Here.,s another of my articles forour Village Magazine.
Oak Lane Railway Bridge.
Readers may or may not know that the original Railway Bridge over Oak Lane was destroyed in the tragedy of August 16th 1944, when it was struck by a V1 Doodlebug. The bridge was destroyed and an approaching train derailed causing much loss of lives. As the railway line was a vital artery from London to Dover the Army Engineers were called in and a temporary Bailey type Bridge was hurriedly constructed to keep the line open. In order to ensure safety of the Trains, which were speed restricted when passing over, the whole bridge was strengthened by shoring from below with timbers. This meant there was no roadway beneath and Upchurch’s main route in and out was blocked. The temporary bridge remained in use and the road blocked for over 18 Months . During this time the huge concrete support abutments were constructed each side of the road, now much wider at 30 feet than the old 20 foot roadway. A massive operation to install the new bridge span was organized to be completed on a weekend when the line was closed from Saturday evening . Police were on site to control the public watchers and traffic movements each side. As happens today alternative bus’s were laid on for rail passengers, from Gillingham and Rainham to Newington. During the previous 3 months, the steel sections of the bridge which weighed 180 Tons in total had been brought in and placed adjacent to the site. They were then riveted together ready to be installed. On the weekend the complete steel bridge span was placed on rolling trestle bogies and rolled into position on the abutments. This required the aid of 2 36 ton cranes and multiple 50 ton Hydraulic jacks.By Sunday afternoon the job was completed and trains were running as normal. The village, however was still cut off as there was much work involved in lowering and remaking the road beneath, now the new bridge was complete. Eventually about 20 months after the disaster there was much excitement and celebration by the villagers when the road was reopened and traffic could return to normal.
The Parish Council assures me that for the last couple of years it has been in hand to place a Commemorative Plaque on a bridge abutment so the Disaster will never be Forgotten
Roger W Harris.
