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Railway on island in Hoo Salt Marsh

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Shimbleshanks

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Just got the Thames Estuary OS map (sheet 178) out of the local library. There's an island in the River Medway, in a stretch called Gillingham Reach (opposite Gillingham) marked Hoo Salt Marsh that appears to have a railway around its edge, for about three quarters of its circumference. (See attached PDF scan.)

Does anyone have any idea what it is? My first thought is that it is some sort of military target railway -there were some naval bases in the area.

Perhaps I should get my £35 one-man dinghy out of the attic and go and have a look...
 

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Ploughman

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Looking at where it is I would say definately military.
But is it Navy or Royal Engineers?
The RE's had bases at Chatham, Chattenden, Hoo, Upper Upnor and Gillingham.
Maybe some info available from the RE Museum at Brompton Barracks.
 
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swt_passenger

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snowball

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What's the revision date on your map? The railway is not shown on either the 1:50000 or 1:25000 OS mapping on streetmap.co.uk, suggesting the tracks have now been lifted.

They're also not visible on Google satellite view.
 
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Shimbleshanks

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snowball said:
What's the revision date on your map? The railway is not shown on either the 1:50000 or 1:25000 OS mapping on streetmap.co.uk, suggesting the tracks have now been lifted.

They're also not visible on Google satellite view.
Click to expand...
Revised 1995; Revised for selected change 1999. Could simply be overgrown and not visible any more. Would it have been worth anyone's while to dismantle it, given that it was on an island?

Well, the island is only separated by about 200 metres from the nearest point on the mainland...Wonder if the old dinghy is still airtight?
CL
 
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snowball

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Shimbleshanks said:
Revised 1995; Revised for selected change 1999. Could simply be overgrown and not visible any more. Would it have been worth anyone's while to dismantle it, given that it was on an island?
CL
Click to expand...
Much more likely it's been lifted in the last 20 years, given it's missing from the equivalent current map!
 
themiller

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snowball said:
What's the revision date on your map? The railway is not shown on either the 1:50000 or 1:25000 OS mapping on streetmap.co.uk, suggesting the tracks have now been lifted.

They're also not visible on Google satellite view.
Click to expand...

Looking at Google Earth, you can see what looks like track on the jetty.
 
PeterY

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Shimbleshanks said:
Revised 1995; Revised for selected change 1999. Could simply be overgrown and not visible any more. Would it have been worth anyone's while to dismantle it, given that it was on an island?

Well, the island is only separated by about 200 metres from the nearest point on the mainland...Wonder if the old dinghy is still airtight?
CL
Click to expand...

Yes, get the dinghy out. Don't forget your life jacket. :)Might be well worth a look. I do hope it's airtight :D:D
 
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philthetube

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according to the map legend it is a "Narrow gauge, tramway or light rail system"
 
DerekC

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A quick look at the historical imagery on Google Earth shows a train on the diagonal track across the island (1940) - it looks like a loco and half a dozen skip wagons. The course of the track is fairly easy to pick out as well. There are a few skip wagons visible on the 1960 image, too.

In passing - noted that it's an RSPB reserve. What's actually happening there? There seems to be some fairly comprehensive remodelling going on, with vehicle tracks all over the place - compare the 2013 and 2015 images.
 
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Shimbleshanks

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fergusjbend said:
Hoo is an RSPB reserve and home to rare breeding birds at this time of the year. Landing is not permitted. Please stay away!
Click to expand...

Could you quote chapter and verse for that? There's no reference to a 'Hoo' reserve on the RSPB website and there are no reserves on islands anywhere in the area as far as I can tell.
 
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Shimbleshanks

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DerekC said:
A quick look at the historical imagery on Google Earth shows a train on the diagonal track across the island (1940) - it looks like a loco and half a dozen skip wagons. The course of the track is fairly easy to pick out as well. There are a few skip wagons visible on the 1960 image, too.

In passing - noted that it's an RSPB reserve. What's actually happening there? There seems to be some fairly comprehensive remodelling going on, with vehicle tracks all over the place - compare the 2013 and 2015 images.
Click to expand...

Well, yes, if it is a bird reserve judging by what's visible on Google Earth it's been pretty comprehensively trashed...
 
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fergusjbend

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Shimbleshanks said:
Could you quote chapter and verse for that? There's no reference to a 'Hoo' reserve on the RSPB website and there are no reserves on islands anywhere in the area as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...

Hi Shimbleshanks,

I must apologise for a misleading post - it is Nor Marsh that is the RSPB reserve, not Hoo. Hoo has been used to dump dredgings from the shipping lanes, as a result of which its level above high tide has risen considerably. It still seems to be used for various maritime/industrial activities, and it is private and landing is not permitted. You can view it from Gillingham Pier.

Fergus
 
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snowball

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I would have thought that disturbing the ground is not harmful for birds provided it doesn't happen during the nesting season.
 
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