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The line from Faversham to Canterbury East was opened on 9th July 1860 by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway. On 22nd July 1861 this was extended from Canterbury East to Dover. Snowdown and Nonington Halt was opened in 1914 and had sidings that served the adjacent Snowdown colliery. Snowdown was the deepest of the four main pits in the Kent Coalfield, reaching a depth of 3,083 feet. Work commenced in 1908, and coal was first brought to the surface on November 19th 1912. The first shaft sunk hit water at 260 feet and 22 men were drowned. The new town of Aylesham was built just to the north of the colliery to provide homes for the many migrant workers from Wales and the north-east of England, and a separate station was opened there in 1928. In 1945 the workforce was 1,876, with 1,523 being employed sub-surface and 353 above. The colliery closed in 1986 and the shafts were capped in 1988. A few ruinous buildings remain today. http://www.eastkent.freeuk.com/mining/snowdown_colliery.htm The name of the adjacent station was subsequently shortened to just Snowdown. This is the view from the down platform looking in the direction of Dover.