Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway
'Northern Chief' at New Romney
Location
Place	Kent
Terminus	Hythe
Commercial Operations
Name
Gauge
Preserved Operations
Operated by	Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway Co.
Stations	6+1
Length	13.5 miles
Gauge	15 inch
Commercial History
Opened
Preservation History
1927	Railway Opens
1973	Saved by William McAlpine and Consortium after nearly closing

The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a 15 in (381 mm) gauge heritage railway in Kent, England. The 13.5 mile (23 km) line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St. Mary's Bay, New Romney and Romney Sands to Dungeness, close to Dungeness Power Station and Dungeness Lighthouse.

Description

Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

Legend Hythe Prince of Wales Halt Prince of Wales Bridge Botolph's Bridge Halt Botolph's Bridge Level Crossing Burmarsh Road Level Crossing Burmarsh Road Eastbridge Road Level Crossing Dymchurch St Marys Road Level Crossing Golden Sands Halt St Mary's Bay Jefferstone Lane Level Crossing Warren Halt A259 New Romney Greatstone Dunes Baldwin Road Level Crossing Seaview Road Level Crossing Maddieson's Camp (until 1973) Romney Sands Level Crossing Maddieson's Camp/Romney Sands (from 1974) War Department Halt Derville Road Bridge Hull Road Level Crossing Lade Taylor Road Level Crossing Williamson Road Level Crossing Kerton Road Bridge Former turning triangle Battery Road Level Crossing The Pilot Inn Dungeness Road Level Crossing Beach Fish Line Britannia Points Halt Dungeness

Constructed during the 1920s and eventually opening on the 16th July 1927, the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway was the dream of millionaire racing drivers Captain J.E.P. Howey and Count Louis Zborowski. Unfortunately Zborowski was killed in a motor racing accident at Monza before the Romney Marsh site was chosen, and Howey continued the project alone. Mountain Class 'Hercules' hauled the inaugural train from Hythe to New Romney with a healthy guest list including the mayors of the two towns, and General Sir Ivor Maxse. However, Howey was not happy with just 8 miles from New Romney to Hythe, and he duly extended another 5.5 miles from New Romney to Dungeness. This section was originally double track, but is now single track due to extensive damage during World War II, when the line was taken over by the military. After the war the line was re-opened between Hythe and New Romney in 1946, with the singled New Romney to Dungeness section being reopened in 1947 by Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. As well as being a tourist attraction, this railway is a useful service between the small towns and villages between Hythe and Dungeness, and is also under contract to the local council to transport school children to and from The Marsh Academy in New Romney.

The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, 1927 and 1928 sections, showing the location within Kent, and proximity to other railways.

All 10 original locomotives remain in active service, covering thousands of miles each year. The fleet, already one of the largest of any 15 inch railway in Britain, was expanded in 1976 with the arrival of German-Built locomotive no.11 'Black Prince' (formerly 'Fleißiges Lieschen' = 'Busy Lizzy'). The RH&DR was and still is the only user of the 4-8-2 "Mountain" locomotive type in the UK, with both No. 6 'Samson' and No. 5 'Hercules' in regular service. Two diesel locomotives, No. 12 'John Southland' and No. 14 (Nameless - later 'Captain Howey'), were constructed in the 1980s. The line carries over 100,000 passengers each year with a unique experience of main-line speed in miniature form. Last year saw the railway celebrate its 80th birthday, which was marked by a week of celebrations, including reconstructions of scenes that have been seen on the railway over the last eight decades.

Stations

a) Stations currently open

Stations currently in full or limited use by trains.

• Hythe
• Burmarsh Road (Limited Use)
• Dymchurch
• St Mary's Bay
• New Romney
• Romney Sands
• Dungeness

b) Stations currently closed

Those shown as 'halt' never had a higher status; some full stations below also became halts prior to final closure.

• Prince of Wales Halt (closed 1928)
• Botolph's Bridge Halt (closed 1939)
• Golden Sands Halt (closed 1990s)
• Warren Halt (closed 1927; briefly re-opened 1946)
• Greatstone Dunes (closed 1983)
• War Department Halt (closed 1945)
• Lade (closed 1977)
• The Pilot Inn (closed 1977)
• Britannia Points Halt

•  • e Stations of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
Stations Open	Hythe · Burmarsh Road · Dymchurch · St Mary's Bay · New Romney · Romney Sands · Dungeness
Stations Closed	Prince of Wales Halt · Botolph's Bridge Halt · Golden Sands Halt · Warren Halt · Greatstone Dunes · War Department Halt · Lade · The Pilot Inn · Britannia Points Halt

Locomotives

a) Locomotives Currently in Service

Including engines serviceable, under overhaul, awaiting overhaul, or reserved to shunting or engineering duties.^[1]

No 5 'Hercules' at New Romney

No 14 'Captain Howey' at New Romney

No 1 'Green Goddess' passes Hythe signal box with an evening departure for New Romney.

No 7 'Typhoon' at Saint Mary's Bay station.

Notes on Locomotive Names:

• No 1 was named 'Green Goddess' after the 1921 stage play by William Archer, which Capt Howey had enjoyed.
• Nos 2 & 3 were to be called 'Northern Chief' and 'Southern Chief' and these nameplates were fitted at the works; however No 3's name was changed to 'Southern Maid' before delivery.
• Nos 5 & 6 were to be called 'Man of Kent' and 'Maid of Kent', but due to their tractive power (having an extra driving wheel) the alternative names 'Hercules' and 'Samson' (for strength) were substituted during construction. Henry Greenly, the designer, was involved in the construction of a new locomotive on the nearby Saltwood Miniature Railway a decade later, and this engine took the 'Maid of Kent' name.
• Nos 7 & 8 were originally constructed for express passenger services, and had an extra cylinder (3 instead of 2), hence their names 'Typhoon' and 'Hurricane' for speed. The third cylinder was later removed from each of these locomotives due to unreliability. According to an original order, these locomotives were originally going to carry the 'Samson' and 'Hercules' nameplates, however, Howey gave the mountain classes these nameplates before the 3 cylinder locomotives had arrived.
• Following a mishap when Capt Howey was at the controls, No 8 was renamed 'Bluebottle' between 1938 and 1946, apparently as a punishment!
• No 9 was originally named 'Doctor Syn', but its name became 'Winston Churchill' in 1948 for its tour of Canada, and afterwards stuck.
• No 10 was originally named 'Black Prince', but took over the 'Doctor Syn' name in 1949 to maintain the link with local history and legend.
• No 11 took over the redundant 'Black Prince' name upon its transfer to the RH&DR in 1976, in place of its origial German name 'Fleißiges Lieschen', meaning 'Busy Lizzy' in English.
• No 12 is named after the founder of the local secondary school in New Romney, where local children are educated.
• No 14 ran nameless for 12 years until it was named after the founder of the railway, Capt Howey.

b) Locomotives Withdrawn from Service

Including engines sold, scrapped, failed in trials, or otherwise withdrawn.
ALL were internal combustion locomotives.

c) Locomotive Trivia

Green Goddess' own bogie tender was designed and built at Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid's suggestion at the Southern Railway's Ashford works in 1947.

Passenger Traffic

Passenger Services

The railway was originally conceived and constructed as a public service, and not as a tourist attraction. Times have changed, and the railway now relies heavily upon tourist trade, but it is not a 'tourist railway' or a 'preserved railway', in the sense that it was built to provide a public transport link, and it has continued to do so ever since, despite the increasing dependence upon tourist trade. Forms of passenger service beyond the regular tourist industry include the following. School children are transported (under contract to Kent County Council) to [The Marsh Academy] (previously known as Southland's Comprehensive School until a name change in 2007); this school service is provided all year round, during school term time. Local residents are transported to shopping centres along the line, and at various times the railway has operated 'shoppers specials' in additional to regular trains. Holiday Camp trains have been operated in connection with holiday camps at Romney Sands and St Mary's Bay. Charter trains are operated for individuals, societies and companies for a range of reasons from sight-seeing to corporate hospitality. During the second world war the railway was operated by the Somerset Light Infantry on behalf of the War Office as a military railway, and there was extensive transportation of soldiers on military troop trains.

Passenger Vehicles

The RH&DR operates a mix of 20 seat and 16 seat open and closed passenger coaches. Over its 80 year history the coach livery has changed, from an original 'green and cream' mix, to a 'brown and cream' mix in the 1970s and 1980s, which itself gave way to a 'red and cream' mix in the late 1980s and for the next fifteen years. From shortly after 2000, a new policy has been enacted, painting different rakes of coaches (that is trains comprised of around a dozen coaches each) in individual liveries. Hence there is now a set of green coaches, a set of blue coaches, a set of crimson coaches, and also a rake of preserved teak coaches, in their natural teak wood colour. In addition to the main stock, there is also the heritage set, made up of the preserved Clayton Pullman (the last remaining example of a set of 1930s vehicles of superior comfort and design), a preserved 1950s 12 seat coach named 'Ruth', the driving control trailer 'Majorie', the Royal Saloon (used by Queen Elizabeth II and members of her family on a visit to the line), and the licensed Bar Car (an observation coach with a staffed refreshment bar) named 'Gladys'. There is also the disabled access vehicle, 601 named 'Elsie'. This has been supplemented by two additional disabled access vehicles, 602 (named 'Winn') in blue livery and 603 (named 'May') in green.

Freight Traffic

Freight Services

From the outset, the railway's owners and designers envisaged an extensive provision of freight services. Two of the original locomotives (No 5 'Hercules' and No 6 'Samson') were built to the 'mountain' wheel arrangement (4-8-2), of which they are believed to be unique examples in British railway history, specifically because this type of locomotive, despite lacking speed, has a high tractive-effort, enabling it to haul heavy freight trains. In practice the extensive freight services never arose, although a number of areas of freight service have featured prominently in the railway's history.

Dungeness Beach Fish Trade

In 1937 a short branch line was laid to the east of the mainline near Dungeness, running for just over a quarter of a mile to the beach. Platform 1 at Hythe was also extended beside the station buildings and out to the front of the station. This joint provision was intended to allow the transport of fish from Dungeness to Hythe and there to transfer it rapidly to road transport. The company already had a stock of 4-wheel fish wagons, stencilled on their sides with the words "Fish Only", but the service was developed from 1937 following the closure of the South Eastern Railway's Dungeness line in that year. The fish trade only ever developed in a small way, and the service was eventually withdrawn. Parts of the fish branch line are still in place on Dungeness beach, and were in use by local fishermen for short distance transport of their fish catches many years after the formal service was withdrawn.

Uncrushed Shingle Transport

Perhaps the most well known and successful area of freight service on the railway, was the uncrushed ballast service. Following the withdrawal of the War Office operations on the War Department Branch Line, the railway utilised the infrastructure to operate ballast trains. In 1937 a subsidiary ballast company was formed for this purpose. Tipper wagons were loaded with shingle and transported along the branch line, and then up the main line to Hythe, often laying over in the sidings at Dymchurch to prevent delay to faster passenger trains using the same tracks. At Hythe the wagons were hauled mechanically up a steep ramp built on concrete pillars, and their contents were tipped into lorries for road transport. In 1951, after fourteen years of operation, the subsidiary company switched to entirely road transport and at the same time the company closed both the branch line and the freight incline at Hythe; however, the concrete pillars were still visible at Hythe right up until the early 1980s.

Postal Service

The railway is licensed by the British Post Office for rail postal services, and is entitled to issue its own postage stamps. A number of first day covers have been issued. A single 4-wheel secure postage wagon was constructed in connection with this service.

Parcels Service

The railway has long operated a casual parcels service. Parcels handed in to one of the company's stations will be delivered to another station for collection. This is the only remnant of freight service today, although from time to time the railway has a temporary freight contract, such as that in 1975 for the transport of drainage pipes across Romney Marsh. The railway operates its own engineering and permanent way trains, which form the majority of non-passenger services.

Freight Vehicles

Some of the freight wagons behind No.2

The railway has a large selection of Permanent Way stock, examples of which include the platelayers' mess coach, assorted tipper wagons (largely left over from the ballast operations), secure tool trucks, and a selection of flat wagons. There are also 4-wheel wagons, both box vans and open trucks, including some vehicles surviving from the days of fish trains. There are also tank wagons, used primarily for spraying weed killer onto the tracks to prevent growth of vegetation on the permanent way.

New Tenders for 'Samson' and 'Hercules'

The tender from Hurricane behind Samson at Dungeness.

In 2003, the small, unbraked, original Greenly tenders were withdrawn from mainline service due to concerns over safety and coal/water capacity limits. There were the only two of this design of tender running at the time of the withdrawal. Both were pulled behind the two mountain locomotives, one of which was out of service after the Burmarsh Road level crossing incident; the other soon to be withdrawn from service for an intermediate overhaul. Once both locomotives were back in service, the railway was faced with a tender shortage and consequently 'Samson' was kept from mainline service whilst 'Hercules' ran with the tender from 'Green Goddess' during its overhaul. 'Samson' has been fitted with Hurricane's tender while that locomotive is being repaired. Both 'Green Goddess' and 'Hurricane' will require the return of their own tenders once their servicing is complete, so the railway has designed new tenders for 'Samson' and 'Hercules'. They are being built throughout 2007 for a proposed launch date within two years.^[3]

Safety

The level crossing at Botolph's Bridge with the newly installed half-barriers.

A level crossing just west of Romney Sands yet to be fitted with barriers.

A serious accident occurred on the line on August 3, 2003, when a car drove into the side of a locomotive at an ungated level crossing causing it to derail.^[4] The train driver, 31-year-old Kevin Crouch, died in the crash. Some of the train passengers were treated for shock and minor injuries. The car driver, a woman with a baby, had apparently ignored or failed to see the crossing's warning lights. The woman and her baby were taken to hospital but were not badly hurt. The owners of the line and the Health and Safety Executive promised a full investigation into the crash. The woman was later arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, but was found guilty only on a lesser charge of careless driving.^[5] Another crash between a train and a car at a level crossing occurred on 10 July 2005. The driver of the train, Suzanne Martin, the wife of the railway's general manager, Danny Martin, was killed in the accident.^[6] The car driver, a 20 year old man, had apparently ignored or failed to see the crossing's warning lights. In January 2006, it was announced that the two crossings involved in these fatalities, at Burmarsh Road and Battery Road - and a third at Botolph's Bridge Road - have been fitted with lifting half-barriers, each costing around £90,000.^[6] The remaining 10 crossings may also eventually be fitted with barriers at some point in the future. As of August 2007, the two crossings involved in the two accidents, and a third at Botolphs Bridge Road have now been fitted with the new barriers.

Notes

References

• Anon. (1926) "Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Light Railway", Railway Magazine, 59 (September), p. 213–218
• BBC News (2005) "Train crash killed manager's wife", BBC Online, accessed 7 October 2007
• Crowhurst, A.R.W. and Scarth R.N. (2004) Locomotives of the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, Workshop Press, 36 p.
• Sapsted, D. (2004) "Woman in fatal train crash fined", The Daily Telegraph, Online news, accessed 7 October 2007
• Snell, J. B. (1993) One man's railway, Rev. ed., Nairn : David St John Thomas, ISBN 0-946537-80-1

External links

• Official site
• Kevin Crouch memorial
• NewRomney.net Tourist information about New Romney.
• Movietone newsreel footage of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy reopening the railway in 1947
• James Reeves' Railway Gallery, RH&DR features heavily
• UK TrainSim forum thread about the attempt to reproduce the railway in Microsoft Train Simulator

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