The Dockyard Railway - at The Historic Dockyard Chatham
The Dockyard Railway is just a small part of The Historic Dockyard Chatham, located between Chatham and Gillingham in the Medway area of North Kent.
Set in a stunning 80-acre estate The Historic Dockyard Chatham will excite and entertain you - whatever your age!
Be amazed by the working Ropery, gripped by stories of life aboard our three Historic Warships and absorbed by the sights, sounds and smells of the dockyard of 1758, recreated in Wooden Walls. Journey through 400 years of British maritime endeavour in the inspiring Museum of the Royal Dockyard and relive heroic rescues in Lifeboat!!
Discover the dockyard's wonderful Georgian and Victorian historic buildings and structures of the World's most complete Dockyard of the Age of Sail and check out our programme of fun and exciting Events and Learning opportunities.
Refreshment facilities include the Licensed Wheelwrights' Restaurant, Jolly Jacks soft play tea shop, and open and undercover picnic areas. Ample car parking available.
How to find The Historic Dockyard Chatham
Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Chatham Dockyard Railway System - A Brief History
The Dockyard dates back to 1514, when Henry VIII set up some store-houses at Jillingham Water (as the area was then known). This went on to become the largest naval base in the world.
The development of a railway system within the dockyard area appears to have started during the 1860s. This was in the form of a narrow-gauge railway linking several buildings.
During 1873 permission was sought by the LC&DR (London, Chatham and Dover Railway) for the building of a standard-gauge branch line into the dockyard, costing the railway £57,000 to run through from Chatham. This attemp failed, but Royal Assent was given on May 15th 1873 to run a two-mile line from New Brompton (now Gillingham) station, into the Dockyard, and a spur connecting into different parts of the dockyard was built by the military. The line was opened on the 16th February 1877.
The dockyard bought its own locomotives for both the narrow-gage (18" gauge) and standard-gauge lines, many of the narrow-guage locomotives being purchased from Woolwich Arsenal. The narrow-gauge line, which ran on cast-iron sections, ceased operating in the 1930s.
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| Wagon Restoration | Standard Gauge History | Narrow Gauge History |