Guinness World Record: Longest-running railway series, established in 1901
RAILWAY systems in southeast England developed many complications, both geographical and organisational, as the rival London, Chatham & Dover Railway (LC&DR) and South Eastern Railway (SER) vied for territory. Rationalisation of the ensuing duplication was undertaken once the two companies had merged in 1899, but the system was still developing when the 1923 Grouping took place – one result being the new Southern Railway’s introduction of a through train from Margate to London Bridge via Ramsgate, Deal, Dover and Redhill.
Reflecting the routing of this train via the original SER Redhill line, the train was afforded the soubriquet ‘The Surrey’ and the original schedule of this circuitous 117 mile amble took more than four hours. The train was to run for 35 years with only minor variations, and my attention was drawn to the existence of this remarkable working by Railway Performance Society (RPS) steam specialist Michael Rowe, who outlined the developments that had influenced the service’s eventual introduction.
Early rivalry
The SER had opened its 101 mile route to Margate (Sands) on December 1, 1846, running from London via East Croydon, Redhill, Tonbridge (then spelt Tunbridge), Canterbury and Ramsgate (Town, a terminus until replaced by a through station on today’s site in 1926). The Bradshaw timetable lists five services each way in its September 1849 edition. The down trains departed London Bridge at xx.30 at three-hourly intervals from 7.30am to 4.30pm, but the already burgeoning business peak resulted in two more trains at 5.30 and 6.30pm. The express at 4.30pm had 12 intermediate stops before reaching Margate in 199 min, its 30mph overall average speed in such circumstances representing a determined effort. In the opposite direction, the 7.10am from Margate performed similarly, with 200 min for the same number of stops.
In 1847, the SER opened a branch from Minster Junction to Deal, which remained a terminus until an armistice with the LC&DR resulted in a
