The Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway in Kent is a narrow gauge heritage railway that operates from Sittingbourne to the banks of The Swale.
The line was developed as an industrial railway by paper maker Frank Lloyd in 1904, to transport pulp materials and finished products between Ridham Dock, on the Swale, and the company's paper mill at Sittingbourne, and from the mid-1920s to a second mill at Kemsley.
In the late 1960s, the railway faced closure by its then owners Bowater, but the Locomotive Club of Great Britain accepted an offer to operate the railway from 1970. However, the section of line from Kemsley Down to Ridham Dock was abandoned for redevelopment of the paper mills.
In 2008–09, the line survived a threat of closure due to the owners of Sittingbourne Paper Mill closing the mill and selling the land. The lease then held by the railway expired in January 2009, but negotiations resulted in the railway being saved, although no public trains ran in 2009.
In September 2010, press reports announced the possibility that the railway would operate an anniversary service - over a short section between Kemsley Down Station and the Milton Regis Halt - to celebrate 40 years of operation. The service carried more than 700 passengers over several days during October.
In 2011, the railway reopened in late May and operated until the end of September. During this time, Milton Regis Viaduct's deferred maintenance, from winter 2008, was carried out and Essential Land's contractors completed the removal of pipelines around Sittingbourne Viaduct station. The last train of the season ran over Milton Regis Viaduct to the gate at Sittingbourne Viaduct station - the first public train to cross the Viaduct since 26 December 2008.
2012 saw the railway return to Sittingbourne Viaduct when it reopened on Sunday 27 May. (See "Reopening" section below.)
History
In 1905, the horse-drawn tramway operating around the paper mill was upgraded to steam operation with the purchase of two steam locomotives, "Premier" and "Leader", which were still there for the centenary celebrations in 2005. Other locomotives were bought for use on the railway as the network expanded.
In the 1960s, a time-and-motion study was undertaken by the owners, Bowaters UK, and the railway was deemed to be more expensive than road transport and was closed. However, Bowaters UK offered the main line, some of the locos and rolling stock of the railway to the Locomotive Club of Great Britain for preservation as a tourist railway. Other locomotives and rolling stock were sold to the Great Whipsnade Railway and the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway. The SKLR is now the longest continuous operator of the railway.
In January 2007, M-real closed Sittingbourne Paper Mill. However, Church Marshes Country Park now has a managing committee and will see the surrounding area between Milton Regis Halt and Kemsley Down being turned into a fully-fledged country park.
Preservation
The railway is now operated by the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway and operates over almost of the original main line from Sittingbourne Viaduct station to Kemsley Down station. It crosses one of the first and longest reinforced concrete viaducts in the world between Sittingbourne Viaduct and Milton Regis Halt stations.
The main fleet of locomotives worked the railway before it was preserved. "Barton Hall" was the first new arrival on the railway in over 25 years on long-term loan and was eventually purchased by the railway to assist with railway operations.
In 2005, the railway had its first ever visit of a steam loco: 'Chevallier' returned to the railway after being sold to a new owner. It arrived at the railway on a low loader days before the centenary celebrations and stayed on site until early 2006, when it was taken away for restoration. 'Chevallier' was originally built for the Admiralty's Chattenden & Upnor Railway before being sold to Bowaters for use on the Paper Railway, and later moved to the Great Whipsnade Railway. Excelsior, Conqueror and Superior also moved to the Great Whipsnade Railway when it officially opened in 1970.
The railway was closed to the public for the 2009 season.
Closure threat
It was announced on the Meridian Television local news on 22 August 2008 that the railway was expected to close at the end of the year. The last public train was scheduled to depart Sittingbourne Viaduct at 14:00 on 26 December 2008, although the operating company were hoping that negotiations to keep the railway open into the future might be successful.