Rother Valley Railway

Hastings Diesels sending 1013 along for the day.

 

Several more updates at::

https://rvrailway.blogspot.com/

Do come and join us for the open day on Saturday 18th April (for details see previous post) at our Robertsbridge Station and see for yourself . Added bonus is a chance to have short ride on the Hastings six car DMU thats visiting RVR for the occasion. You will be most welcolme.

Mike.

 

I see I photo there from Alasdair Stewart - his name rings a bell - maybe WHR?

 

Thats right. The WHR A -Team on the standard gauge at RVR. Been that way for a long time for some of us! Mike

 

Of course, this won't be the first time a Hastings DEMU has operated on this section of track out of Robertsbridge. Two power cars ventured as far as Bodiam in 1957, on test. Quite what they were testing that required that journey is unclear.

 

We've heard it mentioned once or twice before that a Hastings DMU, or part unit, went along K&ESR in the 1950's for some reason or another. Seems very odd though, specailly having in mind the parlous state of some the bridges on the Robertsbridge - Bodiam secton of the line that been mentioned. Is there any more you might be able to pass on about this fascinating posibliity please??? Mike

 

It's an intriguing idea, and indeed the introduction of the Hastings diesel units overlapped slightly with the last steam hauled hop-pickers' specials. However, given that even a 6S motor car weighed 54 tons, I'd have thought the 12 ton axle load limit on the Rother Valley section would have made it unlikely, in the absence of specific information.

 

I am afraid the SE driver concerned who told me, is long departed from this world. Like you, I think that it does sound very peculiar. I guess it would take some forensic examination of Working Timetables from that era to find out, possibly.

 

Some confusion here- a one-off movement such as that wouldn't have appeared in a Working Timetable. There might have been a Special Traffic Notice, but even that isn't guaranteed.

 

I think it's not impossible that a hastings diesel unit might have been allowed on a trial. The class 04 Dewry Diesels weighed 32 tons on all of the bridges all three axles would have been on the bridge at one time. Apart from Austen's bridge which was quite substantial and in good nick even when I first visited all the other bridges are so short they'd only have one bogie on at a time

 

Would that have been BR driver John Baker? We know he was on the BR Class 03 Drewry locos that worked the freight trains on K&ESR in the lines last few years. He was also a mainline Hasting DEMU driver. Went on to be a K&ESR volunteer driver until his sad passing. A really nice chap. Mike

 

Could it be as prosaic as simply a unit on test being shunted off onto a quiet stretch of line to keep it out of the way for a few hours during a busy period on the mainline? Maybe it was an easier refuge than on bigger stations in the area?

Tom