Rother Valley Railway

Looks like it was very necessary, if all those various layers of goo in the trial bore were anything to go by!

 

Mark

Sadly no known pictures of the original Austens bridge structure including in the Colonel Stephens Museum collection. Mike.

 

A new post on the RVR site looking at the location of Bridge 25 where the steel bridge spans featured a little further down the page will be installed. Thats at:

https://rvrailway.blogspot.com/2025/03/bridge-25-15-abutments-and-survey.html

Hope you find it interesting

Mike Hart

 

A couple of posts in the last couple of days showing progress with the construction of the Station Building at Robertsbridge. See Station Building -15.1 Mid Mar '25 | RVRailway News. a link to the first post.

 

In the latest Tenterden Terrier the K&ESR Chairman says the Junction Rd. level-crossing’ll be done this summer; the Northbridge St. crossing in the Autumn and the A21 crossing in ‘26.

He says construction’ll be finished in time to enable ghost trains (for testing & training) in ‘27 and opening in ‘28.

 

Thanks for the update - no doubt there will be update on the RVR blog when the work starts.

 

The RVR is to feature on "Great British Railway Journeys" tomorrow (8th April 2025).

There was a brief shot of Michael Portillo operating the turntable on the short preview tonight and I immediately thought "that's the RVR!".

Episode is S16 E2 "Hildenborough to Robertsbridge", 18:30 on BBC2.

I haven't checked but it may be on iPlayer already.

 

Series 16 episodes 1 to 5 are all there.

 

Some very good shots of the Robertsbridge Junction station area in today's programme - all looking most impressive!

 

Does any recognise where the slippage photographed as being at Udiam is as I cannot relate the photograph in today's blog to the Google map of the area.

 

It's about 300 metres East of Junction Road. B2244 just on the Bodiam side of where the halt platform would have been back in the day.

 

I remember laying that track in the first place. Shame we'll have to go back and do it again, but such is life!

 

Its almost directly opposite Udiam House, and at a point where the railway line and the Rother are immediately adjacent. First signs appeared in spring of last year when a tree on the bank began to tilt river-wards. This followed the very wet winter of that year, so its possible that some underwater scouring of the bank has occurred.

 

Somewhere about here, then:



Photo taken the day we ballasted the section to Udiam Farm.

 

I was just trying to work out when that would have been. About 2013?

 

Thanks for the replies which are great.

 

There's a lovely video about it here:



The tenant is on the lawn, gin in hand, and a class 33 with a Dogfish trundles by

 

2009, in fact. I know because that same day I got the phone call to interview for my current job!

 

Nice to see that at least some of the neighbours are supportive!

 

She was a lovely lady, who was the tenant in the farmhouse at the time. Far from complaining, she often brought out tea and coffee for us. She also encouraged visitors she had to come and give us a hand, and a few of them found themselves actually laying track with us! Sadly, she is no longer resident there, I am given to understand.