On its way from London to the premier Channel port of Dover, the South Eastern Railway reached the village of Folkestone in June 1843. It had always been the intention to operate cross-Channel steamer services from Dover but instead of an expected welcome, negotiations with the Harbour Commissioners (chaired by the Duke of Wellington) proved to be extremely difficult. To them, the arrival of the railway in the town was simply seen as an advantage from which to financially prosper.
By good fortune, the silted, derelict and bankrupt fishing harbour at Folkestone was then for sale and, sensing an opportunity to be completely independent of its unyielding neighbour, it was purchased by the railway company’s chairman for £18,000. This momentous decision was to change the course of cross-Channel communications for the next 158 years. Work soon began on dredging and improving the site and a service to Boulogne, initially using unsuitable chartered tonnage, was immediately commenced.
In 1899, a working union was formed between the South Eastern and its arch rival, the London Chatham & Dover Railway, following which their separate fleets were merged. The dawn of the twentieth century witnessed the building of a completely new class of cross-Channel ship driven by revolutionary steam turbines.
Their arrival effectively saw the end of the final paddle steamers on the Folkestone – Boulogne route. Softback book with 136 pages.