East Kent Railway

Hi Everyone,

The East Kent Railway is crowdfunding for a track upgrade and to start building the siding for their engine shed. This is an operational railway who seem to be going through a huge scheme of improvement works at the moment.

Here is the link, I'm sure they would appreciate anything you can donate - there are rewards as well for people who donate - a worthy project, from a real railway with prospects, I have donated myself and visited for the BLS & PLEG Gala recently, a nice group of people running the place!

http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ekr

 

Glad to hear they're doing well. always hoped they'd make a success of it.

 

Interesting news from East Kent today where it seems a main line connection is being restored, presumably to assist NR with recycling track materials : https://www.networkrailmediacentre....ni7cMwrKgrFIMemDbX_aem_2SrSzNhTEbEvgu3qlSN9mA

 

I wonder if anything is really meant by
"Under the agreement, both organisations will also work together to explore opportunities for the re-establishment of commercial freight traffic over the East Kent Railway, helping to deliver ‘modal shift’ in the East Kent area to address Government rail freight growth targets." Or if it's just pro-forma? Given the EKR was to shift coal, I can't immediately see opportunities

 

I did a cab trip in 73108 on one of the Tilmanstone coal trains, hence my username. Golgotha tunnel is a strange beast, looking from outside like a normal double track tunnel, but inside only enough chalk for a single line was dug out.

 

Cannot see where they would run freight to, all that was left was a mile of EKLR trackbed from Shepherdswell to Eythorne and the old Tilmanstone Colliery spur. Can no longer reach the colliery site as the bridge over the Eythorne Road was taken out. The EKLR trackbed beyond Eythorne is privately owned.

I used to work in the old Central Stores at Eythorne in the late sixties and the weighbridge at Betteshanger for a while. As stated above Golgotha is interesting to walk through with the double line portals but only one line excavated inside! I well remember the coal trains trundling past the stores!

 

As I understand it there is an opportunity to get across the road utilising the old lower road crossing not the bridge route. This will allow a large quantity of shale to be transported out and open up sidings in the old Tilmanstone yard for a variety of uses that are being discussed. It’s been in the works for sometime as we did some work outside the Ekrs place on the signalling in prep for a potential reconnection 2 years ago

 

The houses built on the edge of the EKLR trackbed on the Eythorne side of the old crossing point about twenty years or more ago would mean having much of their back gardens compulsory purchased unless the trackbed can be realigned nearer the higher colliery spur bridge embankment way above the line of the EKLR.

The old EKLR line ran alongside the base of colliery tip which is by definition much higher than the trackbed as the colliery was on the top of the hill and the EKLR the bottom.. That's the only open 'yard' space I know of.

The old Tilmanstone colliery spur where the coal trains ran, goes straight into an industrial estate built on the old colliery site side of where the bridge was.

I cannot see that amount of time, cost and public opposition being overcome to store recycled material.

Road to nowhere IMHO.

I have no idea who owns the old trackbed in the opposite direction from the Eythorne crossing to what was the Guilford colliery but that is even more ancient. and in unspoilt countryside.

Reconnection to the nearby main line at Shepherdswell would seem straightforward and interesting to this non knowledgable local resident.

 

Gosh! If it can that would be good news for everybody.

 

From experience the minor realignment to get across the road is perfectly feasible by spurring off the old colliery line further along, the curve is easily manageable and navigable. We do not know exactly what is proposed to be stored, imported or exported from any particular point other than shale which was mentioned a few years ago when we were working out on the mainline. So I suspect we will have to wait and see how / if this project moves forward. I’ll have to look on Google Earth now to see what is in the industrial park and see if that can give us an idea! There is nothing in the direction of the old Guilford Colliery that I can see making sense for track laying.