Tunnel Railway 2.87

The Tunnel Railway was a narrow gauge underground railway in Ramsgate, Kent, England. Following the restructuring of railway lines in Ramsgate in 1926, the section of line between Broadstairs and Ramsgate Harbour including the tunnel was abandoned. This narrow gauge railway was opened in 1936 to connect tourist attractions and shops near Ramsgate harbour with the new railway main line at Dumpton Park.Except for its two stations—one at each end of the tunnel—the line ran entirely underground. The line was built in less than three months, and on its completion in 1936 was one of the shortest independent railway lines in the country. It was open for only three years before being converted to a major air-raid shelter during World War II. After the war's end, it was not included in the 1948 nationalisation of British railways but remained in private hands.Passenger numbers fell during the 1960s, and the line became economically unviable. Following a train crash in 1965, the owners closed the line at the end of September that year. The tunnel still exists, but no trace remains of the stations.BackgroundThe coastal resort and port town of Ramsgate was historically served by a complex network of unconnected railway lines, the legacy of competition between two rival companies to provide links to London and to neighbouring Margate. The town's first railway station, Ramsgate Town, was opened by the South Eastern Railway on 13 April 1846, on what was then the outskirts of the town, about a mile from the seafront. Lines from the station ran north, before splitting west to Canterbury and on to London, and north to Margate.