K&ESR Diesel Gala
18th, 19th & 20th July 2025
Diesel Driver Experiences 21st & 22nd July
A unique mix of diesel power will be on offer at this year's Gala
Further exciting event news coming soon!
BR Class 50 50017 "Royal Oak"
Courtesy of Great Central Railway PLC
Class 50 50017 ‘Royal Oak’, currently residing in Network South East livery, is visiting courtesy of the Great Central Railway PLC. Spanning a total of 68 feet, this will be the longest Diesel locomotive ever to visit the Kent & East Sussex Railway.
‘Royal Oak is part of a class of diesel locomotives which went into service during 1967 and 1968. They were designed to haul express passenger trains at 100mph, so the 25mph speed limit on the K&ESR will not be an issue for this powerhouse!
50017 entered service in April 1968 as D417 and was renumbered 50017 in 1973 before receiving the name ‘Royal Oak’ in 1978. The loco enjoyed a 23-year BR career before being withdrawn in 1991.
BR Class 14 D9551
Courtesy of the SVR Class 14 Company Ltd & the Severn Valley Railway
With huge thanks to The SVR CLASS 14 COMPANY LIMITED & THE SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY for making the locomotive available to us...
Known as 'Teddy Bears' by enthusiasts, following a comment by Swindon Works' erecting shop foreman George Cole who quipped "We've built The Great Bear, now we're going to build a 'Teddy Bear'!" D9551 joins fellow class 14 D9504 "Jon Grimwood".
D9551 was one of the final batch of Class 14s produced. It entered BR service in September 1965 at Cardiff Canton, worked through BR service for 2 Years and 7 Months before being withdrawn from BR. After this "51" got sold to Stewarts & Lloyds Minerals Ltd, D9551 was acquired in December 1968 and was one of those allocated to Corby. It initially became S&L no. 29, and was subsequently repainted into BSC green livery and renumbered as BSC no. 50. It remained in service until early 1981.
D9551 was purchased for preservation in 1981 and went to the WSR. In 2003 "51" moved to the Royal Deeside Railway, in 2013 D9551 was sold to the Severn Valley Railway Class 14 Diesel Group, which later became the SVR Class 14 Company Limited, D9551 re-entered service hauling passengers for the first time on 18 May 2017.
The SVR CLASS 14 COMPANY LIMITED team will be at Tenterden Town Station with their sales stand, with some new merchandise as well.
Class 205 - Unit 1118 (Thumper)
Courtesy of Nigel Remmington
Image by Robin Coombes
Unit 1118 entered service in 1957, and if the K&ESR had remained open under British Railways, it’s almost certain a Thumper would have been seen here. So this is a rare chance to rewrite history for one weekend.
Originally built at Eastleigh Works, Unit 1118 formed part of the pioneering 2H sets that revolutionised non-electrified regional services in Hampshire and later the wider Southern network. Fitted with an English Electric 4SRKT engine producing a unique growl that earned them the nickname Thumpers, the Class 205s went on to serve for nearly half a century from Portsmouth and Salisbury to Hastings, Ashford, and beyond.
This particular unit now runs in preserved form with power car 60117 and driving trailer 60828 – the latter having been rebuilt following the tragic Cowden crash in 1994.
'BR Class 73 E6040 ‘The Bluebell Railway’ (73133)'
Courtesy of the 73133 Supporters Group & The Bluebell Railway
Later known as 73133 in 1973, ‘The Bluebell Railway’ was built in 1966 by Vulcan Foundry at the request of English Electric. Classed as ‘JB’s, later Class 73/1s, this Electro-Diesel was ordered as part of the fleet to operate the newly electrified Waterloo-Southampton/Bournemouth line. Initially numbered E6007-E6049, they differed slightly from the ‘JA’s, most notably having higher tractive effort and a 90mph maximum speed.
The locomotive received its nameplates and crest in September 1990. Repainted into Network SouthEast livery after its transfer, and then notably in Mainline Freight, it ran in mainline service for over 35 years.
It escaped being scrapped in 2004 and entered preservation, returning to mainline use in 2013. It was purchased privately in December 2022 by a member of the locomotive department at the Bluebell Railway itself.
It’s sister locomotive, 73128 ‘Kent & East Sussex Railway’ visited the Bluebell in September 2024, courtesy of GBRf. It was only fitting to have a reciprocal visit in place and invite E6040 ‘The Bluebell Railway’ to join us for this year’s gala.
Home fleet locos
BR Class 03 D2023
Courtesy of Tenterden Railway Equipment & Traction Company Ltd
BR Class 08 08359
Courtesy of The Diesel Electric Shunter Company Ltd
BR Class 14 D9504 "Jon Grimwood"
Courtesy of Tenterden Railway Equipment & Traction Company Ltd
BR Class 20 20087 "Reginald T Latham"
Courtesy of Road & Rail Steam Services
