Hops were a very important commodity for farms in Kent and in the late summer and autumn Londoners came by train to work on the farms picking the crop. This branch was built to bring the pickers in and take the hops out. The author, Peter A. Harding, has added this short history of this charming line to his collection of works on the lesser known lines of southern Britain.

Click on the cover image for a photo of C class 31592 passing through Horsmonden. This engine is still active on the Bluebell railway.

Peter A. Harding, 1998, 32 pages. Paperback.