Upway

Upway
Location: Upway, Kent Operator: Dark Railway Constructed: 1893 Station Code: UP Platforms: 2 Status: Open

Upway railway station is an intemediate station on the Dark Railway. It serves Upway Village, and is at the base of Upway Bank .

History

The station was constructed in 1893 to serve the small village of Upway, which lies in a small valley surrounded in forest, and hence, before the railway arrived, did not have much in the way of transport infrastructure.

Upway Village attracts a fair amount of visitors using the railway, due to it's quaintness and location. There is alot to see and do in the village and surrounding areas also, such as walking through the forest, cliff climbing or shopping in the village's historic shops.

Railway "bashers" often enjoy making trips to Upway, due to the incline, with some travelling up and down the hill between this station and Manston Fore just to hear the engines working hard on the way up.

The station is normally well looked after by it's staff, though it was left to deteriorate during both world wars, being brought back to it's former glory after each conflict. The location of the station, in a picturesque valley, often attract photographers.

Upway is the halfway point between two long inclines, and gives trains a chance to "catch their breath" before they ascend Upway Bank, having previously tackled the hill from Walschurch.

In 1968, with the doubling project underway, the chance was taken to built some sidings to the south of the station for goods traffic. The down siding is fitted with trap points to prevent  wagons fouling the running lines, due to experiences learned at Galen Junction at the begining of that year, when a diesel shunter rolled off the line there and narrowly avoided colliding with another train.

Layout and Facilities

Upway has two platforms, one each for up and down trains. The down platform has a brick built waiting room, whilst the up platform additionally has a booking office. A footbridge allows passengers to cross over the line, whilst a foot crossing is located to the north of the station, in addition to the level crossing. Since 1968, there have been two sidings at this station, one on the up line (built on a small embankment to keep it level) and one on the down line (fitted with trap points as previously mentioned).

Near to the station is an excellent public house, "The Frying Dutchman", which is often fequented by railway travellers and villagers. Upway is also the only place on the original route with a level crossing, installed when roads were built in the area in the early 1950's.

Accident and Incidents

• In November 1969, locomotive No. 5930 "Hannington Hall" struck the platform edge while coming into the station from Merecombe. The platform face and the locomotive's cylinder were both damaged in the incident, and the station was closed for a short period of time whilst repairs and reprofiling of the platform were carried out.
• In early 1978, visiting locomotive No. 6803 "Bucklebury Grange" derailed just after passing through the station due to a combination of entering the station too quickly, the haste in slowing the train down and faults with the locomotive's bogie design. No injuries occurred, but the down line remained out of use for the remainder of the day until the train could be recovered.

Appearances

The Dark Railway Series

Episodes:

• Series 1 - Pilots, The Party (mentioned), and The Shunter's Gamble
• Series 3 - Like a Sir (mentioned) and Tender Moments of Tender Engines
• Series 4 - Tender Tantrum (mentioned), The Big Bad Wolf (mentioned), Turbo, Allan Does Galen, and Trucks
• Series 5 - Signal Lost and Claim to Fame (mentioned)
• Series 6 - Ed, Ed and Eddie and The Purple Man

Specials:

• Pilots (remake)

Trivia

• Upway is actually positioned between two inclines: It is at the summit of Walschurch Bank, and at the base of Upway Bank.
• This is the station where Mr Dark met his wife, Alicia .
• Upway Station was winner of the railway's "Best Kept Station" award for twelve consecutive years, between 1954 and 1966.