Folkestone Harbour Station (Pic Heavy)

[godzilla73]

Thought I'd better do this one, as the word on the strada locally is that the bulldozers are moving in some time in the next few weeks. The De Haan demolition machine rumbles on, seemingly with the intent of turning the entire harbour district into a giant car park. That's progress for you....
Anyway, plenty to see here, including a few good bits of signage, including some in old Network Southeast livery (I can't believe I actually miss it!), the parcel scales, switchgear, telephones etc, and some stories put up to mark Rememberance Day - Folkestone was the point of departure for most of the troops leaving to fight in the trenches in WWI. What is really interesting about this site to me is that you can see the successive phases that the harbour has been through, in an increasingly desperate attempt to keep it alive. The iron work on the original pier station, the 30's footbridge, the Venice Simplon Orient Express signage and the last phase of its life as home to Hoverspeed's Seacat service.

Anyway, on with the pics:

Thanks for looking
GDZ

 

[Scootz]

Thanks for the pics. I was here a few times over the years and always visited the disused railway line. They used to also have a theme park type thing on the beach front but that has sadly gone also.

 

[Foxylady]

Some seriously interesting dereliction and remains here, GDZ. Good stuff. Cheers for posting.

 

[godzilla73]

Thanks for the pics. I was here a few times over the years and always visited the disused railway line. They used to also have a theme park type thing on the beach front but that has sadly gone also.

Yeah - I did a report on that a while back. Think I put it under the thread title Folkestone Pleasure Beach? Have a look - it should be still there.
GDZ

 

[night crawler]

How strange a place that should have been so busy has gone into such decline, great report thanks.

 

[hydealfred]

Nice record of a soon to be lost site. Thanks for posting. Will be a real shame that no longer will steam specials pound up that formidable gradient.

 

[King Al]

Nice one G, that section of track with out track just looks wrong!

 

[Arch Stanton]

Yeah real shame, so atmospheric - folkstone has changed alot over the years, think they must be trying to gentrify the place!

 

[KingLewis92]

These Are Amazing!!

 

[jjandellis]

I used to work at the hotel bursten ??? think thats what it was called ...and i used to live opposite the rotunda and every sunday the market sellers would wake me up after a night working at club indigo (2 jobs to pay rent see !!!) thanks for sharing this i never knew it was there

 

[burtonbrewery]

i was here in april, for folkestone hockey festival, Wish id of had my camera, id of loved to take some pics of this place before it disapears! great pics. Im sure if folkestone was somewhere like bornemouth with a roaring tourist trade this would have been take over by a steam preservation society, would be great to see the running of steamers across the harbour again.