Britannia Points Halt railway station

Britannia Points Halt
Two trains pass at Britannia points
Location
Place	Dungeness
Area	Shepway
Operations
Pre-grouping	RHDR
Platforms	0
History
1928	Opened
about 1930	Station closed to passengers
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Britannia Points Halt railway station was a conditional stop on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in Kent, England.

Overview

As a 'conditional stop' it has historically been referred to as a 'station' merely for convenience, as conditional stops are not really stations at all in any formal sense, but are simply trackside locations where trains will stop in response to a hand signal given to the driver.

Although it was originally considered necessary to allow a conditional stop at this location, working experience showed that very little use was made of the facility. The conditional stop was withdrawn from the railway's timetables about 1930.

Britannia Points are the points controlling the balloon loop at Dungeness. From 1928 until the end of World War II they marked the point of divergence of the two running lines. From 1946 to the present day they have taken the form of spring-loaded points allowing the single track to return onto itself through the loop.

The name "Britannia" was derived from a nearby public house. Although the original pub has been demolished, a replacement (bearing the same name) was constructed near to Dungeness station, and is still trading.

Britannia Points now form a token section on Intensive Service Days, which enables three trains to be in the New Romney to Dungeness Section at any one time.

Photogallery

• 

  A train in the loop out of Dungeness waits at the points

• 

  A train approaching the junction from New Romney

Coordinates: 50°55′07″N 0°58′25″E / 50.91873°N 0.97371°E