Spa Valley Railway - Latest News

Thanks to everyone who is helping to put that out - it's very interesting. And thanks for pointing it out!

Noel

 

https://www.facebook.com/share/19YxXfynFH/

Broom Lane Bridge News!

The new bridge is in and has been handed over to us to put the track back next week. Trains this weekend are only operating between Tunbridge Wells West and the bridge calling st High Rocks.

We plan to reopen to Groombridge and Eridge on Saturday, 18th April!

We’re going to need your support as we continue to pay for this essential piece of infrastructure over the next two years. If we hadn’t replaced the bridge when we did the likelihood is we’d have had to stop crossing it by now!

www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk

 

A bridge with a built-in platform on? Is that as per the original bridge, although it looks from the parapets as if it was originally dual track?

 

Was double track but now only single. I believe @Jonnie said there's no need for double track, and that they couldn't afford it anyway.

 

It’s a walkway not a platform. It’s now a requirement for new bridges to have one.

We couldn’t afford a double track bridge like the original, nor would there be an operational need for one.

 

The walkway can often be arranged to contain the cable routes to avoid damage.

Cheers, Neil

 

We're quite lucky in that we haven't any cables between High Rocks and Groombridge that need to go over the bridge. It is rather a plain structure that'll now be gradually paid off over two years and fade into memory as a significant project that, without it, we'd have no Spa Valley Railway. I suspect 99.9% of our passengers won't even know it is there when trains start going at 25mph over it again (hopefully from this weekend).

The speed restriction was originally implemented in 2017. I've been a Driver since 2013, so I remember many trips over the bridge before the speed restriction was applied. You could, if you had the right weight of train, with something like the Class 25 or Class 33, slow down at Poke Hill Farm Crossing, give it the bigg'n, and leave it there for the whole journey back to Tunbridge Wells, and only just about hit 25mph going through High Rocks.

Oh, the memories, the good times when coal was cheap, diesel was pence and running a heritage railway wasn't as expensive as it is now... I think I can say that and sound as though I've been there forever, as I turned 34 today and celebrated 12 years as the General Manager late last month! Although, for personal reasons, I've had a 3-month period when I've worked remotely and not been physically at the Spa Valley much. Mental health, anxiety and depression are real things, and they hit me hard at the end of January and on the face of it, I'm a tough cookie, so don't be afraid to speak out and talk to anyone close to you, especially in the heritage railway sector, as it is tough. If anyone else has responsibilities, such as a GM, heritage railway manager, or director, and wants an ear to vent to, drop me a message. I know how tough it can be.

I'm in a much better place now, I've got the help I needed, and I'm back to driving this Saturday for the line reopening to Eridge, with 34053 as my rostered engine.

 

Someone needs to create a headboard Jonnie and Broome Lane special to welcome both back !

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Class 31/4 31430 ‘Sister Dora’ stands proudly on Broom Lane Bridge as it becomes the first locomotive to pass over the brand new structure!

We reopen to Groombridge and Eridge this Saturday, 18th April with Bulleid Pacific 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ joining 31430 on our Green timetabled services.

 

The last time I drove a train over Broom Lane Bridge at 25mph was in 2017 when the speed restriction came into force. It was certainly a real privilege to be the first to drive 31430 over our brand new bridge at 25mph this evening!

Chris Hobden took the first one over at 10mph with ceremonial detonators!

Well done, and an enormous thank you must go to everyone involved who has made the biggest infrastructure project we've ever undertaken, costing over £500,000, come to fruition.

My part played in the project was not only balancing the Wealden Railway Company’s books, something I’ve been doing since 2018, but also leading the fundraising.

This was something I’d never done before, but knew we had to do. I’m delighted to say that over £125,000 has been raised since we launched the appeal in January 2025. Every penny went straight towards building the new bridge.

We did it through dedicated fundraising events such as Beer Festivals with ‘Buy a Beer for Broom Lane’, sponsored walks along the line, envelopes on our trains to collect loose change and the odd £50 note, tap to donate with an appeal board at Tunbridge Wells, JustGiving online, pushing via TV, radio, online and local press, reels pushing our appeal on our socials and demonstrating why we needed to do it, a new website that could show what we were doing and reaching out to our dedicated members and volunteers to help.

The Spa Valley Railway reopens to Groombridge and Eridge this Saturday!

After 12 years in the role, I am still beyond proud to be General Manager of this lovely railway and the fantastic team that makes it possible.

 

Very well done to you all @Jonnie And my heartfelt support and very best wishes to you in getting the full benefit from the help you are personally now receiving.

Today was a great day to be back at the railway, based at Groombridge as usual with the always friendly volunteers there plus the kiosk for coffee and snacks.

And with 34053 never far away with a very cheery crew on the footplate! I managed to appear at a few different places as they worked what was quite an intensive service. And I had a nice run up to TWW and back behind 34053 to get the new bridge done of course.

I photographed the first four trains, but feeling quite tired all day after several weeks working on my South African Steam Loco memoirs book, I opted to watch the last train leave when I was in the Sainsbury's car park as I got a pizza for my tea tonight.

Photos are one of each of the 10.35, 11.50, 13.20 and 14.35 ex Eridge. The first three are around Groombridge station and the last one at Forge Farm Crossing.

Bryan

 

The following is a copy-and-paste from a report I've just sent to our volunteers on HOPS.

Hello everyone,

Saturday and Sunday saw the first trains operating over the new Broom Lane Bridge. It was certainly great to see the whole railway open again and passing Adams Well at 25mph for the first time since 2017. We carried 757 people over the weekend with ticket revenue of £20,568; after costs, this equates to around £8,000 profit.

The railway has paid for around half of the project so far, and over the next two years, we’ll continue to pay it off. This does mean we need to make as much money as possible on the days we are open.

As you’ll be aware and no doubt experiencing yourself, the price of fuel is now significantly higher than it has been before. Our diesel locos burn red diesel, which was 70p a litre in January and is now nearly double that. Straight away, that means our average consumption of 50 gallons on a Green day with evening trains has increased the fuel price from £133 to £266. This is another 8 visitors we need to cover the extra cost; it might not seem like many, but over the course of a year, it amounts to another 1,000 visitors just to cover the cost of red diesel. With fuel costs already up, the likelihood that people will take a car journey to us is likely to be affected. We can only wait and see.

The impact isn’t just on red diesel, where white diesel is nearly £2 a litre at the pumps around Tunbridge Wells, but also on delivery companies and services we use, which are now adding an extra fuel surcharge. This includes our waste collection, coal deliveries and other services we rely on, such as catering deliveries. If you see prices increasing on our products, it isn’t by choice or to make more money; it is to cover the extra charges we’re being hit with to fill the gap and reduce the loss.

This also impacts hauliers of locomotives on trucks; they are now adding fuel charges on top of their services. This extra cost isn’t something we have had before, and it has taken quotes of around £5,000 to move a 75-ton diesel locomotive one way, up to £8,000 in recent weeks, and I don’t think anyone anticipates this decreasing anytime soon.

Sadly, this means the ability to justify moving locomotives on a lorry isn’t as easy as it once was. Whilst we could pay the charges and fees associated with bringing in locomotives, the likely return based on previous events is not there. There is only so much a person is prepared to pay for a day rover ticket!

The Diesel Gala is sadly suffering this year due to these high costs, and we have replaced it with the Green timetable and extra dining events. Most of you know this is an event I’ve organised since 2012, so not going ahead with it hasn’t been an easy decision. However, based on figures from recent years, the locomotives we have available or could bring in on a lorry, the likelihood of it turning a profit is too small to justify the risk. Visitors to events like this are usually traction specific, so unless it’s the right loco, they won’t come.

It isn't just the cost of moving a locomotive, either; one locomotive we could have had visit needed owners' representatives and a fitter to enable it to run, which comes with hotel fees and a loco hire fee, which before you know it when you include transport to and from Tunbridge Wells West you've easily spent £20,000 on just one hire before you've started the locomotive and burned some of our expensive red diesel! We then have to add our own operating costs on top of this, and it quickly becomes a £25,000 to £30,000 cost, which would need a good 1,000 visitors paying £30 each to break even, and that is if fuel stays at the current levels. Events of the last four years have sadly not seen this volume of visitors reliably attending our Diesel Galas. It is a good thing the Cuckoo Line closed in 1965 rather than 1966, and the Class 47 was available last August, as there is no way we could have brought in the locomotives this year with the current quotes!

We are not the only railway to have turned down locomotive hires recently due to the high charges we are currently seeing. It is disappointing, but we must, especially with the cost associated with Broom Lane, ensure that we operate at a profit to continue paying for the bridge. This is not the end of Diesel Galas, by the way, it is right now not something we can justify, but hopefully in August 2027, we can stage an event to celebrate 30 years of the Spa Valley Railway that includes a Diesel Gala too, as we did with the 25th Anniversary Gala in 2022.

In more positive news, Day Out With Thomas is selling exceptionally well. Over 4,000 people are now booked to visit, and we’re at the same place we were this time last year, which is excellent and later this week, a new mainline tamper that would usually cost a lot to hire for a shift is being delivered to Tunbridge Wells West on Thursday to do two days worth of tamping out on the track for free (including transport), courtesy of Volker Rail and Stewart Robinson. This includes the newly laid section at Broom Lane, which is brand new and Cold Bath, where there is currently a 10mph speed restriction. The tamper is out on the line on Thursday and Friday, then returns to the mainline for its weekend work.

Visitor numbers for the year are down in comparison to 2025, as we've effectively had 8 weeks of no full train service and 4 operating days were cancelled, but not as much as you might think. So far this year, we have carried 6,175 visitors, whereas this time last year we'd carried 7,102. Ticket revenue-wise, 2025 was £144,061, and this year it currently stands at £106,643. Whilst it is not finalised yet and depreciation and other elements need to be taken into account, the profit and loss sheet for the Wealden Railway Company shows a profit of £53,370.39 for the financial year ending 31st January 2026.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support of the Spa Valley Railway and for ensuring we continue to trade successfully. It is much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Jonnie

 

Many thanks indeed @Jonnie for taking the time to post that report to your volunteers, here as well. It all sounds very sensible to me and of course I hope we all start to see things stabilise re fuel costs and then start dropping back very soon.

Very good news is how the Thomas event is booking, I hope that all goes to plan over the two weekends.

I had a great day based at Groombridge on Saturday when 34053 was operating, and hope to do a good number more visits this year.

Thanks again. I very much hope you are back on level track now and doing ok.

Bryan

 

Hopefully a few sceptics etc on other threads will take note of some of the increased costs and consider when making some of the pronouncements.

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