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K&ESR Members e-newsletter No 50

K&ESR Members e-newsletter No 50

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Kent & East Sussex Railway

Members e-newsletter No.50

Hello   

 

Welcome to the June issue of the e-newsletter

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From the Chair...

A shorter piece this time. Although the national outlook remains uncertain our customers are coming back to us. We have relaxed some of the Covid restrictions and restarted the two-train service. In August we shall be back to seven days per week. We are still strongly recommending advance booking, and this will enable us to take decisions about cutting out lightly loaded trains. As I have said before, we are feeling our way into the new normal.



Simon Marsh with Mayor of Ashford Callum Knowles and Mayor of Tenterden Lisa Lovelidge at the launch of the Tenterden community art project on Friday 2nd July 2021.

We are beginning to build back up after massive disruption of the past year or so. We are finding where the pinch points are, and we are looking at ways of resolving them in the most cost-effective manner.


We can never have enough people. Volunteer recruitment is relatively healthy at the moment, and we have recently run a couple of induction days, but there can never be enough to go round all the roles that require filling to maintain a fully staffed and reliable seven-days-per-week service. I know that some individuals – paid and volunteer – have really gone the extra mile in recent weeks and the Railway is extremely grateful to them.


Please look out for requests for help from roster clerks and others, and please do consider offering yourself for tasks and duties beyond those for which you normally volunteer.


The Public Inquiry into the enabling Transport and Works Act Order for the line between Bodiam and Robertsbridge has now actually started. Our General Manager has already given his main evidence in support of our friends at the Rother Valley Railway, but our involvement is by no means over. He is having to maintain a close watching brief and hold himself ready to assess and if necessary to rebut any points made by those who are opposing the new railway.


You will find a report on the June Board meeting elsewhere in this issue. The busy-ness of 2021 shows no signs of abating – nor does the list of challenges – but we are planning for the future with confidence.

 

Simon Marsh

Chairman


Finance

Your Railway has made a surplus each month for over a year now, building cash reserves for the future. We have been fortunate enough to qualify for Government Grants, and a number of Legacies and Donations have reached us, for which we are very grateful. The Fundraising Working Party stepped up to the plate and brought in tens of thousands of pounds. On the other hand, we have kept a very tight grip on expenditure. The Management have spent only what was required. Recently I started releasing monies for Projects and I hope that you will see the results in the coming weeks and months.

 

I haven’t lost sight of the previous “opening up”, which later collapsed to another lock-down. For that reason I will proceed cautiously through the Summer, watching for changes in Government advice.


Our Railway is a safe place to be (as safe as anywhere can be), and it was good to return to Tenterden, and see Customers and Staff – and of course Steam and Diesel working for us.

 

Geoff Crouch

Finance Director

A set passes the box at Wittersham Road. Image courtesy of Jake Lewis

From the Boardroom

The board of trustees had its monthly meeting on Saturday 26 June. We met in the function room of the White Lion in Tenterden High Street.


The e-Newsletter provides an opportunity to give a brief flavour of some of the most important points. It should not in any sense be regarded as a formal record.


We noted the restart of public operations and the steps we were taking to manage the Covid risk. We also noted the additional work that had been caused by the Government pushing back the date for the implementation of Step 4 of the emergence from lockdown. Bookings were healthy and being closely monitored so decisions could be taken about the level of service.


We discussed the locomotive situation and endorsed management plans to hire a Class 14 to manage the short-term risk of unavailability. Other options had been investigated and not proved viable.


We endorsed a proposal to give paid staff a salary increase; this would be the first such for some years. We also endorsed recruitment to a limited number of posts for cleaning, food and drink and operating which were deemed essential to maintain the level of operation and safeguard revenue. The operating post would also have a safety element, thus boosting our capacity in this vital area. It was proving impossible completely to fill these roles using volunteers.


The 2019-2020 accounts were approved, with special thanks to trustee Philip Shaw for his work in bringing them to a state of readiness.


We noted that the Railway’s finances were sound, although there were still historic arrears of maintenance to be addressed and there would always be a need for safety-related spending. It would continue to be important actively to seek funding from all available sources; complacency was not an option. It would also be important for the management to continue to develop ways of ensuring that secondary spend including hospitality contributed more significantly to the bottom line.


We noted a report from the Safety Director together with progress towards the completion of the review of the Safety Management System and the supporting documentation which would clarify lines of responsibility for all safety-related issues. We noted that the Safety Committee’s list of outstanding items was beginning to reduce.


We noted a detailed report from the Risk and Compliance Committee and agreed the outline of a new Company risk register. Our risks continue to be better understood and managed; we agreed for example, that contract management should be added to the list.


We agreed that the July Board meeting would review progress towards the five-year strategy.


A report from the Fundraising Working Party was noted. Since the report had been received the 60th Anniversary Appeal had been formally closed although donations were still coming in. We discussed whether to establish a flagship project for fundraising now that the Terrier 150 and Kitchen Car appeals were complete; there are complex issues involved here and we needed to get any decision right. We agreed to return to it at subsequent Board meetings.


We noted the continuing successful work of the Project Assessment Committee (PAC) which had now recommended funding for ten investment proposals with others in the pipeline. The PAC would have an important part to play in recommending any future flagship projects. We felt that the September “Second Thursday” presentation could feature the PAC and its work.


We noted continuing discussions with Arlington’s about the return of the Kitchen Car.


We briefly reviewed the hire of Knowle to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. The main learning point, for us and The Terrier Trust, was that future hires should be accompanied by enhanced display material about the K&ESR and its Terriers in order to make the most of the ambassadorial element.


We noted progress with the IT project, and that the next stage would be to maximise the benefits from the new arrangements and upgrade the telephone system.


I confirmed that I would write to Jim Williams to thank him for his work as volunteer liaison officer. There were now nearly 40 potential new volunteers in the pipeline.


We agreed that the 2021 AGM would be in late November, in St Mildred’s Church in Tenterden. Preliminary advice for members would be inserted into the July Terrier mailing.


The next scheduled meeting would be on Saturday 31 July. 

 

Simon Marsh

Chairman



Class 14 loco
Class 14 loco at Rolvenden. Image courtesy of Pete Salmon.

From the General Manager

Pandemic Step 4

The Government decided on 12th July to confirm the move from Step 3 to Step 4 effective from Monday 19th July. 

 

Social contact restrictions have been removed and the emphasis now is very much on individual responsibility - which in my opinion is going to be respected a great deal more on the High Weald than ever at Wembley stadium! 

 

Advisory guidance is in place for all:

  • Get vaccinated if at all possible,
  • Meet in well ventilated areas,
  • Wear a face covering when in contact with people you don't normally meet,
  • Wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitiser regularly during the day,
  • Cover your nose and mouth when you cough and sneeze,
  • Stay at home if unwell.

 

We are now operating:

  • A and B sets with up to 5 round trips per day,
  • Freedom Tickets available for any mix of journey,
  • Pullman Services,
  • Fish & Chip trains.
  • All seats are available for sale.

Railway Experience Days (RXD's) will be reviewed for September onwards.

 

For the safety of both our customers and staff, the following measures will remain in place at the railway:

  • Hand sanitising points at each station,
  • Track and trace details to be provided,
  • Perspex screens at till points.

 

We ask that everyone be aware of keeping space between you and other colleagues and/or customers

 

Wearing masks is a matter of personal choice to keep yourself and others safe.

 

As you can see on the rosters there are plenty of opportunities available for volunteers to get involved with work across the Railway and we very much look forward to everyone returning, working safely, and enjoying themselves at the K&ESR.  

Loco Hire

 

The TREATS Class 14 diesel has been a reliable servant to the railway over many years, as well as being our main thunderbird. Like with many of us, it now requires a 3,000 hour service and some other work.

 

To facilitate this service we have hired in a replacement Class 14 (D9526) from the beginning of July until January 2022, from The Diesel and Electric Preservation Group.

 

This ensures we retain our diesel presence and thunderbird capability

Online Sales

 

One of the strategies this year was to increase our number of online bookings. 

First of all why do this? Quite simply:

Our customers have increased their online activity from supermarket orders to take away dinners, it is now normal practise.

 

Online Bookings can be made at any time of day or night. Our products are available 24/7. 

 

50% of our online bookings are made after 5pm

 

We have invested as a business in improved IT that enables us to support increased online activity and is easily scaleable.

 

To achieve this many areas of the business came together to ensure:

  • it was easy for our customers to book, 
  • we have a good range of product available.
  • we have a secure platform in place.

 

As we know some of the above has given us a number of challenges to overcome, and our thanks go to all concerned in sorting the problems as they arose - quickly and efficiently.


How are we doing?

Comparing the number of bookings and yields in 2021 with pre covid 2019, we can see:

  • Q1 2021 (Jan-Mar) bookings were down 80% but yield up 51%. Hardly surprising as we were in lockdown,
  • Q2 2021 (Apr-Jun) bookings were up by 42% and yield up by 57%,
  • For the initial Q3 period of 01st to 25th July, bookings were up by 134% and yield up by 48%.

 

Onwards and upwards.

 

Shaun Dewey

General Manager


Infrastructure

Network Rail Volunteers 20th July 2021 Photo Brian Richards

‍A group from Network Rail, spent one of their volunteering days with us at Wittersham Road station.

Along with Paul, Geoff & Andy from the Tenterden Wednesday Group, 4 tons of shingle was laid along the back of the copers, removing a long term trip hazard. We also completed the weeding, both of which have improved the appearance of the platform immensely. 

If you know of any companies that offer volunteering days to their staff, get them to get in touch with me, any help is gratefully received. We can include a trip on the train, which this group really appreciated. ‍I am planning to paint the platform fence, buildings, signal box & gates, so the station will receive some much needed TLC that has been missing for a few years.

Construction works at Bodiam

The new waste water treatment plant has been working for a few weeks now. 

The waste from the toilet block now goes into the new tanks and through settlement & anaerobic digestion is treated so that the final product is clean enough to outfall into the stream. There has been a lot of work involved in this, new drainage has had to be installed from the toilet block to the tanks & then from the tanks to the stream, a power supply also had to be installed to power the aeration pump.

Rumours that the WW1 re-enactment team have invaded Bodiam might be true. Photo: Brian Richards

The work has taken longer than planned, as we have avoided using the machines when the ground has been wet, to prevent damaging the grass with the tyres/tracks. We also reused as much material as possible, reducing the cost to the project.

When it's just a little bit too boggy! Photo: Brian Richards

We have also only had a couple of volunteers helping us with the works – Thanks to Frim & the PWay team, for working in some truly atrocious weather with me to get this work completed.

We also tried to move the spoil only when the ground had had time to dry & firm up, as can be seen Frim manages to show what happens when you find the ground is still too soft!

Camping Coach at Bodiam. Image courtesy of Dave Hazeldine.  

Camping Coach

The camping coach is now installed in its final position, the power & water supply are in, the waste water is connected to the waste water plant & internal fit out is nearing completion.

 

This week Dave Stubbs is starting the decking works along the end & side of the carriage (he could really do with some help if anyone can please spare some time).


Once the decking is in place, the site will be tidied & dressed with seeded top-soil to help it blend in to the surroundings over time.

 

Brian Richards

Infrastructure Manager


Museum Notes

WC&PR Caution sign Photo: Brian Janes

Early days with the Railway only just reopening ‘normally’ but Museum business is looking good with numbers, sales and donations up on what we might reasonably have expected. The decision to open up early in the day not only advertises us but takes up some of the slack resulting from the relatively thin offering elsewhere. To help boost the passenger numbers we have even picked up dozens of visitors from those seeing, and imbibing at, the ‘Old Dairy' brewery next door.

 

We have of course increased our sales from the substantial, and continuing, donations of books and model railway items and there are great numbers of bargains for sale from £1 upwards. Come and see.

 

Routine museum business continued of course and Bob Clifford has been very busy training the new team arising from our appeals for volunteers, particularly on HOPS. A new, very friendly and effective group is emerging.

 

On the exhibits front as well as the stunning poster of Bodiam Castle (reproductions in various sizes now available from Dave Stubbs) we have now secured a unique pedestrian warning enamel sign from central Clevedon where the Weston Clevedon & Portishead ran straight through the town. We recovered a mysterious trespass sign from an overgrown Tenterden back garden; it is cast aluminium on an apparently K&ESR concrete post. Does this resonate with anybody?

 

Having for a few weeks been granted space in the Pullman dock, the Cavell van has now departed to its usual place at Bodiam with the station properly opened. Its cleanliness has been miraculous away from Bodiam’s swirling dust storms. If only enough cash was available to get a little tarmac to give a national memorial a better immediate environment.

 

Brian Janes

Museum Curator


Commercial News

Community Art Project

The community art project, Looking back, moving forward, for which we were a key venue, earlier this month, was a huge success. We renewed local stakeholder relationships, and many local visitors came down to see the exhibition at the station. Many  hadn’t visited before and will hopefully come back and see us again. Following this, Homewood School year 7 pupils are already planning to come back for a train ride and Tenterden, Rolvenden and St Michaels primary schools have all signed up for our Evacuation Day event this year which will take place on Monday 13th September. Many visitors also commented to the volunteers manning the space, how lovely it was to see the railway so involved in the town. Long may that continue!

 

A huge amount of positive publicity was also generated, some of you will hopefully have seen the TV coverage on the BBC News and most recently the front page of the Kent and Sussex Courier.


Community Art Project 2021. Mr Doodle joints Mayors Callum Knowles and Lisa Lovelidge and students from Tenterden Junior School. Image courtesy of Tenterden Schools Trust.
Mayor of Tenterden Cllr Lisa Lovelidge and Mayor of Ashford Cllr Callum Knowles opened the exhibition to the public on Saturday 3rd July 2021. Image courtesy of Tenterden Schools Trust.
Community Art Exhibition sample at Tenterden Station July 2021. Image courtesy of Tenterden Schools Trust.

‍The official private viewing was held at Tenterden station on the evening of Friday 2nd July with several local dignitaries attending including our local MP, Damien Green, and the Ashford and Tenterden Mayors, Cllr Callum Knowles and Cllr Dr Lisa Lovelidge. 

 

We will also potentially be hosting a special fundraising event for our local Mayors later this year.

Other Commercial News

There are plenty of plans afoot but here are some of the highlights. More will follow in the next issue.


Welcome boards

If you visit one of the stations along the line in the next month or so, you will start to notice refreshed welcome boards going up which give a short history of the railway and the stations, details of some of where the railway has appeared on film and TV screens and some of the events visitors can come and enjoy to escape the modern world. QR codes will also enable visitors to connect to or website for more detailed information and also foreign language translations.


A second board at Tenterden town station will help visitors make the most of their visit with us by informing them about the various activities they can enjoy to maximise their visit.

Promotional leaflets (previously annual Timetables)

These new leaflets have gone to print as I type now we are confident about Stage 4 lockdown restrictions easing. Following much consultation and discussion with our friends within the various tourism partnerships, this year we have decided to change the format.  The idea is that the content is much more designed to give potential customers a flavour of what the railway can offer, instead of including a fixed timetable which leaves us very little room for flexibility.  We shall continue to direct point customers towards our website for specific information and to book tickets - often with an online discount.


Daily visitors will receive a timetable that is specific to their visit, as part of their Welcome and Safety briefing that we give out with tickets. 

 

This change away from a "year specific" timetable promotional leaflet, is a much more sustainable way to share our information; in that it means we can easily update content on our website if things do change and be more responsive to chaging customer trends. This approach will also be much better for the environment, as any unused leaflets at the end of a calendar year can continue to be distributed and shared rather than those left having to be recycled and of course we can be more efficient with our printing cyles and get best value.


What to see from the train

This activity encouraging visitors to engage with nature as they travel along the line has been going down well and we will continue to provide activity sheets to support the "spotter sheets".  We have decided that to get the best value from on-table vinyls, these will be fitted for the 2022 season to provide a more permanent added value activity during the train ride.   

 


Forthcoming events

In August we will be welcoming Austin Rover and MG car clubs.

 

The Sussex and Kent Weald stationary engine group will be at Bodiam station on the weekend of 7th and 8th August and the first Bus Rally in the South East will be taking place at Tenterden on Sunday 15th August.

 

On 1st to 3rd August our visitors will have the opportunity to ride behind the visiting Class 14 “Teddy Bear” locomotive.

 

More details of all of these events can be found on our website under "Plan Your Visit" Events.

 

Junior Engineering Experiences


New for this year; the first of these experience days takes place on Saturday 31 July and includes exclusive behind the scenes tours, cab visits, steam train rides, a talk about how steam engines work with Chris Vine, Peter’s Railway author and their very own signed copy of one of his books to take home.

 

Both this coming Saturday and the second date on Saturday 21 August have proven very popular and we hope to build upon this in future years using customer feedback to deliver a truly excellent products to the engineers of the future!


Heather Packham

Commercial Officer


Wealden Pullman and Cavell Van enroute to Bodiam. Image courtesy of Alan Crotty

All things Volunteering 

This month is a slightly different write up in regards to volunteering, although the work of the volunteering committee has continued behind the scenes, we have had an extremely successful month in regards to recruitment of new volunteers.


Thanks to the new webform which has been created by our commercial department, following feedback through the volunteering committee, signing up to be a volunteer has never been so simple.


As a result of this we have seen a recent influx of people expressing an interest in joining the K&ESR family. On the 7th and 10th July, we ran some introduction to K&ESR days for potential new recruits to come and get a full tour of the railway and introduction to all possible opportunities for volunteering. These days had an 100% success rate with all attendees signing up and becoming volunteers. The new recruits have signed up for a whole range of Departments ranging from Footplate to Platform staff, from Events to TTI’s.


As well as those which attended these days, we have also had lots of volunteers come in with an interest in departments from the very off meaning we have had at least 4 new volunteers join our engineering staff at Rolvenden, and others joining departments such as Footplate and Guard.



If you are not yet volunteering with us and wish to do so, please follow the link below and complete the webform to join the K&ESR family there is a role for everyone.


Sarah Tagart

Volunteer Committee

 


Carriage and Wagon Department

‍Since re-opening, our main focus has become finishing the overhaul of our Mark One compartment coach 86, so it is ready for the Santa Specials. Our volunteers have really gone to town inside, the varnishing looks great already. One relatively new volunteer, Ivan Pelling has nearly single-handedly reinstalled the ceilings. Works staff have refitted the doors and are replacing both ends of the coach roof, as having removed the water tanks we found the structure was in very poor condition.

CK86 with added ventilation
Photo: Peter Blythe.
Family Saloon receiving attention. Photo: Peter Blythe.

We have also given the Victorian set some attention. SECR 2947 has received new wheelsets, thanks to Ben Lilly of Railway Retreats for letting us do a swap. The District Coach has also received another wheelset and we have re-varnished one side of the Great Eastern 6 wheel Brake. This now gives us a six coach set fit for a Terrier.  The SECR Family Saloon has now taken up residence for a repaint and other works, for which Craftmaster have generously sponsored half of the paint.

We also have the Shark Brake van in for a bit of remedial work for a few weeks. Looking forwards, we have the SECR Birdcage coming in for bogie work and for use in the upcoming Junior Engineering Experiences.

 

Peter Blythe

Carriage & Wagon Manager


Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility

Well we painted the containers green but apparently that does not reduce our carbon footprint so we looked a bit deeper… 


We all know that burning fossil fuel is bad for the planet but heritage railways are limited in what we can do to reduce our emissions. 


There are some coal “replacements” on the market but nothing that seems to meet all our requirements. Bio Diesels, on the other hand, have been around for some time. The original bios where a bit "iffy" to say the least. They required alterations to machinery and would not mix with “normal” diesel. Then an email came across my desk that pointed to something new. 


"For every 1,000 litres of diesel burned, you will produce 3600kg of greenhouse gas CO2, compared to just 195kg GHG CO2 for every 1,000 litres of HVO burned."


So what is HVO? To quote the producer - Crown HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) is a premium, high quality diesel fuel made from renewable, sustainable raw materials – none of which release any new CO2 into the atmosphere. 


The feedstocks used to manufacture Crown HVO are 100% waste, drawn from primary sources which have bypassed damage to the environment, natural ecosystem and the drive for global deforestation. All raw materials are checked and verified, and the fuel’s credentials audited by the Department for Transport (DFT) to ensure both sustainability and product integrity are certified. 


Its use is approved by many companies including MAN and VOLVO. 


Having obtained agreement from the various parties involved we contacted the producer and began to get some good feelings – drop in replacement, not overly expensive and delivery very quickly. 

The first tanker arrived today, it looks like diesel, smells like diesel (don’t ask what it tastes like) and will be tried in the diesels operated by K&ESR. 


So hopefully this will increase our green credentials for the future. 

 

David Brenchley

Locomotive Delivery Manager

First Bio Diesel delivery to Rolvenden. Photo: David Brenchley

Permanent way train with vintage carriages at Rolvenden.Image courtesy of Alan Crotty

Newsletter Archive

Have you missed a newsletter? Have you recently joined us? Whatever the reason, you can browse recent editions of this newsletter at https://kesr.org.uk/members-e-newsletter-archive/

 

Tenterden Terrier Online

As a member of the K&ESR, you can access ‘The Tenterden Terrier’ magazine in electronic format by registering your details at https://kesr.org.uk/tenterden-terrier-online/


Support the K&ESR when you shop!



easyfundraising

Did you know that whenever you buy anything online – from your weekly shop to your holiday – you could be raising free donations for the Kent & East Sussex Railway with easyfundraising?

 

There are over 4,000 shops and sites on board ready to make a donation – including eBay, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com and M&S – and it won’t cost you a penny extra to help us raise funds.

 

All you need to do is:

 

1. Go to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/kesr/?utm_campaign=raise-more and join for free.

 

2. Every time you shop online, go to easyfundraising first to find the site you want and start shopping.

 

3. After you’ve checked out, the retailer will make a donation to Kent & East Sussex Railway at no extra cost to you whatsoever!

 

 

There are no catches or hidden charges and we’re really grateful for your donations.

 

Amazon Smile

 

If you’re an Amazon customer, you can support the K&ESR at no additional cost by using Amazon Smile – simply click the link below and setup the K&ESR as your selected charity.

  

Amazon Smile

If you use Chrome, there’s a browser extension that will automatically turn your everyday Amazon purchases into AmazonSmile donations https://couponfollow.com/smilematic

 

Thank You!


From all of us here at the K&ESR, our very best wishes

Kent & East Sussex Railway
Tenterden Town Station, Station Road,
Tenterden, Kent TN30 6HE
www.kesr.org.uk
Registered charity 262481