K&ESR Members Newsletter - January 2025

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‍Kent & East Sussex Railway

Newsletter - January 2025

‍‍Welcome to our update on what's new and happening around the railway this month.

‍Nationwide Whistle-Up to Signal an Exciting New Year

Despite the wet and windy weather, our traditional New Year’s Eve Wealden Pullman Dining Train went out on time and fully booked. A delicious six-course meal including drinks was served by our dedicated team and accompanied by a live Jazz Band on board. Sadly, due to the ferocity of the wind at Bodiam, our midnight firework display had to be abandoned, but bubbles were served and the steam whistle blew for everyone to welcome in the New Year!

On New Year’s Day, we had the honour of taking part in a nationwide ‘Whistle Up’ to celebrate, along with stations up and down the country, 200 years since the birth of our railways. Heralding in the start of the industrial revolution, Rail 200 will feature a whole year of celebrations to commemorate our part in that history – from the hop-pickers of East London to brewing beer, and from farming to feed the nation to the coal mines of Kent. BBC South East were there to film the landmark event and interview our new Chairman, Derrick Bilsby. The feature went out twice on New Year’s Day.  

Santa Specials 2024 – That’s a Wrap! 

We are delighted that our Santa Specials delivered festive good cheer to so many happy customers this season!

Over four weekends, plus Christmas Eve, we welcomed over 12,500 passengers to our beautifully dressed station, Winter Wonderland, Vintage Gallopers and of course, Santa himself who travelled through the trains to share the joy of Christmas with children young and old.

We added two new features to this year’s Santa Specials – professional Elves (as well as our wonderful volunteer Elves) who sprinkled a little extra magic on board the trains; and, as well as warm mince pies, a free drink from the trolley for First Class visitors, and unlimited complimentary drinks served at their tables in our newly restored Restaurant Car ‘Diana’ for Premium passengers. 

Of course, organising such a magnificent event takes many months of preparation, and none of this could be done without the unending support of our small team of staff and our army of volunteers!

From painting the station props to putting up lights, packing mince pies and wrapping presents, it requires everyone’s commitment to ensure that, when our guests arrive, everything and everyone is ready to greet them!

“Just wanted to offer a massive THANK YOU to everyone down at Tenterden for providing the most wonderful, warm and magical Christmas experience as we travelled the Santa Special last Saturday.

Your fantastic happy team of volunteers, from the station staff through to Santa himself and right down to the cheeky elves were all a joy to behold, we thoroughly enjoyed the day & so glad we came.

The tireless efforts of staff, the organisation and incredible lights decoration made for a truly memorable visit. Our little granddaughter - and us - had such a lovely day which was really appreciated. We would love to come back & see you again next year!”

For the event itself, over 1,000 ‘shifts’ – from cooking to cleaning, and from steam train driving to sleigh directing – were undertaken by over 200 dedicated people...to each and every one of you, we say a huge thank you!

In the busiest month of the year, Santa needs all the help he can get, and without all your support, we simply could not make this happen. Thank you again! 

What's Next?

And as for the next chapter in our onward Santa Specials journey…our internal survey has now gone out – thank you to all of you who responded with your comments and suggestions on how we can continually improve! A similar survey went out to customers last week, and all that insight will be discussed at a Review Meeting in late January. Then…the whole planning process starts again ready for Christmas 2025!

‍K&ESR Nominated for Awards 

‍It’s always an honour to have the outstanding efforts of our people recognised, and this year, the Heritage Railway Association (HRA) has shortlisted two of our initiatives for potential awards.  

Back in the summer of 2024, K&ESR achieved a first when local artist, Mr Doodle, turned one of our carriages into a giant work of art! This was a great draw for the railway, attracting press and public attention – especially among young and budding artists. This unique initiative has been shortlisted for the Marketing and Communications Award!

One of our rising stars, Aodhan Kavanagh, has been shortlisted for Lord Faulkner’s Young Volunteer of the Year Award. Aodhan is 18 years old and an apprentice Signaller, Steam Raiser and aspiring Fireman. We wish both entries the very best of luck – details of the winners will be shared in our next issue. 

‍News From 4253 



“First of all, may we at 4253 Locomotive Company wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope you have a great 2025.

Through our Shareholder’s Newsletter and our Facebook page, people will already know what I’m about to say, but for everyone else: The great news is that the boiler returned from HBSS Liverpool in mid-July. It has since then been sat outside the Rolvenden workshop with work starting on preparing all the crinoline, firebox doors etc.

As winter is now upon us, and work would be affected by bad weather; the boiler has been lifted into the frame and is now sitting in the heated workshop, where we can work on it in relative comfort away from any snow, rain or sub-zero temperatures. It also gave us the opportunity to lift the chimney into place, rather than have it sat in storage, as securing holes need drilling in the smoke box.

Whilst inside, we will also have pit access to the underneath of the locomotive, allowing for the fitting of all the pipework, the fire grate in the firebox, plus inspection of the springs and brakes etc. It is also our intention to fit the water tanks and cab. In other words; we will build the locomotive. Then, we will take it outside, strip it down and have it steam pressure tested.

The reason we do it this way, is to ensure that once the boiler has passed, we can rebuild the locomotive with the minimum amount of time lost on the boiler's 10 year ticket. For those who do not know; the time starts from the test, not from when the locomotive is first used.”

Author: Kelvin Williams

‍What's Coming Up in 2025?
New Ways to Dine on the Line...

We have an exciting schedule of events planned for 2025 – with something to appeal to people of all ages and interests. We’re especially delighted to welcome our newly restored Restaurant car, ‘Diana’, to our fleet of carriages this year.

To complement our exquisite dining experiences on the 'Wealden Pullman', the 'Rother Valley Limited' service will offer a range of hot meals served on board the train – from full English Breakfasts to Fish and Chips.

We can now offer even more opportunities for you to enjoy the beautiful Rother Valley while enjoying being served good quality food by our dedicated team.

We look forward to welcoming you and your guests on board!

And Finally...

The Kent and East Sussex website – kesr.org.uk – is used by thousands of visitors each year, to find information, book tickets, buy gift cards and book railway experiences.

In our efforts to continually improve and provide the best customer service, we’re sending out a survey to gauge opinions on how we can do better online.

The list of recipients will be selected at random, so if you see a survey pop into your inbox in the next two weeks, we’d really appreciate your feedback! 

‍Kent & East Sussex Railway

Tenterden Town Station, Station Road,

Tenterden, Kent TN30 6HE

www.kesr.org.uk

Registered charity 262481

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