergoing overhaul, known as “Bluebell” as is, or was No.27, known as “Primrose” for 18 months during the early years of preservation, also at Bluebell Railway. Also at the same site is No.178 previously in use by Bowaters of Sittingbourne, Kent, as ‘Pioneer II’, and No.753 ‘Pride of Sussex’ is on the Kent and East Sussex Railway.

LCDR (London, Chatham and Dover Railway) ‘A’ Class 0-4-4 Tank (To be confirmed)

The class was designed by William Kirtley and introduced in 1875. The A1 and A2 classes were similar, but had larger driving wheels. The differences between the A1 and A2 classes were minor: in particular, the A2 class had a larger heating surface. They were built between 1875 and 1884, with a total of 18 ‘A’ class completed.

At this time there is no confirmation or further details of the engine of this class that may have operated at Manston.

SECR ‘O’ Class 0-6-0 Tank No.433

Tender locomotives were occasionally employed, probably when the tank engine was out of action. There is a photograph of one (below) taken outside the main hangar on 29th September 1923 being an S.E.C.R. ‘O’ class No.433, built in 1897 by Sharp Stewart and Co. There is also a reference to another ‘O’ class, No.422. ⁽¹³⁾ No.433 is thought to have been scrapped at or before the renumbering by the Southern Railway in 1928.

Between 1903 and 1932, 59 ‘O’ Class locomotives were given larger boilers, of the same type as was fitted to the SECR H class 0-4-4T; these rebuilds were designated the O1 class. One of these, SECR No.65 (SR Nos. A65 and 1065, BR No. 31065) was built in 1896 at Ashford as a Stirling ‘O’ class locomotive, it received a rebuild to class ‘O1’ in 1908 and ran on until finally withdrawn in 1961. It has been preserved, and is currently based on the Bluebell Railway in East Sussex. Although it has no known connection to operations at Manston it does serve as a real reminder of the locomotives that did.

Narrow Gauge Construction Rolling Stock

Air Service Constructional Corps 0-6-2ST “Canopus” (2ft 6in gauge)

“Canopus”, numbered as 1547, was built in 1901 by Manning Wardle of Leeds as an 0-6-2ST locomotive for the Pentewan Railway in Cornwall at a cost of £1,051 and arrived there in December 1901 replacing their existing engine ‘Trewithen’. It carried china clay from St Austell to a new harbour at Pentewan on a 2ft 6in (762 mm) narrow gauge. The railway didn’t usually carry passengers although during the summer it was noted for the annual Sunday School Tea Treat Trains when the churches and chapels around the area hired the railway for the afternoon and conveyed their scholars, family and teachers to the coast at Pentewan. The line closed in 1918.

As RAF loco No.7, it was to be involved in the construction of the semi-underground hangars at Manston by the Air Service Constructional Corps, however it is understood it may have been sent to Manston by mistake and never used, given its gauge – it is seen here on what we have been suggested is temporary track.

Some records suggest it was later sold for scrap in 1924, others that it was transferred to the RAF Aerodrome Construction Service at West Drayton, Middlesex by 1924.

Air Service Constructional Corps 0-4-2WT No.1431 and No.1433 (2ft gauge)

These 2ft 0” gauge steam locomotives were built by Andrew Barclay & Co. Ltd, Kilmarnock to an order which was placed in 1917 by the Admiralty, for use by the Air Service Construction Corps.

No.1431 and its sister 1432 were delivered to the Admiralty on 21st February 1918, although some records suggest that 1431 was delivered to Manston on 19th February 1918 and commissioned two days later. Either way it was put to work assisting with the construction of Manston’s underground hangars. It seems likely that at least two of these narrow gauge locomotives were used to pull the quarry tipper wagons. No.1431 was driven by Leonard Hosken.

Some references also refer to either No.1432 or No.1433 ⁽¹¹⁾ also being at Manston. Given the distance between the groups of hangars being constructed it seems realistic to suggest that more than one engine was in use at Manston. Both No.1431 and No.1432 were despatched from the builders on the same day, however No.1432 appears to have been delivered to the RAF Aerial Gunnery School at Leysdown according to references in Andrew Barclay Spares Orders. ⁽¹²⁾

Records show that a total of six engines were ordered by the Admiralty, London for the Air Service Construction Corps and delivered in 1918 ⁽⁹⁾, Nos. 1431, 1432, 1433 (despatched 3nd March 1918), 1453 (4th April), 1454 (2nd April) and 1455 (1st May). Records link 1431, 1432, 1433, 1453 and 1455 being delivered to Sunbury so presumably transferred then to their places of work.

1453 appears to have been eventually used at Dymchurch Aerodrome and moved to RAF Calshot, Hampshire in October 1921.

1454 was delivered to Westgate on Sea’s Aerodrome from 1918 and then to the Air Ministry, Kidbrooke Depot in London. It was then sent to T.J Williams, Rotherhide for scrap.

This four-coupled engine was intended for service on rough tracks and was strongly built with a box-section frame forming the water tanks. The firebox rested on top of the frames and the leading edge of the boiler was carried on a cast saddle beneath the smoke box front. Walschaerts value gear operated the side valves above the outside cylinders. An unusual feature of the design, due to the confined space, was the single transverse plate spring over the rear axle.

In 1921, No.1431 and No.1433 (TBC) were transferred to RAF Calshot (along with 1431’s driver Leonard Hosken, much to his surprise) where they operated on the Calshot line between the Sea Plane Base and Eaglehurst Barracks for the Air Ministry Works Dept. This base was primarily used as a training facility for pilots, so the two little engines were kept busy running supply trains between Calshot and Eaglehurst camp, a mile and a half away, running the distance with ease. They also pulled a small passenger train full of trainee soldiers known as the “Calshot Express”, but that was apparently condemned after a “raucous” night out. When 1431 arrived its buffers/couplings had to be raised to match the existing rolling stock and was renamed ‘AIRSERVICE CONSTRUCTIONAL CORPS No 1’.

No. 1431 and its companion Locomotives 1432 & 1433, which were No 2 and No 3 respectively, were painted green with the letters AMWD on the sides of the cab. 1431 and its driver, Hosken served together between the wars and throughout World War II and until the Calshot railway was closed in 1945.

After a period in storage, it was bought in 1949 by Abelson & Co. (Engineers) Ltd. at auction. They intended to export No.1431 and sister engine No.1432 to work in a Indian copper mine, but they were refused by the Indian Board of Trade as they did not meet Indian standards. In October 1952, Albeson’s offered 1431 as a gift to the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. Sadly after failing to meet a buyer No.1432 was scrapped in 1956.

After overhaul and alteration from 2ft to 2ft 3in gauge, it entered service in 1954 and was named No.6 ‘Douglas’ at the donor’s request after their Chairman, Douglas Abelson. He had just left on on trip to South Africa when a letter had arrived from the newly formed Talyllyn. The Chairman was unwilling to see either engine cut up, so his co-directors saw an opportunity to clear some space in their yard. Although smaller than the other locos it has performed well at the Tallylyn (it was still in good mechanical order) and was returned to service in 1995, having been fitted with a new boiler and turned out in its old Air Ministry Works & Buildings livery.

“Douglas” was introduced by Rev. Wilbert Awdry, a regular visitor to the Talyllyn railway, in his Thomas the Tank Engine books as “Duncan” running on the Skarloey railway. He was written as a grumpy, Scottish little engine who is prone to having a bumpy ride which often caused him to derail, just like “Douglas” in real life.

On 21st February 2018, it was the 100th Birthday of ‘Douglas’.  To commemorate the centenary a new livery reflecting its RAF heritage was commissioned.

Wagons

Specially adapted wagons to carry aeroplane parts to the workshop were mentioned in a Southern Railway document dated 9th July 1923: “List of Covered Aeroplane Trucks fitted with double doors at the sides and ends. Not suitable for Highway Vehicle Traffic but capable of working over Foreign Lines.”. These trucks were 6 wheeled vehicles with a 20’6″ wheel base and numbered variously between 2039 and 2167. Some did not have any steam heating connections and some were without a side hand brake. They were 32’6″ long, 7’3″ wide at the floor and had a carrying capacity of 4 tons.

Covered four wheel wagons were used for conveying much of the material to the camp and open wagons were used for carrying coal.

Reminiscences of Railway Personnel

The following recollections are taken from Manston Aerodrome Light Railway 1918-1929 by Robert B. Matkin.

During the period of research several people living locally who had been involved with the branch line were found and their memories had to retrace some 60 years. Quite naturally the majority of their comments are given without any corroboration from other sources.

Mr Fordred started as a cleaner at Margate Station in 1914 before moving to the Stewarts Lane Depot. When he returned to Margate West Station in February 1919 – this station was situated in the present station yard forecourt – the Manston railway was in use, and he worked the line for 2 or 3 months during that Summer as a Fireman.

Mr Cuckney was a driver on the M.C.L.R., having passed out as a driver in 1918 and he recalls that the Guard came from S.E.C.R. and handled all details regarding lists of trucks to be taken up and brought back, his orders coming from a depot in London and not from Manston. On the engine photograph he recognised himself as the person on the extreme right. He considers the man on the left was the fireman and the centre figure as the guard.

Mr Gammon was a relief Signalman at both the Birchington ‘A’ and ‘8’ boxes in 1918. Some names he recalled were Perkins, Patton and Finch, but he was not certain in which capacity they were employed.

Mr Calder was the first driver of the first engine on the M.C.L.R. He stayed at Manston until late 1918 when he returned to Richborough Camp where his work included pushing trucks on to the train ferries. Before the war he was an engine driver on the Highland Railway travelling between Inverness and Perth. His fireman he remembers was a Charlie Freeman who, in civilian life, was a showman in Glasgow.

Mr Calder recalled that one stormy day with some terrific rain and wind, he had 30 trucks to come down from the Camp. Rather than make several journeys he decided to take them all down at once. Approaching the Canterbury Road crossing he found his brakes would not hold because of his load, the wheels slipping on the wet rails. He tried putting it into reverse but the wheels still slipped shooting sparks out all over the place. He just managed to stop the train before it reached the main line.

The loads he carried sometimes consisted of crashed cars and bits of aeroplanes. He also took a lot of bombs to Manston. He remembers the underground hangars where “our planes used to go down under the ground and the Germans did not know where they had gone”.

Mr Saunders did not work on the railway but lived at Manston and was still a schoolboy at the time the railway was laid just across the road from his home. He recalls that the first aircraft he saw land at Manston in July 1915 was a Morris Farman – called a ‘birdcage’.

Although there was a power station nearby, his home was not connected to any electric power supply but he used to take 2 volt accumulators across to the battery room for charging.

Mr Saunders recalls that after the war, about 1920, the road from Manston to Birchington was remade with granite chippings brought from Wales in trucks which were put into the siding near Cheesman’s Farm. Here they were loaded into lorries which had been brought back from France through Port Richborough, many of these lorries being stored in the field in front of his home.

Closure

No actual closure date of the line has yet been found apart from a Southern Railway plan and estimate for the removal of Birchington ‘A’ signal box, main line crossover roads and siding turn out, dated 3rd May 1929 and issued from the Chief Engineers Office at Waterloo. (Plan No. 38,424.) The estimated cost for the removal work was £540.

An earlier reference to the railway came in a letter of 19th August 1919 which accompanied papers about a Conference at Manston on 15th August 1919 regarding disposal of land:

In addition, it is assumed the railway from Birchington will be retained, which has a length of about 3 miles.”

A memo from the Works and Building Department to Director Works and Buildings, Air Ministry dated 20th September 1920:

“Manston – Purchase of land for railway etc.

We have no plans showing the position of the boundary fences of the Railway, but such fences are approximately 20 feet distant on either side of the Railway.”

On 15th August 1921, 63 2ft gauge trucks were for sale or sold from Manston Aerodrome. Presumably these were the narrow gauge tipper wagons from the construction of the underground hangars ⁽¹¹⁾.

“Sittingbourne to Ramsgate” ⁽¹⁴⁾ states that the last major consignment on the railway was five crated Sopwith Snipes on 1st August 1924.

On 24th April 1929, about 3½ miles of 72lb rail was for sale by tender or sold being the standard gauge railway track from the Birchington to Manston line ⁽¹¹⁾.

So ended a relatively short and little known period in Manston’s history.

Acknowledgements

1. https://caffeine-train.blogspot.com/2014/07/canopus.html
2. Manston Aerodrome Light Railway 1918-1929 by Robert B. Matkin. Bygone Kent Volume TBC.
3. Birchington Heritage Trust Newsletter August 2014. www.birchingtonheritage.org.uk
4. https://www.atlantikwall.co.uk/
5. Talyllyn Railway https://www.talyllyn.co.uk/about/rolling-stock/locos/douglas/
6. https://www.deviantart.com/crovanworks/art/WHY-DUNCAN-IS-SODOR-S-MOST-CONSISTENT-ENGINE-926252166
7. The Narrow Gauge – The Narrow Gauge Railway Society, No.33 Summer 1962 – details of the other Air Service Constructional Corps 0-4-2WT engines. https://www.ngrs.org/downloads/TNG.1-100/tng33-summer-1962.pdf
8. The Friends of St Clement Danes, Issue No. 46 Autumn 2018. https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/units/st-clement-danes-church/documents/o-l-issue-46/
9. Andrew Barclay, Kilmarnock – Locomotive Works Lists from Industrial Locomotive Society (2020) – www.industrial-loco.org.uk
10. https://www.deviantart.com/thebluev3/art/Talyllyn-No-6-Douglas-works-photo-478450236
11. Industrial Railways and Locomotives of Kent by Robin Waywell.
12. Andrew Barclay Spares Orders as described by – www.industrial-loco.org.uk
13. A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1916-1930, Joe Bamford and John Williams.
14. Sittingbourne to Ramsgate, Vic Mitchell and Jeith Smith, 2002.
15. The South-Eastern & Chatham Railway in the 1914-18 War, David Gould.
16. Luxulyan Valley News Summer 2018 (The Friends of Luxulyan Valley) https://www.luxulyanvalley.co.uk/Newsletters/FoLV%20Newsletter%20-%20Summer%202018.pdf
17. The Locomotive History of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway by D L Bradley, April 1980.

Alterations

17th November 2024 – First Published