Editorial

I don’t remember an issue of Phoenix with quite as much good news as this one! Don’t miss the Trust Chairman’s report, especially, and the feature on Junction Road.

As the Trust Chairman indicated to the Heritage Railway magazine recently, the RVR is approaching the authorities over our need to cross the three roads that lie between Bodiam and Robertsbridge stations.


As it happens, a major national review of the laws and rules concerning level crossings has been going on for a while now, and we do not yet know how the eventual outcome of this review might affect us. Nowadays, the authorities regard level crossings with some caution. Taking Junction Road as an example, clearly traffic is now much heavier and faster than when the crossing was closed in the 1960s. But a level crossing could help make this road safer when you think about it, curbing excessive speeds by acting as a spot of traffic calming. For the moment we must leave the experts to pursue their dialogue, and watch how this crucial aspect of the line’s restoration develops.

One thing seems clear though – there is a renewed momentum in our Railway project. The breakthrough in getting track right up to Junction Road, and the financial, practical and moral support for that latest extension, heralds a real push to link up the two stretches of Colonel Stephens’ favourite railway.

Back at Robertsbridge, we really need more volunteers, particularly on vehicle restoration and in the shop. We get around 12 regulars, and a further half dozen or so that come occasionally, but one cannot have enough. We have advertised on the national website dedicated to volunteering opportunities (www.Do-it.org) and the Hastings Voluntary Action site, and with Rother Valley Voluntary action. We’re pursuing various other possible channels. Let us know if you have any ideas, naturally! Or maybe you used to turn up then lost heart: just tell us why!

Finally, I’m continuing my campaign to persuade more of you to contribute to the Phoenix. The next deadline (winter edition) is 1 December, so start writing now. Get in touch if you want to sound me out on something you have in mind. Feedback on the magazine itself is also welcome.

Steve Griffiths (editor)
griffithss@rvr.org.uk

Notes from the Trust

At last the railway is back to Junction Road, although there is insufficient room to build a platform and run-round loop. That will have to wait until we are able to cross to the west side of Junction Road.

The good news is that our benefactors were so impressed with the speed and quality of construction they have asked us to push on with satisfying the conditions laid down by Rother District Council when it incorporated the route into the District Plan. These conditions are (Local Plan Issued 2006 - Policy EM8):
“An extension to the Kent and East Sussex Steam Railway from Bodiam to Robertsbridge, along the route identified on the Proposals Map, will be supported, subject to a proposal meeting the following criteria:

1. it must not compromise the integrity of the floodplain and the flood protection measures at Robertsbridge;
2. it has an acceptable impact on the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; it
3. incorporates appropriate arrangements for crossing the A21,
   B2244 at Udiam, Northbridge Street and the River Rother.”

This will mean a lot of behind the scenes investigation and design so there won’t be much in the way of news for the next few months.

Relations with KESR remain good as we work out the details to allow next year’s gala event to run trains over RVR rails to the site of Junction Road Halt.

Gardner Crawley
crawleyg@rvr.org.uk

Stop Press - An anonymous benefactor has made a substantial donation to the Trust to buy the steam loco Charwelton to prevent it being removed from KESR. It will be owned by RVR Ltd and operated by KESR under a rolling stock agreement. More details to follow.

RVR’s extension from Bodiam to Junction Road

The summer Phoenix announced that our railway had now reached Junction Road. Rother Valley Railway, set up to complete the missing link between Robertsbridge and Bodiam, thereby connecting the Kent & East Sussex Railway to the main line, has achieved another milestone.

Recent donations and land acquisitions have enabled the company to rebuild a mile of line from Bodiam to the site of Junction Road Halt. The final two hundred yards of track now brings the line up to the B2244 road and was completed on the 9th July.

Junction Road Halt in 1930, photographed from the level crossing. In the platform is a petrol railmotor bound for Robertsbridge, Udiam Farm just visible on the right. These railmotors operated on the Kent & East Sussex Railway from 1923-1937, alongside resident steam locomotives.

Most of the route of the Rother Valley Railway meanders past fields of sheep and hops but this section of track has been relayed on its former route straight through a comparatively recently landscaped garden and close to a fine 16th century farmhouse. The land was reprofiled to accept the new line which runs mostly on a low embankment. Local people in passing cars could not believe the reincarnation when the railway emerged in a matter of days in front of their eyes.

To celebrate the event a party was held by Rother Valley Railway in the garden overlooking the restored trackbed. Guests included neighbours, those who had generously donated money and time to the scheme and directors of the Kent & East Sussex Railway. The local clergyman prayed for the successful future of the railway in its aims of achieving a main line connection. Guests were given a ringside seat when the tamper gave a track profiling demonstration. It was felt that a working railway vehicle would be of particular interest because this was a celebration of railway construction, not operation.

An early visitor to the site was Greg Barker, the local Member of Parliament appropriately responsible for climate policy and he was given a guided tour by Gardner Crawley, Chairman of the Trustees. His pledge of support was gratefully received.



From left, local MP Greg Barker, RVRHT trustee Mike Hart, and Trust chairman Gardner Crawley, inspect the Junction Road Halt extension on 9 July. Behind them is a ballast train headed by Class 14 D9504. Photo RVR

In the early days of preservation, when the Ministry of Transport decreed that the restored railway could only operate between Tenterden and Bodiam, thoughts of rebuilding the whole route to the junction were the stuff of dreams.

The new Rother Valley Railway, born from the ashes of its former past, has been actively acquiring land whenever it becomes available and this has enabled the company to complete this new extension as one of several projects.

It is likely, subject to necessary approvals, that Kent & East Sussex Railway will run special trains to this temporary terminus from Tenterden during 2011.

Visitors are welcome at weekends and bank holidays to the Rother Valley Railway base at Robertsbridge station. It is requested that visits to other parts of the route, including this one, be only by public footpath as much of the land surrounding the new railway is in private ownership.

Mark Yonge

yongem@rvr.org.uk

The RVR Buffet – a new approach – by David Felton

For various reasons, we have decided not to put the buffet back into the VSOE building. Instead, the northern end previously occupied by the buffet will be the railway’s information and museum area, with displays on and around the walls, with seating accommodation for visitors. Work on this area is currently under way and should be completed shortly.

We are working to install the buffet in the ex-BR Mark 1 coach, parked in the centre road of the station. The principal benefits of this will be more kitchen space, more seating, a more authentic interesting setting for customers, and possibly a better marketing opportunity. As this coach featured in the filming of episodes of “The Darling Buds of May” in the 1990s, one possibility is to brand it “The Darling Buds of May Buffet”.

Entry for the public will be via the southern end (corridor) door using a set of steps which are being specially built for us for this purpose. For disabled customers and anyone wishing to sit outside, the picnic area is close by, and in inclement weather seating will be available in the information centre.

The staff mess van (the GBLV) has already been coupled up to the Mk1 at the northern end of the coach, and staff and customers alike will be served from the kitchen, albeit from different ends. The internal configuration of the mess van will remain as outlined in issue 51 (page 20), except that the kitchenette will be unnecessary, providing additional space in the van for other uses. A lot of work will be necessary to bring the new facility up to scratch and to enable it to be opened, but watch this space.

David Felton

feltond@rvr.org.uk