Went the Days Well?.

An extraordinary sequence of locomotive departures from Wittersham Road during Holy Week was the fulcrum of two special spring events at either end of the south of England

No less than four engines left the K&ES: Thomas, Austerity No.24 “Rolvenden” for Isfield/The Lavender Line and two 1870s veterans: the Beattie Well Tank No.30587 of 1874 and No.3 “Bodiam” heading respectively, home to, and off to, the Bodmin & Wenford Railway

The Well Tank was making its first visit to the K&ESR for the Open Weekend Gala over the weekend of 15th/16th March that should have featured locomotives from all three major constituent parts of the Southern.  Unfortunately, and not for the first time in recent history on special events, P-class 753 was unavailable due to repairs, and 1638 had to substitute

My personal appearance was limited to just Saturday because of a major car problem, but at least the sun shone for a while.  It was interesting to draw comparisons between the two locomotives; even allowing for major rebuilds, the Terrier looked much the more modern machine although its origins pre-date the Beattie by two years.  As a strange coincidence, both types have similar water capacity at around 500 gallons

“Bodiam” worked splendidly on the Saturday with two Maunsell coaches whilst 30587 handled the Vintage Train to the delight of enthusiasts and photographers.  Former Trust Secretary, and Founder, Dr Gerald Siviour attending the event from Norfolk, mentioned previous visits to the K&ES in BR days, and revealed to me for the first time that he had actually travelled behind 32678, 32655 and 31064 on the last passenger/enthusiasts’ special on 2nd January 1954. 

Fellow Trustee Ian Scarlett was on footplate duty on the Sunday and also reported that “Bodiam” seemed in fine fettle.  It would be interesting to find out how No.3 would perform on a substantively level piece of (ex-) mainline railway.  Organ-grinders on the GCR please take note!

A Sentimental Journeys charter was booked for the Monday, which I was unable to attend, and then the engines were off to Cornwall for Easter.  Lack of a car rather ruled out a physical visit to the Duchy, but next best I was able to observe No.3 in action on the Bodmin & Wenford on occasions over the Easter Weekend thanks to their web-camera at Bodmin General Station.