Ah! Preservation railways, don’t you just love ‘em. Arriving on the platform is like stepping back into the 1930’s. Boarding the 3rd class carriage with its restored corridors, compartments and comfy seats immerses you in surroundings from the golden age of steam. Then the train leaves the platform and whistles its way up the gradient with plumes of steam, telegraph poles and the odd semaphore signal passing against a back drop of rolling hedgerows, hills and valleys. The romantism of the preservation railways may lead you to think they are tethered to the past with old fashioned ways of maintaining their railway but sometimes this is further from the truth than you think.
So, it was on a warm day in June 2022 that our Ashford section PWI members found themselves on the platform at Tenterden for a site visit to the Kent and East Sussex Railway (K&ESR). The plan for the afternoon was to catch the train to Rolvenden and meet Frim Halliwell who kindly invited us to have a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the works. This was followed by a trip on the Steam train to Bodiam and then back to Tenterden.
As we approached Rolvenden in the train we saw Frim for the first time, operating the level crossing gates and then closing them behind the train. Frim is a former Signal & Telecoms (S&T) engineer and the resident P.Way manager for the K&ESR. Very quickly you get the message that this is very much a multi-skilled, multi-discipline operation supported by knowledgeable, enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers willing to turn their hand to any task.
Frim very kindly showed us around the Rolvenden yard where there were many examples of brightly coloured steam locos in various stages of restoration. Going deeper into the yard we were shown the ‘yellow’ on-track machinery that has been acquired by the railway over the years. We saw a first generation Plasser & Theurer tamper made in 1964, a later generation Tamper & Liner and two more recent 08 Tampers which were cascaded to K&ESR from a well-known mainline railway contractor.
It was interesting to look around these machines to get a sense of the historical development of tamping and lining over the past 60 years. For example, the old mechanical and electrical lifting and lining systems comprising of steel wires between trollies under the machine were a reminder of how the technology has moved on over the years. The old 3-point lining and 4-point lining wire systems have now been superseded with laser guidance and on-board computer systems on the latest machines and, indeed K&ESR have kept pace with this latest technology. Apart from the ‘in restoration’ machines at Rolvenden we were later shown their ‘state of the art’ 08-275 S&C Tamper in for maintenance at Tenterden Sheds looking very smart in its freshly painted yellow livery with large red BR logos.
Frim also showed us their TRAMM (Track Renewal and Maintenance Machine) which they use for cranage of track materials, a Ballast Regulator, flat wagons and hoppers and their diesel breakdown crane. I had imagined that their track maintenance involved a Hallade Gang and Measured Shovel Packing by a small gang of willing volunteers, but no, Frim explained that their surveys are done by a surveyor using high precision Total Stations equipment and the latest realignment software which is then transferred electronically as an alignment file to the on-board computer on the 08 Tamper which is then used to correct the track horizontal and vertical alignment.
Frim also explained that the K&ESR are getting close with their plans to extend the railway to Robertsbridge and we were shown their track materials on the lineside ready to be used for track laying for the 3.5 Km of line to connect their railway with the national network, when they get the go ahead.
We finished the day at Tenterden yard where we saw more restored steam locos, a mock up Ford vintage vehicle with rail wheels and a pump trolley (just like the ones you see in the silent movies). A very enjoyable afternoon and another great opportunity to learn about another facet of railway engineering. Thanks Frim.
