Dieppe Maritime station (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Gare Maritime de Dieppe'') was a railway station in the town of

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...

, France and was built by CF de l'Ouest in 1874. The station was the station for passengers from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Newhaven Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse. The town developed during the Middle Ages as the nearby port of Seaford began drying up, forcing a new port to be established. A ...

, by

steamers Steamer may refer to: Transportation * Steamboat, smaller, insular boat on lakes and rivers * Steamship, ocean-faring ship * Screw steamer, steamboat or ship that uses "screws" (propellers) * Steam yacht, luxury or commercial yacht * Paddle st ...

and then

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

. Steam ships began crossing the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

in 1816 and linked Dieppe to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. From 1824, the

General Steam Navigation Company The General Steam Navigation Company (GSN), incorporated in 1824, was London's foremost short sea shipping line for almost 150 years. It was the oldest shipping company in the world to begin business with seagoing steam vessels. Foundation ...

(GSNC) began operations with two crossings per week. Its ships were paddle steamers 25m in length that reached Brighton in nine hours. In 1841, the

London, Brighton & South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton)) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at ...

(LB&SCR) was opened to

, and subsequently to

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

and

. Newhaven rebuilt its harbour to welcome larger ships. The railway arrived in Dieppe from Rouen on 1 August 1848 and the then CF de Paris-Rouen which later became the CF de l'Ouest was becoming interested in the GSNC and a joint venture with the LB&SCR and Mr Marples (owner of the GSNC). Profits were then split three ways; 37% for the C.F. de l'Ouest, 44% for Marples and 19% for the LB&SCR. By 1859, profits had begun to diminish and the two railway companies bought the maritime operations. The original "Steamer Depot" was built on the quai Henri IV connected to the

Dieppe station Dieppe station (French: ''Gare de Dieppe'') is the train station for the town of Dieppe, Seine-Maritime and was built by Chemins de fer de Paris à Cherbourg and opened on 28 July 1848. It used to have a direct connection with Paris-St. Lazare v ...

by a short branch line that ran along quai Duquesne, past the trade and industry offices, fire station, the fishing syndicate and the public fish market. The Paris train ran alongside the quay in front of a long narrow building that included goods and passenger terminals and a restaurant. This building later became the Gare Maritime's goods depot when, following deepening of the harbour, a new passenger terminal was built further up the quay. This had one track either side of a red brick building and could handle two passenger trains simultaneously. As well as the passenger ferries, a regular service of smaller freight ferries also ran between Dieppe and Newhaven and the station became increasingly important for urgent goods as well as for passengers. The passenger terminal was damaged beyond repair during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was demolished soon afterwards and, after several years when passengers used temporary buildings, a new two-storey concrete terminal building in a modernist style was opened on 17 June 1953. It had three railway tracks, one of them running along the side of the quay, and could handle two locomotive-hauled boat trains and the local railcar to Rouen. In the 1960s, diesel traction began to replace steam locos on the boat trains operating to and from the harbour station.The Last Days of the Dieppe Branch '' Locomotives International'' issue 130 April 2021 pages 16-19 Combined rail and ferry services ended in 1994 after

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish Shipping line, shipping line company and one of the world's largest ferry operators. It services Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden. Stena Line is a ...

, at that time operating as Stena Sealink on the Newhaven-Dieppe and

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

-Calais crossings, had transferred to a new terminal on the other side of the harbour. These changes coincided with the opening of the

Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...

and the concomitant withdrawal of all

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

Channel boat trains. The whole station was demolished in early 1995, and virtually no physical traces now remain.

Ships from Dieppe Maritime

* * * *''Sussex'' (1913) * (1928–1955) * (1933–1940) * (1939–1963) * (1947–1965) *''Falaise'' (1947–1973)

1953) *''Falaise'' (1964) *''Villandry'' (1964) *''Valençay'' (1964) *''Senlac'' (1973–1984)

References

External links

Gare Maritime photographs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dieppe Buildings and structures demolished in 1995 Defunct railway stations in Seine-Maritime Gare Railway stations in France opened in 1848 Railway stations in France closed in 1994