Kent & East Sussex Railway

Enjoyed a full day yesterday at the (Diesel) Gala, and it was a full day! From the very first 09:30 DEMU departure to the last 50/20 arrival on the evening run, it was an action packed day that was very well run, with pretty much everything advertised being produced. I was a very satisfied customer and was in some ways surprised there weren't more people on the trains, however this worked well for us with available seats near the front of the trains making for a comfortable day. I really hope the event was considered successful by the railway as it was certainly enjoyable.

The stand out visitor for me was the Class 205 Thumper. So many events out there are 100% loco focussed and as a unit man I have very few events to go to with a DMU of slany kind making a trip away from its base. So seeing 1118 stretch it's legs along the KESR was what got us down from Norfolk in the first place. It is a well restored unit and fittingly still on Southern territory.

I have a few more observations from the event:
-The NSE signage was a nice touch and must have taken some effort, the pink lampposts were noted!
-The timetable could have done with a few more minutes at crossings at places such as Rolvenden. The tokens weren't going to/from the boxes that quickly and there were several occasions where 5 or 6 extra mins were lost which proved impossible to get back.
-Declassifying the first class for the weekend was a welcome policy. Understand for normal days, but for a diesel gala it was great to sit wherever we wanted and enjoy the varied stock on one ticket. We were making a beeline for the pre nationalisation coaches which were very nice specimens indeed.
-The hot food on the platform at Tenterden staying open till the evening train departed was brilliant. We needed an evening meal but with the service 45 minutes down we thought we'd have to cancel the last trip and leave to get food, but the brilliant staff cooked us a meal quickly in good time to reboard the evening 20/50 trip, which made the day.
-There was at least one station stop booked in the published timetable that ran non stop on the day. We didn't need the stop but thought that's one to watch as it could upset some needing to get off!
-Finally the GWR Railcar on display was a treat. I applaud the railway for pushing the restoration of this one closer to completion, really looking forward to seeing it done and will return to see it when it does. Was very happy to donate a little extra to see this one make it over the line.

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My series of events from the Saturday of the gala if anyone is interested .

I’m not particularly a massive diesel fan although I would be lying to say I didn’t enjoy this event, the effort to detail that the KESR team put into this event really added to the overall atmosphere so I must applaud everyone involved for their efforts in making such a great gala.