kent and east sussex railway extension to robertsbridge
Purchased new in 1904, seated 32. ', At the local pub, the Salehurst Halt, landlady Karen Collier-Keywood, 59, said: 'Our village has always been about community. The heritage railway runs from Tenterden Town station through the Rother Valley to Bodiam. Motive power was Terriers 32655 leading and 32678 at the rear. Originally numbered, Built as a Wolseley Siddeley motor car. Kent and East Sussex Railway. Hire purchased in 1924 from Edmonds of Thetford. Supporters include Network Rail and the National Trust, which will gain a rail link to the 14th century moated Bodiam Castle. Although these were light and economical to run, they did not provide much in the way of passenger comfort. The plan is that K&ESR will operate this extended railway once completed, as its constitution provides. Tenterden had yearned for a railway connection for many years but finally received a connection in 1900.The origins of the line seem, in fact, to lie elsewhere than Tenterden. Formerly a model of its kind the K&ESR was now perceived as a run-down decrepit railway of the greatest charm. The Tenterden Railway Company is now known as The Kent & East Sussex Railway (K&ESR), as of January 2004. As the Great War came to an end the Government decreed that the railways be re-organised into large private companies generally known as 'The Grouping'. Cruise-goers reveal their most terrifying incidents at sea - from watching a ferocious 'You'll be missed forever': Elizabeth Hurley and son Damian share heartfelt tribute to her late ex Shane 'I was a bit of a mess': Amanda Abbington reveals she considered suicide after split from ex Martin Freeman Matt Hancock discussed 'deploying' new virus variant to 'frighten the pants off everyone' as former Health 'So many dead. June 14, 2022; indigo child symbol With the end of the War, the Transport Act 1947 took powers to acquire all railway undertakings and this spelt the end of the independent K&ESR and indeed its partial closure. Top March : 021 625 77 80 | Au Petit March : 021 601 12 96 | info@tpmshop.ch It offers an 11+12 miles (18.5km) ride through the Rother Valley in vintage and British Railways coaches usually hauled by a steam locomotive, although some off-peak services are operated by a diesel multiple unit. Assent was granted to construct the line under the Act. Components for Operation Pluto were conveyed along the line. Completion of the railway line between Bodiam and Robertsbridge Junction Station adjacent to the mainline railway will enable visitors to use the country's public transport system to access the Kent & East Sussex Railway and the attractions it serves. Then operated by the K&ESR until withdrawn in 1924 and stored. It was originally opened, in 1900, as the Rother Valley Railway, with its first stretch of line running from Robertsbridge to Tenterden (the station later being renamed Rolvenden). [8] The original junction at Headcorn was on the Ashford side of the station. The final working was the 7.55 am working from Robertsbridge on Saturday 10th June 1961 followed the next day by a rail tour. The route from Tenterden to Bodiam is 10.5 miles. This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). In that year, the first of the locomotives hired from the Southern Railway arrived on the line, this was P Class No. [7] The original Tenterden station was renamed Rolvenden on this date. 31048, 31064, 31065, 31370, 31390 and 31434, On 9 January 1929, the Ford railmotor was derailed at. With the increase in price for scrap metal during the war, most of the line's surplus stock was scrapped. A month passed before 32678 was recovered. In 1910 the decision was undertaken to upgrade the rolling stock to more comfortable steam-heated stock and obtain more locomotives. A short section has re opened from Robertsbridge Station to roughly half a mile round the corner near the A21 main road. The South Eastern Railway opened its line from Ashford to Hastings on 13 February 1851. ', Neighbouring 440-acre Parsonage Farm has been in Andrew Hoad's family since the 1880s. A 14-year-old autistic boy's naive prank. Several bridges need to be rebuilt between Northbridge Street and Junction Road, and three road crossings made, including the A21 Robertsbridge by-pass. Controversially the railway extension requires the compulsory purchase of land at two East Sussex farms - Parsonage Farm at Robertsbridge owned by the Hoads and Moat Farm near Salehurst. A: Woolwich Arsenal Railway: 3-plank dropside open Obtained from the Woolwich Arsenal Railway in 1964. At Tenterden visitors can explore the Colonel Stephens Museum, and at the other end of the line admire the castle ruins at Bodiam. These locomotives worked on the line between 1948 and 1961. Two compartment brake third. DS377, 32636, 32640, 32641, 32644, 32655, 32659, 32662, 32670 and 32678. Only track relaying and imported motive power during World War II and at nationalisation in 1948 saved it. Purchased by the East Kent Light Railway in 1926. The railway was authorised by its own Act of Parliament in 1896, but with the passing later that year of the Light Railways Act, the directors obtained permission to bring the RVR under that Act for construction and operating purposes. For a money-saving subscription to Old Glory magazine, simply click here, Kelsey Media Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hil, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL www.kelsey.co.uk . Acquired in 1936. Further wagons were hired from Hurst Nelson between 1911 and 1919. Robertsbridge, East Sussex, TN32 5DG telephone: 01580 881833 RVR e-mail: . The contract for the construction of the line was won by London and Scottish Contract Corporation, who sub-contracted the work to Godfrey and Siddelow. In 1898, the proposal was abandoned in favour of extending the Cranbrook and Paddock Wood railway to Tenterden and Appledore. Headcorn was remodelled by the Southern Railway in 1930 to provide two through roads and the junction was then moved to the Tonbridge side of the station. No 15 was scrapped in 1948. However the world was in rapid change as ex-army motor lorries and buses flooded the transport market. kent and east sussex railway extension to robertsbridge. The comments below have not been moderated. At the Eastern end RVR has rebuilt this section of the railway from Bodiam to Junction Road so KESR was able to start running passenger trains in 2011. Acquired in 1936. 1426 was loaned to the Kent & East Sussex Light Railway in 1943. Attention then focussed on extending from Robertsbridge to Northbridge Street, and this was followed by work to recast the Robertsbridge section in readiness for the planned eventual join-up with K&ESR's track, once the necessary permissions have been obtained and construction completed. [2], The third part of the triangle was the line between Tonbridge and Hastings which had opened as far as Tunbridge Wells on 24 November 1846, Robertsbridge on 1 September 1851, Battle on 1 January 1852 and to St Leonards on 1 February 1852, running powers over the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's line to Hastings having been negotiated. The Government must now agree to make an order under the Transport and Works Act for the purchase to go ahead, but that could require a public inquiry. Difficulties in raising capital caused delays. The line was authorised to be built with 56 pounds per yard (27.8kg/m) rails but was actually built with 60 pounds per yard (29.8kg/m) rails. The extension to Tenterden Town opened on 15 April 1903. Supplied new in 1901 for the opening of the line. Authorisation was received in December 1899 to build the Cranbrook and Tenterden Light Railway from Cranbrook via Benenden to the Tenterden terminus of the Rother Valley Railway, and to extend further into the town of Tenterden itself. The Kent & East Sussex Railway Preservation Society was formed in 1961 following closure of the line by British Railways. . The Inquiry has now closed and the Inspector is writing up his . Despite legally authorised extensions over much of the Kent Weald to Maidstone, Rye and Cranbrook, lack of capital meant that only an extension to Headcorn was to be built and opened in 1905. On 16 March 2017, Rother District Council granted planning permission for the reinstatement of the line between Northbridge Street and Junction Road. Three of the five were scrapped in 1935, and a fourth, No. Purchased new in 1904, seated 46. The application will then be decided by the Secretary of State. Number 107 in the K&ESR stocklist. Simultaneously the South Eastern & Chatham (SE&CR), decided to rid itself of an obligation to build its long envisaged line to Tenterden. [2] A public inquiry took place in the summer of 2021, and the Secretary of State's decision on the order is expected to be given when the inquiry report has been submitted. The railway has cited improved public transport links from passengers on the main-line Charing Cross to Hastings route to access the heritage route to Tenterden, currently the largest town in Kent without a railway connected to the main line. Built by the London and South Western Railway in 1892 as No. Purchased secondhand in 1932. Conceived as the Rother Valley Railway, it opened from Robertsbridge to Rolvenden station (then named Tenterden) in 1900 and subsequently on to Tenterden Town in 1903. The first train departed at 7:30 am, carrying some 60.2 passengers. Andrew Hoad, 67, with his two sons Tom 38 (left) and Will 34 (right) who own Parsonage Farm in Robertsbridge, East Sussex where multi millionaire Richard Broyd is trying to extend a heritage steam railway across their land as a 'Vanity Project'. The remaining landowners have additionally expressed concern and RVR fully appreciates that a railway crossing their farms represents some disruption. Fitted with a body similar to those used on buses and sent to the, A pair of railcars. Coordinates: 513407N 01337W / . But in one idyllic corner of East Sussex, that prospect has got the locals, well, rather steamed up. [14] This final section of the line closed on 1 January 1970. 1555 was loaned in 1947. By the 1930s it had lost much of the traffic it had been built to carry. Trying to find the right nursery, school, college, university or training provider in Kent or Medway? In Spring 2019 work began to prepare the former trackbed between Austen's Bridge and Junction Road for tracklaying, this work being substantially completed by the end of 2020. It also has links to multi-millionaire hedge fund manager Jeremy Hosking, 59, who owns a number of steam locomotives including the Royal Scot. By Victorian standards construction progress was slow. Fitted with flanged wheels and tested on the Kent & East Sussex Railway. A mile of new track has already been laid to the west of Bodiam station, to the site of the former Junction Road Halt. The Light Railways Act 1896 allowed for cheaper construction methods in return for a speed restriction. The total cost of the entire project is expected to be somewhere between 6 and 7m. (Pic: Colin Tyson). Purchased secondhand in 1901. The battle was however lost; in 1913 105,000 passengers were carried; by 1919 the figure had dropped to 85,000; and to 68,000 in 1922. A separate Company, the Rother Valley Railway (East Sussex) Ltd, was formed on 22 May 1991 with the approval of the Tenterden Railway Company to reconstruct the railway between Bodiam and Robertsbridge and has since simplified its name to Rother Valley Railway Ltd. The East Sussex Light Railway was authorised in 1901. Built as a first class carriage. Making tourism here more accessible to people who don't have cars is very important. In 1904, the Rother Valley Railway changed its name to the Kent & East Sussex Light Railway. Heady ideas of commanding enough finance to build lines to Rye, Cranbrook and Pevensey, all authorised over 1898-1900, together with Maidstone in 1905-06, faded. They claim the project is to allow 'rich men to play with their toys' and the threat of compulsory purchase orders, or CPOs, amounts to 'a land grab reminiscent of the Dark Ages'. One of RVR's directors is Richard Broyd, who founded Historic House Hotels. The railway track has been laid on nearly a third of the 3.5-mile route between Robertsbridge and Bodiam and a new Robertsbridge Junction station is being created, which has a five-coach capacity platform and sits adjacent to Network Rails mainline station. [5], The South Eastern Railway abandoned its plans to build the Cranbrook to Appledore line; the scheme was adopted by the Rother Valley Railway. Four cattle wagons were purchased in 1904, and another was purchased in 1928. The renamed Kent &. RM 2FMJAE2 - Tenterden, UK. All ticket stock was withdrawn and new tickets were printed, and the staffing of stations was increased. It will serve Brent Cross and the northern parts of Cricklewood and Dollis Hill areas of north London. Kent & East Sussex Railway This was the quintessential Stephens' light railway and was always the heart of his empire. This houses a number of exhibits including as a wax dummy of the colonel, telling the story of the man himself and of his railways. The first railbus was introduced in 1923. The Kent & East Sussex Railway was one of the light railways operated by Colonel H.F. Stephens, the railway engineer. In 1906, the K&ESR purchased a Great Western Railway. [9], By 1924, the section from Tenterden to Headcorn was operating at a loss. The line was an alternative supply route to the south coast, and relieved some of the pressure on Ashford. In summer 2011 work began at Robertsbridge to extend further eastwards to Northbridge Street, which entailed the rebuilding of five bridges. Most of the permanent way between Northiam and Bodiam has now been rebuilt to modern standards. 'Few preserved railways would seem to offer better prospects for an increase in Built in 1848 by the London and South Western railway for. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott clashes with Nick Robinson over Hancock texts, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA. Four third-class four-wheel carriages were purchased new in 1901 for the opening of the line. The planning approval is for the central two mile section of the railway to be restored, which has been granted despite concerns from some about level crossings and excessive parking in Robertsbridge. Designed to serve rural villages, the railway opened in 1900 and originally ran between Robertsbridge and Tenterden. Great Western Railway 0-6-0 Dean Goods War Department Nos WD195, WD196 and WD197 were used on the Kent & East Sussex Light Railway between 1941 and 1943 when rail mounted rocket guns were stationed at Rolvenden and Wittersham. At the beginning of 2009 about 750 yards (690m) of former track bed was purchased from just west of Bodiam station to within 150 yards (140m) yards of the site of Junction Road Halt. One embankment is still visible but is covered by mature oak and other trees. One batch of stock disposed of was valued at 855, but realised only 6 10s 0d. It aims to restore track and services east from the main line railway station to Bodiam. RVR spokesman Mark Yonge said: This is a real red letter day and we are extremely pleased permission has now been granted. Many representations for and against the scheme were submitted, and in June the Secretary of State for Transport announced that a public local inquiry would be held. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway, seeking to relieve themselves from building the Tenterden Railway, entered into an agreement with the Rother Valley Railway for the latter to build and operate the line from Tenterden to Headcorn. 2655 was loaned from 1939 to 1945, 2678 was loaned in 1940. At Robertsbridge, a separate railway preservation effort was set up by the Rother Valley Railway in 1990. With the passing of the Light Railways Act 1896, a group of citizens of Tenterden, led by Sir Myles Fenton proposed a railway from Robertsbridge to Tenterdenthe Rother Valley Railway. Hired or loaned to the Kent & East Sussex Light Railway. Plan meals, try new foods and explore cuisines with tested recipes from the country's top chefs. Body later used as a shed on a farm, where it survived until 1964. The use of compulsory purchase orders on farmland needed for the new track has even been branded The Great Robertsbridge Train Robbery by campaigners. Bodies used to create bogie carriages in 1906. Only the section from the original Tenterden terminus to Tenterden Town was actually built of all these schemes.[6]. What's for dinner? The remaining passenger traffic continued to drop and, most importantly, the profitable general merchandise traffic followed. It was released from government control in 1921, and 1,487 in compensation was paid. The Inspector will submit a report to the Secretary of State, with recommendations. This is the reconstructed Robertsbridge Junction station, adjacent to the Network Rail station. Planning permission was secured for its scheme at Robertsbridge, and the whole route is safeguarded in the Council's local plan. BBC's 1million star Zoe Ball, 52, lands big new payday for Abba show on ITV. The carriages were required for use in the filming of The Loves of Joanna Godden. Sadly there have since been no other. The line from Headcorn Junction was opened on 15th May1905 but the expansion programme had come to an end. The Great Robertsbridge Train Robbery: Families accuse railway line stealing their farm land for a 7million extension project using a compulsory purchase order allowing companies to buy. Purchased secondhand in 1906. The original route, between Robertsbridge and Headcorn in Kent, opened in 1900 and was shut in 1961. The section from Headcorn to Appledore was authorised in 1892, and agreement was reached in 1896 with the South Eastern Railway over the operation of the line. REVEALED: Huge sonic boom felt by thousands across the country was caused by RAF Typhoon jets scrambling to DR ELLIE CANNON: My breast has not got lumps but it's itchy, should I be concerned about cancer at age 72? A small collection of rolling stock is stored at Robertsbridge, with several items undergoing active restoration. The extension was built and opened in 1905. This is a popular exhibit amongst children visiting the museum, many of whom delight in the collection of old railway magazines and timetables. In 1877, the Cranbrook and Paddock Wood Railway was incorporated, and powers obtained to build the northern section of the Weald of Kent Railway to transport agricultural produce and livestock from low-lying land adjacent to Wittersham Road to a better mainline connection. This page was last edited on 2 February 2023, at 16:12. . Once that is achieved money is in place to start the work and if everything progresses to plan the entire 14-mile route from Tenterden to Robertsbridge could be up and running in two years time. Later it was able to achieve charity status, and is led by the Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust. It takes its name from the original name for what later became the Kent and East Sussex Railway, running from Robertsbridge through to Headcorn in Kent, via Tenterden.