Spa Valley Railway - Latest News

Walk from Groombridge to Eridge stations via Harrison Rocks (path up the side of the rocks off the High Weald landscape trail) and Forge Road( which is a quiet lane) approx 3.5miles. If you require refreshments then Huntsman pub near the Eridge station .

 

Thanks for the recommendation - we did exactly this and it was a lovely walk, would thoroughly recommend it for anybody thinking of adding a stroll to a visit to the Spa Valley (the path past Harrison Rocks is not on Google Maps so if anybody else wants to follow it look on the OS maps website for the route). We managed to time our walk to see the 14.35 ex Eridge pass us at Forge Farm Crossing, which allows a lovely view of the loco sweeping down to you round a couple of curves - see attached photos (although @Jonnie may not be too pleased that 34053 was obviously a little too well cooked at this point and the valves lifted - it happens to the best of us!)
I found the railway to be very well presented - all stations excellently presented in period condition, looking almost as if they've stayed that way since closure by BR. All staff well dressed in period appropriate uniforms, which is not always the case at lines of the Spa Valley's size. It was nice to be able to have a wander through the sheds as well - not something I think many railways offer these days.
A couple of points where I am sure the leadership team have given consideration to these points but I just felt it was worth offering my thoughts.
Firstly, as far as I could tell from the info on the website, the railway would be alternating steam and diesel services with loco swaps at Eridge - but upon arriving at TWW for the 12.45 service it became apparent that 34053 and 73140 would be top and tailing all day. Not a massive thing but I can imagine if I was planning on doing some lineside photography based on thinking one loco was going to be leading on a particular train which wasn't how the top and tail arrangement was, I might be a little confused. A comment from whoever was driving 34053 also suggested the top and tail arrangement had been a late change so that might offer some explanation.
Secondly, when we joined the train for the last departure at Eridge, we found there was only 1 coach (the buffet coach) available for us to travel in. 2 of the 4 coaches were reserved for families partaking in the Easter Egg hunt event (fair enough for Easter weekend!) and a third was reserved for people who had booked for the Kent Cheese train. So for people like us who were attending 'just' for a train ride and not partaking in Easter Egg hunts or Cheese eating, there wasn't a lot of capacity. Admittedly I don't know whether there was a coach reserved for the Kent Cheese train on every trip, and the market for a 'normal' rover traveller might be lower on an Easter weekend, and I appreciate train lengths are constrained by the size of the loop at TWW, but if top and tail operating is going to be in place, is there prospect for adding a fifth coach to ensure there is enough capacity on days like this when there might be 3 coaches booked out for events? Or is that extra capacity just not needed?
And thirdly, there were occasional on train announcements, but we found that they were difficult to hear when the train was in motion as the noise of the train moving kind of drowned them out - is there a volume knob that could be turned up a smidge?
All are minor points and didn't detract from our enjoyment of a lovely day on a lovely railway. I do hope to be back at some point in the future!

Sent from my Pixel 9a using Tapatalk

 

I’m sure we’ve all seen on Social Media the appalling damage done to the Class 207 unit. Hopefully the perpetrators are caught and dealt with appropriately.

@Jonnie Ive seen a figure of £30k quoted for rectifying the damage. Is that the cost of a full strip back and repaint, and is that using volunteer labour or paid staff?!

 

This would be the price to pay if we have to go external, I am hopeful our Chairman can rectify it in house but the time, cost of sanding down, filling, sanding down, primer, undercoat and top coating is not cheap. The unit will hopefully be worked on tomorrow and Friday to get the old now destroyed paint off.

 

Thank you for your feedback, sorry I didn't write back sooner.

To explain, the 10:00 train is steam to Eridge, then the steamer lays over so that the crew of the diesel drive both ways along the line, and the steam engine isn't always on one end. On the day in question, advanced bookings were so low we opted to stick to 4. I'm honestly not sure why I wasn't asked about adding a 5th coach, as it isn't difficult for us to do . Sorry that it was a bit cramped on board for the trip you travelled on. It is a good thing we were busy enough to need that but sometimes we see so few turn up on the day 4 coaches is enough with the dining taking place (dining is our main source of income outside of special events).

 

Cuckoo Line Gala Update!

There is a lot of information on the gala webpage: https://www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk/product.php/7451/cuckoo-line-gala, including the train timetable (loco allocations are still being finalised). A bus timetable is also now available, linking Tunbridge Wells West to Heathfield Tunnel. This is a free service operated by the Bromley Bus Group. You can also purchase a combined Day Rover and Tunnel Entry ticket via our website.

Loco-wise, 41313 is being collected on Thursday, 5th June, and will arrive on Friday, 6th June. The U Class, 4MT, and Class 33 are being picked up on Monday, 9th June, and are expected to arrive on Tuesday, 10th June. All the steam locos will be facing Tunbridge Wells West.

I understand there are a few spaces remaining on the photo charter on Friday 20th June with the U Class and 4x BR(S) Green MK1's and as U's ran on this line it is a rare opportunity to get some shots of trains that did run on what is now the Spa Valley.

If anyone has any Cuckoo Line event questions your best bet is to email me jonnie.pay@spavalleyrailway.co.uk as I don't always get the chance to pop on here to reply

 

Cheers Jonnie... which direction will the 33 be facing?

 

Hopefully, with No. 2 end facing TWW, that way the driver can lean out and hear the wonderful sound of the Sulzer 8LDA. If it's No. 1 end facing the exhaust port is biased towards the opposite side of the loco, so believe it or not, it is quieter when you want to enjoy the sound it makes.

I'm partial to a Baby Sulzer or a Crompton

 

Bring on the Sulzer music

 

An updated selection of fares is available for the Cuckoo Line Gala. We appreciate that not everyone wants to travel all day, so in addition to the one-day rover, we have split the day into three sections. Morning, Afternoon, and Evening, which means you can travel between 07:00 and 11:45, for example, at a lower fare, and then go and take photographs elsewhere, for example.

1-Day Rovers

• Adult 1 Day Rover – £32.00
• Adult 1 Day Rover + Heathfield Tunnel Entry – £33.00
• Child (2–15 yrs) 1 Day Rover – £19.50
• Child (2–15 yrs) 1 Day Rover + Heathfield Tunnel Entry – £20.00
• Family 1 Day Rover (2 Adults + 2 Children) – £69.00
• Family 1 Day Rover (Additional Child) – £5.00 (Only valid when purchased in addition to a Family 1 Day Rover)
• Family 1 Day Rover + Heathfield Tunnel Entry – £72.00

2-Day Rovers

• Adult 2 Day Rover – £59.00
• Child (2 -15yrs) 2 Day Rover – £34.50

3-Day Rovers

• Adult 3 Day Rover – £86.00
• Child (2–15 yrs) 3 Day Rover – £48.50

Heathfield Tunnel Only

• Adult Heathfield Tunnel Only – £1.00
• Child Heathfield Tunnel Only – 50p

Morning Rovers

• Adult Morning Rover (valid from 07:00 to 11:45) - £18.00
• Child (2–15 yrs) Morning Rover (valid from 07:00 to 11:45) - £11.00
• Family (2A+2C) Morning Rover (valid from 07:00 to 11:45) - £47.00
• Family (Additional Child) Morning Rover (valid from 07:00 to 11:45) - £3.00

Afternoon Rovers

• Adult Afternoon Rover (valid from 11:30 to 17:00) - £18.00
• Child (2–15 yrs) Afternoon Rover (valid from 11:30 to 17:00) - £11.00
• Family (2A+2C) Afternoon Rover (valid from 07:00 to 11:45) - £47.00
• Family (Additional Child) Afternoon Rover (valid from 11:30 to 17:00) - £3.00

Evening Rovers

• Adult Evening Rover (valid from 16:45 to 23:00) – £16.00
• Child (2–15 yrs) Evening Rover (valid from 16:45 to 23:00) – £9.00
• Family (2A+2C) Evening Rover (valid from 16:45 to 23:00) - £41.00
• Family (Additional Child) Evening Rover (valid from 16:45 to 23:00) - £3.00

Singles

• Adult 1 Stop Single (TWW to GBR or GBR to ERD or ERD to GBR or GBR to TWW) – £8.00
• Child 1 Stop Single (TWW to GBR or GBR to ERD or ERD to GBR or GBR to TWW) – £6.00
• Adult 2 Stops Single (TWW to ERD or ERD to TWW) – £9.00
• Child 2 Stops Single (TWW to ERD or ERD to TWW) – £7.00

Members of the Tunbridge Wells & Eridge Railway Preservation Society, any railway with which we have a reciprocal travel arrangement, and HRA Privilege Pass Holders can obtain a 25% discount on tickets purchased on the day at any ticket office. These are not available for online booking in advance, as our online booking system cannot verify external HOPS ID cards or HRA Privilege passes.