South Eastern and Chatham Railway


The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee, known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway, which operated between London and south-east England. Between 1899 and 1923, the SE&CR had a monopoly of railway services in Kent and to the main Channel ports for ferries to France and Belgium.
The companies had competed extensively, with some of the bitterest conflicts between British railway companies. Competing routes to the same destinations were built, so several towns in Kent had been served with a similar frequency service by both companies. In places open, unfettered competition allowed two stations and services to multiple London termini.

Formation

By the end of the 19th century, the SER and LC&DR had fought over a small and not particularly lucrative territory for 40 years. Both were notorious for the poor punctuality of their services and the decrepitude of their rolling stock, and the struggles had driven both companies to the verge of bankruptcy. It became inevitable that they must combine or succumb.
The SE&CR was formed on 1 January 1899, when the SER and LC&DR formed a "management committee" comprising the directors of both companies. This merged the two companies' operations, although they remained legally separate, with receipts split 59% to SER and 41% LC&DR until the Grouping, to avoid the costs and risks of a formal merger.

Integration

The SE&CR began connecting the two networks and new services were introduced, reaping the benefits of joint working. A significant step was the construction of a junction in 1902-4 between the SER and LC&DR main lines where they crossed near Bickley and St Mary Cray, east of Bromley; the LC&DR's line via Maidstone to Ashford was connected to the SER station at Ashford; and the SER branch from Strood to Chatham alongside the LC&DR's main line to Chatham was closed prior to World War I. The overlapping networks on the Isle of Thanet were rationalised by the Southern Railway. Service cuts under BR saw Gravesend lose its second station.

Further development

After the formation of the SE&CR, three minor lines were built before the formation of the Southern Railway in 1923. They were:
The LC&DR's works at Longhedge, Battersea closed in 1911 and production was concentrated at Ashford. Harry Wainwright was replaced by Richard Maunsell as Locomotive Superintendent in 1913.
With the development and implementation of electrification by the L&SWR, the LB&SCR, the "Tube" companies and tram operators in the early twentieth century, the SECR planned to start electrifying its lines. The proposed method would have used four rails, with one of the two additional rails energised at +1500 V DC and the other at −1500 V DC. Current would have been collected by side-contact, with the conductor rails protected by wooden boarding on top and at the sides. Trains would have consisted of multiple-units, each including two motor coaches, each motor coach having two traction motors: one motor coach would have been supplied by the positive conductor rail, the other by the negative. This very high voltage for rail track level systems was used in Britain only on the L&YR's 1200 V DC side-contact third-rail line from Manchester Victoria to Bury. Grouping in 1923 led to the Southern Railway adopting the L&SWR's standard of 660 V DC third rail on the SECR's network.

Notable people

The SE&CR operated ships on cross-channel services.
;Ex SER ships.
ShipLaunchedTonnage Notes
1880814Scrapped 1899.
1878407Sold in 1903 to British Central Africa Co Ltd.
1895996Scrapped in 1904
1878398Scrapped in 1903.
1880818Scrapped in 1899.
1882803Scrapped in 1900
18981,009Sold in 1910 to Argentina, renamed Río Uruguay.

;Ex LC&DR ships.
ShipLaunchedTonnage Notes
1863385Scrapped in 1899.
1896979Sold in 1911 to Hattemer, Boulogne, renamed Au Revoir.
18891,212Sold in 1900 to Liverpool & Douglas Steamers.
1896979Scrapped in 1911.
18871,213Scrapped in 1906
1862495Scrapped in 1901.
1864365Scrapped in 1899.
18821,282Scrapped in 1899.
1896979Scrapped in 1911.
1862503Scrapped in 1899.
1864338Scrapped in 1899.
1861336Scrapped in 1899.
18861,042Scrapped in 1904
1863385Scrapped in 1899

;Ships built for the SE&CR.
ShipLaunchedTonnage Notes
19142,495Scrapped in 1949 at Dover.
1900561Sold in 1926 to W E Guinness, renamed Arpha. Sold in 1938 to Sark Motorships Ltd. Requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1939 as. Sold in 1946 to Shell Caribbean Petroleum Ltd, renamed Coriano. Sold in 1951 to J M Perez Hernandez. Scrapped after 1955.
19071,689Requisitioned by Royal Navy in 1914, sold to France in 1923. Scrapped at Dunkirk in 1933.
19111,676Requisitioned by Royal Navy in 1914, returned in 1920. Sold in 1933 to Philippines and renamed Corregidor. Struck a mine and sank on 17 December 1941.
19051,680Sold in 1923 to France. Scrapped in 1932.
18991,289Scrapped in 1909.
19182,384Torpedoed on 28 June 1944 and sunk.
19051,671Caught fire in 1918 at Folkestone and sank. Salvaged in 1920, sold to Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and rebuilt as Mona's Isle, the fourth IoMSPCo ship to carry that name. Scrapped in November 1948 at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.
19111,674Requisitioned by Royal Navy in 1914, returned in 1920. Sold in 1932 to Burns & Laird Lines Ltd, renamed Laird's Isle. Scrapped in October 1957 at Troon, Ayrshire.
19031,676Captured on 26 October 1916 by German destroyer S-60 and sunk.
19071,689Sold in 1928 to the IoMSPCo. Scrapped in January 1957 at Barrow in Furness.

;Other ships operated by the SE&CR
ShipLaunchedTonnage
Notes
18781,130Used as an accommodation ship at in 1900-03.