Faversham in Kent was for centuries a main centre of the explosives industry. By the twentieth century this had consolidated at a works originally founded by Huguenot migrants away from the town on the Swale marshes near Oare Creek in the parish of Davington, reliant on coastal sea transport. The war caused it to expand greatly and workers, particularly women, were drafted in from a wide area. To alleviate the three-mile muddy walk across the marshes from Faversham station, lorries were used at first but proved inadequate. In the autumn of 1916, using Emergency Powers, a light railway was built from the outskirts of Faversham to the works with an unusual, for the United Kingdom, 3ft 3in gauge.
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