Celebrate 200 Years of Railway History
29/09/25 - 18:30 to 20:00
Attending this event will qualify you for your International Postcard Day Souvenir
Introduction
In 1825, the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened the world’s first passenger railway station on Tuesday 27th September — a milestone that transformed travel forever. Steam locomotives carried passengers and goods at unprecedented speed, sparking a transport revolution that connected towns, boosted industry, and shaped modern Britain.
This special SideTracked Railway 200 event at Folkestone Harbour is part of a nationwide celebration running from Wednesday 24th to Tuesday 30th September 2025. All finds and hides from this event count towards your SideTracked statistics, and a unique profile badge will be created especially for this event. Whether your chosen location is old, disused, miniature, or still bustling today, it’s part of a railway story that’s been 200 years in the making.
About this event
Folkestone harbour is a popular tourist spot and the harbour arm where this disused station is situated boasts plenty of conveniences. There is a pay and display car park close by and possible free roadside parking not too far away (see waypoints). The food vendors should still be serving a variety of food choices and the refurbished station where we will be meeting includes canopies over the platforms to keep us dry should it be raining. It's a lovely area to explore and I recommend a walk along the harbour arm for those that have time. This event is being held on a Monday evening, which I appreciate isn't always the most convenient time for everyone, but I wanted to host a meet that would fall within the crossover of the Sidetracked200 and International Postcard Day timeframes. Attendees of this event will qualify for the official Geocaching Postcard Day souvenir. There is also a souvenir being provided by the Sidetracked team, although that one is not an official Geocaching souvenir.
There are plenty of geocaches and adlabs around this area. The Folkestone Finds series is very good and well maintained if you haven't found them already.
The SideTracked Railway 200 Folkestone Harbour profile badge has been revealed! To be eligible to proudly display this badge on your profile, all you need to do is attend this meet. For details on how to add the badge to your profile please refer to the note added to the logs below by the SideTrackedSeries team.
About this disused station
Opened in 1849, Folkestone Harbour station provided a transition point for connecting ‘boat train’ services across the English Channel to France.
The station connected to the South East Mainline via a 1-mile long branch line which was built from Folkestone Junction and crossed the harbour on a viaduct, reaching the station at the pier. It was originally designed for freight but the station also became popular with continental passenger services. The station was redeveloped in the early 20th century and it was an important destination for soldiers during World War I.
The opening of the Channel Tunnel in1994 made Folkestone Harbour uncompetitive, and the station began to decline, with regular passenger services ending in 2001. The station was closed permanently in 2014.
In 2015, the Folkestone Harbour Company began a redevelopment project costing £3.5 million, to refurbish the viaduct and the station. The viaduct across the harbour was opened as a pedestrian route in 2017.
The event is held at the spot where the station was situated.
Everyone is welcome. Come along and share your sidetracked stories.
Please see the waypoints for possible parking options.