3rd May 1830: World's first steam-powered passenger railway begins between Canterbury and Whitstable

It’s important to add some clarification to the Crab and Winkle line’s claim to fame. Firstly, it wasn’t the world’s first passenger railway as the Stockton and Darlington railway in the north of England holds that accolade. However the Stockton and Darlington only used steam locomotives for goods transportation. Horses were used to pull passenger carriages along the tracks.

What made the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway unique was the use of the steam locomotive Invicta. Built by George and Robert Stevenson in Newcastle, and transported to Whitstable by sea, Invicta was the first steam locomotive to haul passengers on a public railway line.

Even Invicta wasn’t used for the entire journey. The steam locomotive only transported passengers over a short, flat, section of the line. Due to steep inclines and the very low power of Invicta that was rated at just 9hp, stationary steam engines hauled carriages attached to long cables for the majority of the six mile journey.

The railway line was also significant for the 757 metre long Tyler Hill Tunnel. This was studied by Isambard Kingdom Brunel while he designed his landmark tunnel through Box Hill for the Great Western Railway.

Due to Whitstable being a seaside town, the line became affectionately known as the Crab and Winkle line, and continued to operate a passenger service for just over a hundred years before becoming goods-only. It closed in 1952 and now serves as a footpath and cycleway between Canterbury and Whitstable.