The first railway to come to Gravesend, more correctly Denton, was the single track Gravesend & Rochester railway, opening in February 1845, with an intermediate station at Higham. The 6 1/2 mile long line followed a route close to the south of the existing Thames and Medway canal, running through the Higham–Strood canal tunnel on stilts, terminating close to the present Strood station. The engineer responsible for the scheme was a John Rastrick, also known for his involvement with the building of the Brighton line amongst other works and was one of the three judges at the 1829 Rainhill trials. Also a locomotive designer and builder, he helped another engineer with a local connection, Richard Trevithick, with his locomotive designs.
The Gravesend terminus station was situated alongside the south side of the Canal Basin, approximately where a former office building and bus storage depot are today. The building was of timber construction, with 2 platform faces. Fares were 6d (2 ½ p) single, the journey taking some 20 minutes each way. The South Eastern railway purchased the line in 1846, and incorporated it into the new North Kent line, which avoided the 1845 station and followed a new shorter route avoiding the canal as far as the site of Denton Crossing, and also removing a loop in the previous railway in the vicinity of Higham, close to the present Hoo Junction. With the opening of Gravesend Central station (the present Gravesend Station) in August 1847, the 1845 station closed and was demolished in 1849.
Site of the former Canal Basin Station
