The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company that operated in south-eastern England between 1858 and 1923 before grouping with three other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and eastern/northern Kent, forming a significant chunk of the Greater London commuter network.
The first line opened by the company was that from Rochester to Faversham, opened in 1858 with stations at Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham, Sittingbourne, Tyneham, and Faversham. The line expanded rapidly thereafter:
- 1858 - new line constructed from Bromley Junction to Bickley
- 1860 - extensions from Faversham to Canterbury East, Queenborough and Whitstable; extension from Beckenham to Holborn Viaduct via the first Blackfriars Railway Bridge; opening of line between Bickley and Rochester, connecting the two parts of the network; opening of St Mary Cray, Farningham Road, and Rochester Bridge stations (the latter being closed in 1917)
- 1861 - opening of Meopham and Sole Street stations; extension from Canterbury East to Dover, with Bekesbourne, Adisham, Shepherd's Well and Dover Priory stations opening with the line; extension from Whitstable to Herne Bay
- 1862 - opening of Swanley station; extension from Swanley to Bat and Ball (Sevenoaks) with stations at Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford, and Bat and Ball all opening with the line; opening of lines from Herne Hill into London via two different routes with Clapham, Brixton, Herne Hill, and Elephant and Castle all opening with the line
- 1863 - opening of Wandsworth Road station; extension from Herne Bay to Margate, with Birchington-on-Sea, Margate, and Broadstairs (Ramsgate) stations all opening with the line
- 1872 - opening of Longfield and Loughborough Road stations
- 1873 - extension through Dulwich with West Dulwich, Sydenham Hill, and Penge East stations opening with the line
- 1874 - opening of Otford to Maidstone East line, with Kemsing, Borough Green, West Malling, Barming and Maidstone East stations opening with the line
- 1881 - extension from Dover Priory to Deal built as a joint venture with the South Eastern Railway
- 1883 - extension from Queenborough to Sheerness-on-Sea. (Stations were also built at Queenborough Pier and Sheerness Docks) (were later closed)
- 1884 - extension from Maidstone East to Ashford with intermediate stations opening at Bearsted, Hollingbourne, Harrietsham, Lenham, and Charing
- 1884 - opening of Kent House station
- 1901 - Sheppey Light Railway - with stations at Sheerness East, East Minster-on-Sea, Minster-on-Sea, Brambledown Halt, Eastchurch, Harty Road Halt and Leysdown (closed 1950)
- 1907 - closure of Borough Road station
- 1913 - opening of East Malling station
- 1914 - opening of Snowdown station
- 1916 - closure of Wandsworth Road and Clapham stations
The LCDR joined up with the South Eastern Railway (SER) in 1899. They did not merge but formed a joint managing committee, integrating their services to reduce costs (for instance, closing competing stations in the same town as happened in Ashford, where the LCDR had a terminus). The two companies collaborated to allow joint running on each other's lines. Between 1902-1904, they built connections to allow LCDR trains to transfer onto SER lines, enabling various branch lines and unprofitable stations belonging to both companies to be rationalised.
In 1923 the LCDR was merged with the SER, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR), and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to form the Southern Railway.
