The 16.5 mile line was built by Great Eastern Railway opening  to Goods traffic on 1 June 1889 and to passengers a month later.

The main engineering contractor for the construction of the Southminster branch was Walter Scott and Co of Newcastle who employed the noted engineer Thomas Middleton to build the stretch from Althorne to Southminster

Over 500 navvies were involved in the construction which cost a total of nearly 1/2 million pounds and involved moving over 2.5 million yards of soil.

Building the railway line brought with it other problems. In 1889 the Medical Officer for Health for Burnham reported that the large number of navies now lived in the Parish which had resulted in a rise in the number of deaths to 15 partly caused by the introduction of diphtheria.

The Railway Stations and other buildings at Burnham were erected at a cost estimated as between 2 and 3 thousand pounds.

The line took about two years to build with materials shipped in to a quay at Stokes Hall, Althorne by Thames barge from brick fields in Kent.

New bridges were constructed in 1887 at Church Road, Burnham on Crouch and Ferry Road, Creeksea.

The opening day of the line was threatened by neighbouring Maldon after traders and the Council petitioned the directors of GER to delay the opening of the Southminster line until the branch extension to South Maldon was able to open and they were worried that trade from the Dengie Hundred would flow out to London via Wickford rather than pass through Maldon as had previously been the case. The petition was rejected by the GER management.

Opening Day for passenger trains

On 1 July 1899 the first passenger train with 12 carriages departed from Southminster at 8.15am and reached Wickford punctually at 9.04am without the slightest mishap. Crowds assembled at stations en route with 50 people embarking at Southminster.

In order to make the day a memorable one in the lives of local children benefactors (Southminster Mr J S Prior and at Burnham Messrs.' A B and W A Croxon)  paid for over 500 local children, aged from 5 to 12 years, to ride to Wickford and back on the first operating day. A special train was laid on for the children with two engines and 17 carriages.

The 11.25am train from Wickford included a saloon carriage in which the GER Official travelled. On their arrival at Southminster the local schoolchildren, all waving flags, formed an alleyway through which passengers on the train left the station.

After a reception at Southminster Hall a complimentary banquet was given in a marquee near to Southminster Railway Station for Officials of the Railway , the  contactors and local representatives. Guests included Major Rasch MP and Mr C H Parkes Chairman of GER.

Click here to view the names of the people attending the banquet. 

After the reception the guests departed on the 5.30 train.

Local shops at Burnham and Southminster were decorated with bunting and many closed at 1pm so that the shopkeepers could join in the festivities.

During the afternoon, all along the line, the trains were crowded with people, many of whom were taking their first trip on a train. The booking offices at Southminster and Burnham were besieged by customers as the time for departing trains approached with both platforms becoming very crowded..

Throughout the day the streets of Southminster were crowded and it was reported that a large volume of business was done by the various hostelries so that the proceedings passed of very successfully.

The Southminster public enjoyed a flower show in an adjoining field with fine displays of local flowers, plants, fruit and honey in hotly contested classes. There was plenty of amusement in swings, shows and a band. Even with an entry charge of six pence the show drew a large crowd. In the evening an athletics contest, followed by a grand fireworks display completed a fine day.

Click here for the prize winners at the Flower Show

On the first day 1,622 tickets were sold on the line of which 1,500 were purchased at Southminster or Burnham on Crouch.

World War 2 once more turned Dengie into a front line area and the Crouch Valley Line again became the central supply line.

The Army, Navy and RAF were all well represented and so service vehicles, 'liberty buses' and Service Uniforms became familiar features at Southminster and Burnham Railways Stations.

Click here for details of Dengie in WW2

In 1948 the railways were nationalised and Great Eastern gave way to British Rail- Eastern Region.

Althorne Railway Station is pictured in 1956 - Picture supplied local transport expert, Brian Pask who holds copyright on the picture

In 1957 a new prosperity came to the line with construction work for the new nuclear power station at Bradwell on Sea.

In 1964 the line survived the ' Beeching Axe' which had closed so many other small branch line including the nearby Maldon to Witham line.

The need for nuclear waste trains and the ballast trains from pits between Burnham and Southminster seem to have been the deciding factors in not only keeping the line alive but in its eventual electrification in  1986.

Burnham signal box before electrification

The negative effect of the review was the closure and removal of the goods sidings at all stations other than Southminster and the demolition of the majority of station buildings .