Station Name: TILBURY RIVERSIDE

[Source: Nick Catford]


Date opened: 13.4.1854
Location: South of the junction of Fort Road and Ferry Road (A126)
Company on opening: London Tilbury and Southend Railway
Date closed to passengers: 30.11.1992
Date closed completely: 30.11.1992
Company on closing: British Rail (Network South East)
Present state: The station building is extant and now houses the Tilbury Riverside Arts Activity Centre. The platforms and adjacent carriage sidings have all been removed. The A1089 has been realigned in front of the station building running through the site of the platform, the northern end of the platforms are occupied by a container terminal which is still tail served and warehousing. The triangular junction is still in use serving the container terminal. The walkway bridge from the concourse to the pier is securely fenced and appears unused.
County: Essex
OS Grid Ref: TQ644752
Date of visit: September 1994 and January 2007

Notes: The London Tilbury & Southend Railway was promoted by the Eastern Counties Railway and the London & Blackwall Railway by an Act of 1852. In order to reach the North Kent resort of Gravesend a short spur was built to a terminus at Tilbury with an adjacent pier to take advantage of the increasing steamboat traffic on the river Thames. The station opened as Tilbury Fort in April 1854 south of a triangular junction on the Southend line between Tilbury Town and East Tilbury.

The LT&SR were able to offer passengers the attractive prospect of cheap through fares to Gravesend from Fenchurch Street with a boat service to Tilbury from Gravesend Town Pier in competition with the South Eastern Railway who had opened their station at Gravesend five years earlier. Shortly after opening the 'Fort' suffix was dropped.

In 1881 the LT&SR put forward a proposal for a direct rail connection from Tilbury to the the London, Chatham & Dover Railway by means of a tunnel under the Thames. The LT&SR was, however, short of money and its main concentration at the time was competing with the Great Eastern Railway for Southend traffic so the tunnel was never built. The ferry crossing was perpetuated by the Midland Railway when it absorbed the LT&SR in 1912, and then by the London Midland & Scottish Railway from 1923 onwards. On 6th July 1936 the station was renamed Tilbury Riverside.

On their journey to Southend and Shoeburyness, most trains from Tilbury Town would reverse at this station and then continue to East Tilbury.

In 1930 the Port of London Authority and the London Midland and Scottish Railway constructed a floating landing stage that was opened by Ramsay McDonald.

This enabled liners to berth at all states of the tide with boat trains bringing passengers to Riverside Station.

After WW2 increased car ownership led to a decline in its importance as a passenger ferry terminal and with the opening of the Dartford Tunnel in 1963 the passenger service was drastically reduced. Freight traffic being withdrawn from 6th May 1968 with only private siding remaining in use. The station finally lost its passenger service on November 29th 1992.

With the closure of the station the ferry continue to run and the pier can now be reached by a shuttle bus service from Tilbury Town station.

Since 1984 the Gravesend - Tilbury Ferry has been operated by a private company. The service is currently provided by the Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Company.



Tilbury (Riverside) Station in c.1910
Copyright photo from John Alsop collection



Tilbury Riverside station c. late 1950s. It was always thought that 'totem' signs were never fitted at Tilbury Riverside but this picture clearly shows that they were.
Photo from Dave Brennand collection

Tilbury Riverside Station in 1982
Copyright David and Alan Hook from Disused Railways web site

Tilbury Riverside Station in September 1994 taken from the same viewpoint as the picture above
P
hoto by Nick Catford

Tilbury Riverside station building in January 2007
P
hoto by Nick Catford

Click here for more pictures of Tilbury Riverside Station


 

 

 

[Source: Nick Catford]


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