Starters for Study 1June

An Information sheet to support the use of the British Pathe Film “SHORTEST RAILWAY” The Search Term used to find this clip on http://www.britishpathe.com/ is “Wingham” British Pathe Films are free for use in Schools connected to the Kent Community Network Starters for Study 1 - “The Shortest Railway”

his film was shot on The East Kent Railway (EKR) in 1938. The EKR opened in 1912 to link the collieries to the main line at Shepherdswell and to the sea at Port Richborough. TCoal was the main traffic and passengers were not given much luxury. Teachers can use the still photographs with the class to study the make up of the train. According to the sound track there were only two each day! The area had very bad roads and so many of the essential supplies would have come in by train. Passenger services only began in October 1916, the first service being from Shepherdswell to Wingham Colliery. By 1925 © British Pathe there were passenger services to Canterbury Road (Outside Wingham) and to Sandwich Road (On the Richborough branch). A map of the whole East Kent Railway can be viewed at: http://www.staple-online.co.uk/page6.html

The station featured in the film is Wingham and the platform is certainly short. Compare it to the platform at Staple on the same line shown at http://www.staple-online.co.uk/page23.html Pupils might also be interested in the ticket from Staple to Wingham on the same site. Level Crossings were a relatively common feature and the one shown in the film should provoke some discussion about safety!

Links to the Collieries of East Kent and Mining are shown on another sheet in this series called “Digging for Coal”. Wingham Station as seen in the film

The Engine in the Photo: © film photographed in 1933

Exploring the history of the railway using this sheet and the resources suggested supports History National Curriculum Levels 1 to 6 in Use of Sources (1 to 6) and Interpretation.(3 to 6). It also has an impact on Literacy and helps meet the Statutory Requirements for the use of ICT in History at Key Stages 2 in Historical Enquiry and at Key Stage 3 in Historical Enquiry, Organisation and Communication.

1 An Information sheet to support the use of the British Pathe Film “SHORTEST RAILWAY” The Search Term used to find this clip on http://www.britishpathe.com/ is “Wingham” British Pathe Films are free for use in Schools connected to the Kent Community Network Starters for Study 1 - Additional Sources http://www.eastkent.freeuk.com/mining/east_kent_railway.htm

This site has details of what the route of this railway looks like today, with photos of the few remaining features still visible. Pupils using this site could plot the route of the railway on modern maps (liaise with the Geography Department, this goes towards meeting Attainment Targets for Geography in # knowledge and understanding of places # knowledge and understanding of patterns and processes). http://www.eastkentrailway.com/index.htm

The EKR website home page has a lot of white space - be sure to scroll down the page to find out the timetable details. Shepherdswell station is open every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day from 11am to 3pm for static viewing. The site also has a page devoted to a concise history of the line. See Sheet 3 - Visits http://www.colonelstephenssociety.org.uk/webpages/History.htm

This site gives a history of the railways developed by Colonel Stephens, one of which is the East Kent Railway. The site is maintained by The Colonel Stephens Society who publish a journal called “The Colonel” and one of the links on the site gives an index to it. http://fp.oakwoodpress.f9.co.uk/books_cr-fe.htm

The Oakwood Press (Usk) have produced two books on the East Kent P Railway THE EAST KENT RAILWAY - Vol. 1: The History of the Independent Railway by M. Lawson Finch & S. R. Garrett ISBN 0 85361 608 6

THE EAST KENT RAILWAY - Vol. 2: Nationalisation, the Route, Rolling Stock and Operation by M. Lawson Finch & S. R. Garrett ISBN 0 85361 609 4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/history/2003/11/potts_line_03.shtml BBC Shropshire have produced this interesting site which gives a view of what Colonel Stephens might have been like as a man and the way in which he developed yet another of his lines in a contrasting area of the United Kingdom.

2 An Information sheet to support the use of the British Pathe Film SHORTEST RAILWAY The Search Term used to find this clip on http://www.britishpathe.com/ is “Wingham” British Pathe Films are free for use in Schools connected to the Kent Community Network

Starters for Study 1 - Visits http://www.eastkentrailway.com/index.htm The EKR website home page has a lot of white space - be sure to scroll down the page to find out the timetable details. Shepherdswell station is open every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day from 11am to 3pm for static viewing so visits are possible, though no Education officer is named. The site also has a page devoted to a concise history of the line. http://www.kesr.org.uk/groups/educational.htm Contact also via 087 060 060 74 or at [email protected] One of their education packages is A Victorian Experience Day that links with the teaching suggestions outlined in the QCA scheme of work for History: Unit 12: How did life change in our locality in Victorian times? 3. How did the arrival/expansion of the railways affect our area? The railway and museum facilities at Tenterden are ideal venues to help pupils address and explore how and why those changes occurred. A Victorian Experience day includes a 1¾ hour return steam train journey down the line to Bodiam and back, in a genuine 19th Century railway carriage and a museum visit. An optional guided tour of the station is also available. This has been so successful that they are hoping to extend this activity and have a Victorian Week with special activities for schools. Contact the railway by telephone for more details. Worksheets on aspects of the railway’s history are also available for use on visits. http://www.hfstephens-museum.org.uk/ Based next to the Kent and East Sussex Railway (KESR) Car park in Station Road, Tenterden, the Museum opens each year from March to October on KESR operating days. The Colonel Stephens Museum records the career of Holman Fred Stephens, Light Railway promoter, engineer and manager, his family, his railways and his successors.

Rolvenden in 1932

Exploring the history of the railway supports History National Curriculum Levels 1 to 6 in Use of Sources (1 to 6) and Interpretation.(3 to 6). It also has an impact on Literacy and helps meet the Statutory Requirements for the use of ICT in History at Key Stages 2 in Historical Enquiry and at Key Stage 3 in Historical Enquiry, Organisation and Communication.