Captain Howey Hotel
Littlestone Road
This 19th century inn is now named after the founder of the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, Captain J.E.P. Howey.
It was formerly the Station Hotel. Nearby was the old South Eastern Railway station, at the end of a branch from Appledore on the Ashford to Hastings line. The railway reached Lydd in 1881 and Dungeness in 1883. The extension from Lydd to New Romney opened in 1884. The branch carried both freight and passengers, including visitors to the resort at Littlestone.
The line was later taken over by the Southern Railway, who in 1937 re-aligned the route nearer the coast to serve the developing resorts of Lydd-on-Sea and Greatstone-on-Sea.
Traffic dwindled after World War II, and the section between Dungeness and New Romney finally closed in 1967. The remaining section still transports waste from the nuclear power station. A trading estate has been built on the site of the old station.
Links
RH&DR Locomotive No.14 Captain Howey
Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway
Other web sites devoted to the RH&DR
South Eastern Railway Trackbed page
Southern Railway Trackbed page
Southern Railway Mike's Railway History page
Captain Howey Hotel
