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Revision as of 12:11, 12 January 2025

History

Early Years 1854-1922

The station was opened as Grays Thurrock on 13 August 1854 on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railways line to Tilbury which had opened a few onths earlier.

Initially the station had two platforms with station buildings and a goods yard on the up side west of the station. Crossing the tracks was via a level-crossing at the east end of the station.

In the 1880s the town of Grays was increasing in population and the LT&SR recognised the need for improved facilities. In 1882 a footbridge was provided at the east end of the station which could be used by pedestrians when the level crossing gates were closed. This was because the town had spread to both sides of the railway. <ref/note>The population in 1871 was </ref>

The rebuilding of the station took place in 1885 and 1886 with new station building provided west of the original building which was subsequently demolished. The goods yard was extended westward and southward at this time and a replacement goods shed provided.

A new bay platform was provided at the west end of the station ahead of the service to Upminster commencing in 1892. The line from Upminster joined the main line at West Thurrock Junction which is just under a mile to the west of Grays station. Between West Thurrock Junction and Grays station there were a number of private sidings which are detailed below.

In the early 1900s the station became known as Grays.

The Midland Railway took over the LTSR on 7 August 1912 and Grays station became a Midland Railway station.

London Midland and Scottish Railway (1923-1948)

Following the Railways Act 1921 the station became the responsibility of the London Midland and Scottish (LMS) Railway.

The Nationalisation era (1948-1994)

Following nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948, the station transferred under British Railways to the London Midland Region. On 20 February 1949, the whole LTS line was transferred to the Eastern Region, yet despite the organisational changes, the old LTSR still was a distinctive system operated by former LTS and LMS locomotives until electrification.

In 1964 the Grays to Upminster branch was electrified.

in 1968 the former Seabrook Brewery siding was adapted as the new route to the Port of Tilbury who had opened a new Freightliner Terminal.

The privatisation era (1994-present day)

On privatisation in 1996, infrastructure ownership passed to Railtrack and Prism Rail took over operations of the franchise, marketing the route as LTS Rail. Prism Rail were bought out by National Express in 2000 and in 2002 the line was rebranded as c2c.

Ownership of the infrastructure passed to Network Rail in 2002.

National Express sold the operation of the franchise to Trenitalia in 2017.

The station and all trains serving it are currently operated by c2c and are operated by Class 357 and Class 720/6 EMUs.

A detailed history of the franchises can be found on the c2c page.

In 2005 the station environment was refurbished, in particular the subway linking the platforms, and the surrounding highway infrastructure. In January 2006 the footbridge linking Grays High Street at either side of the railway was declared unsafe and closed due to structural problems with the supports and bracing, which had to be temporarily supported with scaffolding underneath the stair flights. A hoarding was subsequently erected on this scaffolding. The footbridge reopened in May 2006. Works to replace the stair flights have been completed. Although located at the end of the platforms, there is no station access at this point.

During 2008 and 2009 the four-carriage bay platform was extended to hold eight-coach trains. From 2011 to 2012 the through platforms were extended to receive 12-coach trains.

Operations

Signal Boxes

West to East the signal boxes after the branch to Upminster opened were:

• West Thurrock Junction
• Grays West
• Grays East

in 1996 control transferred to the Upminster signalling centre which controls the former LT&S system.

Private Sidings

These are listed west to east starting at West Thurrock Junction and ending at the present junction at Seabrooks siding.

Wouldham Works was a large cement works located between the main line and the River Thames.It opened in

Chalk was supplied to the site via rail from a quarry north of the railway line and this line passed under the main line, and later Upminster branch, immediately west of West Thurrock Junction. The works had a number of sidings for inward and outward traffic which was primarily coal (inwards) and cement products (outwards). The latter also left on barges from the wharf on the river.

There was an internal rail system worked by a number of steam engines which moved materials around the works.

The works closed in 1975 and the mainline connections removed afterwards.

Patatank Sidings were a relatively late addition and sited on the down side on the third line between West Thurrock Junction and Grays station.

Seabrooks Brewery also had a siding which was located east of the station on what was then the edge of town. The brewery was established in 1799 and closed in 1929 when Charringtons bought out Seabrooks. After that th brewery became a laundry and dairy. By the 1960s the site was being used by the Coop as a rail served coal depot

1. Kay, Peter (2010). London Tilbury and Southend - a history of the company and line Volume 4. Wivenhoe: Peter Kay. p. 325. ISBN 978 1 899890 47 7.
2. Kay 2010, p. 325
3. Connor, J E; Phillips, Charles (August 1998). Fenchurch Street to Barking. Midhurst, UK: Middleton Press. p. 8. ISBN 1-901706-20-6.
4. "London, Tilbury and Southend Railway" (PDF). Local Studies Information Sheets. Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council. 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
5. "New Timetable Changes Postponement". c2c. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
6. "Seabrooke & Sons Ltd". Brewerypedia. Brewery History Society. Retrieved 11 January 2025.