East Kent Light Railway - Richborough Port Branch

Richborough Port Branch

• Poison Cross. 00:32. (The OS showed it in the corner between Foxborough Hill and Drainless Road, but this is erroneous. It was east of Foxborough Hill, and had a loop and siding. No hut. The mythical story is that the monks of a monastery here poisoned each other off. The name may have been to do with fishes -"poissons" in French- instead.)
• Roman Road. 1:53. Known as "Roman Road (Woodnesborough)" before 1938. The name is a puzzle; published sources claim it was because the road it was on was Roman. It wasn't. (South of the crossing on the Sandwich to Woodnesborough road, and nearer the latter than Woodnesborough station. No hut. Ploughed out.)
• Sandwich Road. 2:41. (The passenger terminus, at the south side of Ash Road. British railways had a tradition of including "Road" in station names to warn travellers that the place served was not within reasonable walking distance. Had a padlocked portable cabin containing a telephone for goods customers to order collection. At the roundabout where the Sandwich bypass now crosses that road. When it was open there was nothing larger than a sheep anywhere near, and the passenger station earned most of its revenue from a roadside advertising billboard. Across the road was a loop.)
• Richborough Castle Siding. (Actually a short spur. Ran north from a junction loop with water tank, past the Roman amphitheatre, and fanned out as three tracks. The middle one mysteriously crossed Richborough Castle Road to terminate by the SECR line, but on a higher level so a junction was not possible. (Perhaps passenger exchange platforms were hoped for.) This was a public siding, and was the de facto branch terminus when the river bridge failed on an unknown date.)
• Richborough Port Sidings. A loop either side of the line. Now occupied by the bypass, between two roundabouts.
• Richboro Port Halt 4:46.(Not to be confused with Richborough Castle Halt on SER Deal Branch); passenger services were never authorised over the rickety girder bridge across the River Stour. (By the west side of the old road just south of the roundabout at the north end of the Sandwich bypass. South-east corner of the triangular Pfizer's landscaped area.)
• Richborough Port - Pearson's Quay (also known as Old Quay, Stonar Quay or Lord Greville's Quay. He was the original landowner). The line continued across the road to join the port lines for access to this. (Supplanted by Pfizer's.)
• Richborough Port - New Quay. Accessed via a junction spur with the port lines where the main line turned east for Pearson's Quay. The quay is still there, but semi-derelict.)