Kent & East Sussex Railway
The KESR was built by Colonel Holman Fred Stephens he was an English eccentric, a brilliant railway engineer, and the man who not only built and ran the Kent & East Sussex Railway he also amazingly managed 16 other light railways. The railway trundles through the beautiful Rother valley countryside for 10.5 miles Starting at the lovely Kentish town of Tenterten in the north & Bodiam at the southern end right next to the famous Bodiam Castle. The railway closed in to passengers in 1954 and to freight in 1961, but due to a band of enthusiasts the railway once again hauled passengers in 1974 between 2 miles from Tenterten, other sections then opened as the restoration of the line progressed with Bodiam opening in 2000.
A joint Geoff Silcock / Russ Hiller 2 day charter, with the BR black Terrier 32678 on a single Birdcage coach with a small pick up freight, to simulate a classic 1950's KESR scene. I only attended the second of the 2days and even a 4am start and poor weather forecast didnt dampen my anticipation. The railway & Loco were both firsts for me and even though we got just 2 small pockets of nice light i left with a nice gallery to show you. I did miss some of shtos i wanted but a return visit in 2011 will hopefuly sort that out! Also a big thanks to Geoff for sorting out a footplate ride & to all our crew Matt, John & Richard on the loco & the guards John & Peter plus the signal man aswell!
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