Folkestone Harbour Bridge - Folkestone, Kent, UK
N 51° 04.714 E 001° 11.151
31U E 372921 N 5660127
A bridge that carried the railway into Folkestone Harbour.
Waymark Code: WMCVQ3
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/16/2011
Views: 8
The rail spur line runs downhill parallel to The Tram Road. As it would split the harbour, the railway had to be raised high enough to allow the passage of boats from the inner to outer harbour. A viaduct was built, using the arch system, to level the rails and give clearance for the harbour craft. At the port end of the line, where the station was located, there was a section of bridge on a turntable than could open through 90° to allow pass age of boats that could not pass through the arches.
Some of the arches on the land section are used for storage and/or shops related to activities in the port.
This line used to carry the VSOE (Venice Simplon Orient Express) into the harbour to continue its journey, by ferry, across the English Channel.
This YouTube clip shows the "last" train going into and out of Folkestone Harbour. The arch bridge can be seen:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEe4Joa2O50&feature=related
==================================================================
==================================================================
Folkestone Harbour station is located at the end of a viaduct which separates the port's inner and outer harbours, which in turn is the end of the spur railway separate from the main line. The proposals for the regeneration of the Harbour area will see additional accommodation built; however, it has been determined that this will not be sufficient to justify reopening the rail link to the Harbour. Due to its infrequent use it has been proposed that Folkestone Harbour be closed permanently, the viaduct demolished, and the track on the rail spur lifted.
Folkestone Harbour station is a railway station built to serve the port of Folkestone in Kent, and is one of three stations in the town. It is at the end of the short 1-in-30 Folkestone Harbour Branch Line, joining the South Eastern Main Line at Folkestone Junction. The branch and harbour station provided a rail connection for boat trains from London which connected with the ferry services to Calais and Boulogne.
The branch and station closed to regular passenger train services in 2001 although the line and station continued to be used by the Venice-Simplon Orient Express (VSOE) and railtours. As of March 2009, Network Rail intend to close the branch, and an association has formed to preserve it as a heritage line.
Text source: (
visit link)