The East Kent Railway was one of Britain's lesser known light railways, built as part of the Colonel Stephens group of lines. It was originally intended to provide access to part of the Kent coalfield, but the expansion of coal mining did not happen to the extent that was hoped due to the poor quality of the coal in the area. Many of the short branches off the main route closed once the mines were abandoned.
The main line survived into nationalisation due to the successful mine at Tilmanstone, but closed in the mid-1980s with part now reopened as a heritage railway.
An introduction to the line and a brief history are included, as well as a look at the preservation of part of the line. The main section of the book contains archive black & white photographs dating from between the early 20th century and the present day. Photographs illustrate many of the locomotives to have operated on the railway over the years as well as parts of the infrastructure. Photographs are arranged in one-per-page format with an informative caption at the foot of each page. Hardback. 202 pages.