[2] The valley was poorly connected to the nearest market towns, Ashford and Canterbury, with the main road being little more than a dirt track.

[3] The first prospectus was presented to Parliament in 1865, outlining an "Elham Valley Light Railway Company" which would build a single-line railway starting at Hythe on the coast, running up through the Seabrook valley, through Newington and joining the existing SER and East Kent lines.

[6] The LCDR's chairman James Staats Forbes argued this would provide better connections between Folkestone and Canterbury as passengers would not need to change trains.

[4] In order to strengthen their case, the SER agreed to take over the Elham Valley Railway, and construct it as a double-track line to standard gauge like the rest of its network.

[9][10] The SER scheme was authorised on 28 July 1884 by the South Eastern Railway (Various Powers) Act 1884 (47 & 48 Vict.

[4][8] Construction formally started on 28 August 1884 with the "cutting of the first sod" by Sir George Russell at Peene near Folkestone.

A Board of Trade inspection took place on 1 July, conducted by Major-General Charles Scrope Hutchinson.

[1][15][16] Continuing north, landowner Matthew Bell objected about the line passing through his land at Bourne Park, and following a dispute the company agreed to a 329-yard (301 m) cut-and-cover tunnel.

[18] Watkin was still keen to link the railway with the LCDR and proposed a junction where the two lines cross near Harbledown.

[15][25] The passenger timetable had settled down by 1890, when every up train for the Elham valley started from Dover, stopping at every station to Canterbury.

[27] In 1905 eight steam-powered railmotors were built for the SE&CR; these were self-contained coaches with a small steam engine, intended to enable low-cost passenger operation on lightly used branch lines.

The small power unit struggled to cope with gradients, and the 1 in 90 climb up to Etchinghill was challenging in the summer months when they conveyed a trailer car.

[30] On 19 December 1915, a landslip at Folkestone Warren Halt resulted in the South Eastern Main Line being closed.

[30] When the Elham Valley Railway was being built, local people had requested a station at Cheriton, but the SER refused.

[35][36] The signal box at Lyminge was closed on 1 May 1937 as a cost-cutting measure, a ground frame being provided in the station building.

[37] The Kent coast area was considered to be vulnerable in the event of an anticipated attack by enemy forces during World War II.

[38] The authorities took complete charge of the line for defence purposes and on 25 October, the passenger service between Lyminge and Canterbury was suspended.

Sidings were also added north of Lyminge and the line through Bourne Park tunnel was relaid as a passing loop.

[40] On 2 December, the SR suspended the passenger service north of Lyminge and the line was handed over to the Railway Operating Department, Royal Engineers.

The railway route followed a meandering course, enabling the guns to be trained by moving them along the line to a suitable location.

[41] The gun could fire a 6-foot (1.8 m) 1.75-long-ton (1.78 t) shell up to 12.5 miles (20 km) and was capable of reaching Pegwell Bay near Ramsgate.

[43] The gun was first fired on the morning of 13 February 1941, when the equipment was towed to a stretch of track near Kingston for calibration tests.

Several rounds were fired out into mid-channel; the results were sighted and marked by observation posts on the cliffs at Dover.

In the Kingston and Barham area villagers were warned to open doors and windows, but the blasts were so severe that in many cases houses were damaged.

[46] In March 1944, the line was derequisitioned by the War Department, and normal goods operation was resumed on 19 February 1945.

On 16 June 1947 the passenger service was withdrawn, and on 1 October 1947 the line closed completely to revenue traffic.