Authorisation

In 1843 the Eastern Counties Railway opened its main line between London (Shoreditch) and Colchester; there was a station at Kelvedon. The existence of a railway immediately improved the prosperity of the area served, by enabling the cheap import of necessary commodities, such as coal and lime (for improving agricultural ground) and the cheap carriage of local produce to market.

The area between the new main line and the estuary of the River Blackwater consisted of exceptionally fertile farmland, but it suffered heavily, due to the poor road network locally, hampering cartage even over the relatively short distance to Kelvedon. In 1848 a branch line was opened to Maldon, located higher up the Blackwater; the line was sponsored by the Eastern Counties Railway, and worked by it.

In the succeeding decade, the Tiptree area expanded its agricultural activity into the production of soft fruit, and into jam making, as well as vegetable farming. At Tollesbury itself, there was a substantial fishing industry, but all of these businesses suffered due to the poor transport facilities.

In 1862 the Great Eastern Railway was formed, taking over the Eastern Counties Railway and others; local agricultural businesses tried to interest the GER in improving local transport links, but for the time being the GER was not interested. Meetings in 1889 and subsequent years proved fruitless.

In 1896 the Light Railways Act was passed; this was intended to facilitate the promotion and construction of locally sponsored branch lines by mitigating some of the expenses usually associated with that work. Moreover, if it was certified that such a line would benefit agriculture, the Government might make a grant of money towards its construction.^[1]

A C Wilkin was the driving force in the scheme; he was the proprietor of Wilkin & Sons jam factory at Tiptree; the factory had opened in 1885.^[2]

After a meeting with the Great Eastern Railway, which now seemed favourable toward the scheme, the promoters applied for a Light Railway Order in 1897; the line would run from Kelvedon GER station to just beyond Tollesbury, on the River Blackwater; it would be a little under ten miles long and cost £45,500 to construct. Fifteen gated level crossings would be needed, and the standard gauge would be used.

At the end of 1897 the Treasury agreed to a grant of £16,000, on condition that the necessary land was given free by local landowners, and the GER supervised the construction of the line, and work it once completed. The Light Railway Order was not yet granted, and in fact the hearing only took place on 25 October 1898. At the hearing some changes inserted by the GER were published; most or all of the level crossing would be ungated; and the station platforms would not be built to main line standards, but would be lower, with steps provided for access to the coaches. The hearing recommended the granting of the Light Railway Order.

The next step was a Board of Trade hearing on 16 March 1899, which was successful. Nevertheless, such was the pace of change that the Kelvedon, Tiptree and Tollesbury Light Railway Order (1901) was actually issued on 27 February 1901^{[note 1][3]} The general speed limit on the line would be 25 mph.^[4]

Construction

The promoters made a start with land acquisition, and the GER considered what was required of it. A major area of concern for them was the cost of accommodating the Light Railway trains at Kelvedon; the place was not considered likely to generate traffic income itself, and the cost of the works might well not be repaid in receipts. However, in January 1902 the GER agreed to do the necessary work, which included providing a small independent station platform at Kelvedon. There was a connection to the main line. Gradients on the line were significant, with a ruling gradient of 1 in 50. Several level crossings were gated, but the gates were to be operated by trainmen.

The Board of Trade inspector, Lt Col von Donop, carried out an inspection of the line on 22 September 1904. Although a number of attention-to-detail points were discovered, von Donop gave the necessary approval.^[5]

Opening

Public trains started running on 1 October 1904, seven years after the application. The line used a separate passenger platform at Kelvedon, referred to as "Kelvedon Low Level Station|". It was 100 feet long, six feet wide and 15 inches above rail level. It was located to the east of the River Blackwater, while the GER station was on the west; there was a pedestrian footbridge for passenger interchange.^[6] However the dominant traffic on the line was expected to be goods traffic, agricultural traffic out, and coal and manure in. The line was operated on the "one engine in steam" system.^[7][2]

Early train service

At first there were four passenger trains in each direction daily, and two goods trains. Capacity at the siding locations was limited and timely clearance was important to avoid delay to incoming wagons, loaded or empty.^[8]

Rolling stock and stations

The first passenger rolling stock was third class only. There were eight coaches in all, converted from ordinary slock, but only four were usually used on the train.^[9] These vehicles were six-wheeled third brake coaches, adapted by the removal of the compartment partitions, the substitution of tramway-type low-backed seats, with a central gangway, the fitting of steps for access from rail level, and the provision of end doors and drop-plates, to enable the guard-conductor to pass from car to car. The rolling stock used the Westinghouse brake system.

When the branch was first opened, a small GER 0-4-2 tank locomotive no. 25, dating back to the Adams regime at Stratford, was used, until it was scrapped in 1905.

The accommodation at stations for passengers was eccentric: at Feering (not opened until 1934) it was an old bus body of the type known as “Old Bill”. At Inworth, Tolleshunt Knights and Tolleshunt d’Arcy, the accommodation was the body of old four-wheeled coaches, in the case of Tolleshunt d’Arcy "a particularly fine early GER specimen". At Tollesbury there was a wooden building, and at Tollesbury Pier there was a brick building.^[10]

Financial performance

The GER focussed on earnings on the line, and the narrow calculation of income on the line compared with expenditure was adverse, at about a 30% loss. The accounts referred to "contributive" earnings, that is income on the GER network destined for, or originating on, the Light Railway. This figure alone was typically 50% higher than expenses, so the total picture was satisfactory.

The heavy cartage traffic had soon led to the unpaved roadways at the goods yards becoming rutted and unusable; £915 was quoted as necessary for rectification. In 1906 the Board were told that the net cost of the branch to the GER had risen to £42,142 compared to the £32,875 estimate; this figure was kept lower than otherwise by downgrading the specification for Kelvedon station.^[11]

An extension to a pier on the River Blackwater at Tollesbury was now pressed forward: it was authorised in the Great Eastern Railway Act of 29 May 1906, and it was relatively soon completed, having cost £4,652. Lt Col von Donop carried out the inspection on 13 May 1907 and the extension opened on 15 May 1907.^[3] At low tide the water was a considerable distance out, and the pier was 1,770 feet in length, but it did not have railway track on it. Intending to encourage leisure and residential use of the line, the GER advertised that the area was suitable for the erection of yachting facilities and bungalows.^[12][2]

The basic service provision changed little over the years, although selected trains ran to and from Tollesbury Pier when the extension opened.^[13]