Folkestone Steamers – The Paddle Steamers of the South Eastern Railway The dawn of the twentieth

The dawn of the twentieth century witnessed the building of a completely new class of cross-Channel ship driven by revolutionary steam turbines

the company’s predecessors had worked in partnership with Sealink British Ferries and

seventies and eighties to the introduction of new purpose-built tonnage at the turn of the century

In a little over three decades

along with maps and statistical information

Folkestone Steamers – The Paddle Steamers of the South Eastern Railway The dawn of the twentiethOn its way from London to the premier Channel port of Dover, the South Eastern Railway reached the village of Folkestone in June 1843. It had always been the intention to operate cross Channel steamer services from Dover but instead of an expected welcome, negotiations with the Harbour Commissioners (chaired by the Duke of Wellington) proved to be extremely difficult. To them, the arrival of the railway in the town was simply seen as an advantage from