Hundred of Hoo Railway

[1] On 16 April 1878 the SER's engineer, Francis Brady, reported back to his employer on the feasibility of constructing a railway from a point near Gravesend and the North Kent Line to the village of Stoke, a distance of 9 miles.

A 5% return was projected, the belief being that Gravesend's proximity to London would make it a more desirable outlet for the distribution of goods intended for the Kent area, rather than the LCDR's Chatham station.

[1] Seizing the opportunity to provide a sea outlet for goods to Europe, the SER announced its intention to open a new port on the Isle of Grain with a service to Belgium.

Following a call for tenders, the quotation of a certain Thomas A. Walker was accepted, he having proposed £14,421 for the railway extension (including a bridge over Higham Canal) and £18,953 for the pier.

Down trains would depart from Gravesend and call at Sharnal Street and Port Victoria,[citation needed] before a ferry would take passengers across the River Medway on to Sheerness.

Ships of up to 18 ft (5.49 m) draught were able to draw-up alongside to take passengers and goods, irrespective of the tides, thanks to the pier's deep water front.

This was the case when a fire caused serious damage to Queenborough Pier on 19 July 1900 and services were diverted via Port Victoria for the best part of the next three years - the busiest period in its history.

During the 1930s, it saw only two trains per day, mainly for the workmen at the refineries on the Isle of Grain - the Medway Oil and Storage Company had been based at Elphinstone Point at the entrance to Colemouth Creek since 1923.

Resorts such as Brighton, Torquay and Blackpool had long been popular with seasiders since the mid-19th century, but it was only with the arrival of the railway that factory workers in London could enjoy the privileges previously reserved for the richer classes and use their free weekends to escape from their urban environment.

The small village of Allhallows, population 261 in the 1880s, was identified as the only feasible location for a new seaside resort in North Kent - Herne Bay being judged too far from London and Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey not having a direct rail service.

An article published in April 1932 in the Southern Railway Magazine indicated the SR's aspirations for the line: "[n]ear the small village of Allhallows, amid fields where cattle graze and the ploughman walks his furrow, workmen are busy constructing roads and laying the main drains and conduits for the gas, water, telephone and electric light services to houses of which not a brick has yet been laid.

In contrast to the urban development of an earlier day, the prospective house-purchaser (and season-ticket holder) at Allhallows will approach his future home from a modern reinforced concrete carriageway, instead of stumbling through the ruts of an unmade road."

The ceremonial opening of the extension took place on Whit Saturday 14 May 1932 when 700 day-trippers made the journey to Allhallows on a special train laid on from London drawn by R1 Class 0-4-4T No.

Two daily express services from Allhallows to Charing Cross were laid on at 7.36am and 8.28am, returning in the early evenings on weekdays and at midday on Saturdays, as if to demonstrate the village's potential as a commuter hub.

Allhallows's popularity continued up until the outbreak of the Second World War, with 12 trains making the journey to and from Gravesend during weekdays while extra services were laid on for Sundays - 14 down and 11 up.

In an attempt to stem losses, the new operator, British Railways (Southern Region) (BR), misguidedly tried out an ACV lightweight diesel railcar in late 1953, its noise and general lack of comfort probably serving however to drive away more passengers.

Nevertheless, BR still tried to promote the area for holiday-makers and potential residents as its Holiday Haunts guide for 1955 demonstrates: "[t]he open fields, the views, the sands and the safe bathing attract may day and weekend visitors.

A new proposal was made by BR a few months later, which it backed up with new figures showing that passenger numbers had further declined since Winter 1959/60 and that savings would even higher - £43,324 per annum.

They argued that the figures (i) failed to consider cheaper methods of running the line such as using diesel traction units, closing minor halts, eliminating unnecessary journeys, the operation of direct summer excursions from London to Allhallows and the combination of passenger and goods services, (ii) took into account costs incurred for the line between Gravesend and Grain which would remain open for freight, (iii) included a figure of £5,000 which would be paid to Maidstone & District Motor Services for replacement bus services, (iv) failed to take into account holiday traffic - 2,812 passengers having used Allhallows on the Whitsun holiday of 3/6 June 1960, and (v) failed to record the 25% increase in passenger numbers or take into account the ongoing residential development in the area.

KCC, announcing its intention to resist the proposed closure "strongly", reminded BR that planning permission for the construction of 1,200 houses on the Isle of Grain had been granted, possibly leading to an extra 4,000 potential users of the line.

British Uralite predicted that the region would undergo "substantial" industrial development in the future which would generate extra traffic and that the railway, once taken away, would never be put back.

In September 1960 the South Eastern Area Transport Users Consultative Committee (TUCC) approved the closure proposal on the basis of new financial information provided to them by BR.

With regard to the difference in journey times from Allhallows to Gravesend caused by the withdrawal of rail services, the TUCC concluded that "this inconvenience is outweighed by the savings the Commission will make."

A further memorandum dated 9 June 1961 admitted that "no doubt there will be a comeback from Mr Kirk MP who clearly has views on the merits of the proposal as well as the procedure adopted by the Consultative Committees" but stated that "the sooner the passenger service is closed, the greater the economy will be for the Railways who must already have lost a substantial amount during the last six months of argument."

A number of enthusiasts turned out for the final days of operation and the Railway Magazine described the activity on the 10.32am Saturday morning service (an "H" class 0-4-4T 31324): "[...] practically every seat was occupied throughout the journey to Allhallows.

The reasons for the commercial failure of Allhallows were neatly described by F. Oliver Randall in the November 1956 edition of the Railway Observer: "[...] the place falls sadly between two stools in that it lacks the most commonplace amenities associated with a seaside resort, yet has completely lost the rural charm and remoteness which it must have [...] possessed prior to its attempted exploitation."

An armament depot was constructed in 1902 in order to supply the fleet and in 1905 the narrow gauge track was extended northwards to connect with the Hundred of Hoo line at Sharnal Street.

A new siding was laid to serve the works (the APCM having switched the transport of their cement freight (around 1,000 tons per week) and delivery of coal from river and road to rail) which remained in use until 1969 when the chalk pits were again exhausted and flooded.

In 1990 Maritime Transport Services Ltd constructed a container port on the southern coastline of the Isle of Grain, taking over the area previously occupied by BP.

In January 2019, Campaign for Better Transport identified the line was listed as Priority 2 for reopening, as it may support housing development sites in the Medway Council Local Plan.