It's easy to see where the level crossing was, as in the one photograph I have, the road is raised up slightly for a few yards where the crossing once was. This was the first of five or six level crossings on the line. For each gate (both sides of the road was once supported by sturdy concrete posts, now there is only one left standing on the north eastern side).
Willow Lane from the west looking towards the site of the level crossing with cow parsley in abundance
One of the original level crossing posts angled diagonally as the railway crossed the road at an angle.
Another view of the post with the back of some solar panels in the field beyond. This gate is new but the Google maps view shows a decrepit affair, there you can also clearly discern the direction of the track bed as the soil is a different colour across the field heading towards Queen Street Bridge a quarter of a mile to the north.
I think this is the site of the other concrete post on the north side of the road and apparently not removed so very long ago.
Willow Lane Crossing was about 1.25 miles down the line from Paddock Wood Station and just over 36 miles from Charing Cross Station. I think at this point the track was supposed to be climbing at 1 in 471. Google maps road view show a very flat field reminiscent of Flanders or Norfolk and as the name Willow Lane might imply, the fields can get very wet on low lying land where willow trees thrive. Looking at the depth of the ditch I think that flooding has always been an issue here.
I think that this is an image of Willow Lane Crossing. Note how much smaller the cottage was before extensions were added (the telegraph poles show that there was at least a telephone connection) and how the road was raised up slightly.
A view of the level crossing sight from the east, in the ditch can just be seen the arch allowing water to pass underneath the approach to the level crossing. Also the house in the distance (much changed) would have been built in the 1890's by the South Eastern Railways, for the gate keeper.
Water flows constantly through the arch which had to support the full weight of a heavy locomotive and carriages when it was built. I would hazard a guess that it is solid brick throughout. Again the reddish bricks are apparent, they must have used thousands on the railway construction! Some preliminary work was performed in 1879, this may have been one of the first builds.
Above the direction of the track bed heading towards Old Hay Farm and eventually Horsmonden. It looks idyllic doesn't it? but unfortunately the fields to the left of the track bed are now full of old cars and lorries from a second hand car business, and beyond that are prefabricated structures whilst more cars straddle the landscape and the track bed for the next half a mile or so.
Beyond the cow parsley and the ditch another view of the solar farm which was once perhaps apple orchards or hop gardens. They have planted three or four layers of fruit trees around the perimeter so that in time it will look far more pleasing.from the road. Probably the farmer was made an offer for the land from 'Gelectric' that could not be refused.
Above, the crossing keepers cottage (with extensions on both sides). The crossing keeper was required to come out of the house a few minutes before the train was due and padlock the gates across the road prior to the train passing through. (I doubt if there was much road traffic here then though). I have thought about this a lot recently, would you want to do this job, all you had to do was open and close a gate a few times a day and for that you would get free accommodation and a small income. I think I would go crazy as I would be housebound and isolated six days a week. The early photograph of this cottage does however show three telegraph poles nearby, hopefully at least they had a phone (it may have been a requirement of the railway).
There was an accident here once during a storm one evening when the lady keeper ran out to open the gates for a train but in her haste to get back inside she did not secure them properly. The result was that the strong wind blew them back across the line where they were made into match wood by the train. Nobody was hurt though.
The main engineer on the railway project was a Mr Seaton but the more famous Holman Fred Stephens as resident engineer played a very active part in much of the work, including designing most of the railway cottages, it is likely that he designed this house. I notice that the cottages at Churn Lane and Smallbridge are of a very similar style in red brick with a downstairs bay window at the front.
I was born in Kent and I was told a story that one of my ancestors was killed at the crossing. Legend has it that my ancestor was crushed by the gates. I am researching a family tree and would love to know if this is true.
ReplyDeleteMartin
Hi Martin,
DeleteI have found a reference to one collision that took place in 1914, this was at an accommodation crossing at Old Hay, between Willow Lane and Churn Lane and involved a drayman's horse van and a goods train. Could this have been the one? (Unless there is another reference to the accident later on in the book, it does not say what happened to the driver). All the railway companies took safety very seriously and an enquiry and recommendations were always made afterwards to try to prevent further accidents. In this case the whistle boards were moved back further from the crossing so that the drivers could sound their whistles for longer periods as they approached the crossing. Soon afterwards the maximum speed was also reduced from 40 mph to 30 mph for the remaining lifetime of the line.
Hello Martin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, would you have any idea when the tragedy took place, during World War 1 for example, or if your ancestor was a local man or a hop picker for instance. I will try to see if I can find any reference to that event in Brian Hart's book.
Laurence