| Re: Unused equipment to be donated to Kent heritage railway - Sep 2025 Posted by grahame at 18:15, 8th September 2025 |     |
Old Miners railway wasn't it?
The East Kent Railway was a Colonel Stevens line - Like the WC&P - but survived in part much longer because is served the coal mine at Tilmanstone which it linked to the main line at Shepherd's Well. It ran on to Eastry, from where branches ran to Wingham and to Sandwich Road. I think an one time it went a bit further too [Edit - to Richborough Port]; I recall reading of it crossing the main Minster to Dover line on a bridge that was so perilous that passengers trains couldn't cross it
Edit to add from The Colonel Stevens Archive on the Wayback machine
Born in great optimism this railway was the only outcome of numerous plans for railways and collieries in the newly discovered Kent Coalfield. Conceived to carry coal it soon reverted to a truly rural railway with a heavy coal flow for a few miles at one end. Holman Stephens was engineer from inception, subsequently becoming director and manager. Running from Shepherdswell to Wingham with an intermittently operating branch to Richborough Port it opened in 1911 with a passenger service from 1916.
Services ebbed away with the final passenger trains in 1948 with progressive closures back to Tilmanstone Colliery over the next 3 years. The line shut with the colliery in the 1980's.
Services ebbed away with the final passenger trains in 1948 with progressive closures back to Tilmanstone Colliery over the next 3 years. The line shut with the colliery in the 1980's.
| Re: Unused equipment to be donated to Kent heritage railway - Sep 2025 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:12, 8th September 2025 | |
Yes, ChrisB, it was.
Details are their website, at https://eastkentrailway.co.uk/history/
I'll add the East Kent Railway to our 'abbreviations page' on the Coffee Shop forum.
CfN.
| Re: Unused equipment to be donated to Kent heritage railway - Sep 2025 Posted by ChrisB at 17:53, 8th September 2025 | |
Old Miners railway wasn't it?
| Unused equipment to be donated to Kent heritage railway - Sep 2025 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 17:49, 8th September 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Redundant railway equipment and materials from a mainline network are to be donated to a heritage railway.
The agreement between South Eastern Railway and volunteer-led East Kent Railway is aimed at working towards reestablishing freight trains on the heritage railway for the first time since 1987. It is the first scheme of its kind in Kent, according to Network Rail.
David Davidson, chief operating officer for the South Eastern Railway, said he was "excited about the possibilities" that the agreement could being, as well as the "potential to support economic growth in East Kent". He added: "Wherever we can, we will work with heritage railways across our network to forge a new partnership so that materials that would otherwise be recycled elsewhere to be re-used can find a new purpose."
East Kent Railway runs heritage trains on a four-mile (6.4km) round trip between Shepherdswell and Eythorne.
The donated railway materials will include rails and sleepers, as well as other items no longer needed for the mainline railway. In return, East Kent Railway will provide South Eastern Railway with the use of its facilities, such as for training. Under the agreement, both organisations will also work together to explore opportunities for the reestablishment of commercial freight traffic over the East Kent Railway.
Matthew Plews, general manager of the East Kent Railway Trust, said: "This agreement provides a framework for a deeper collaboration which will benefit us both, both in the short term and into the future."
