Survivors

As you probably know most of the old steam locomotives met their demise in the 1960's when they were sent to scrap yards to be cut up, but a couple that worked on the Hawkhurst Branch were saved and can be found on The Bluebell Railway (a heritage railway in Sussex). I know little about steam locomotives as I was born a little too late to experience them, but luckily there are lot of websites that provide information.


Locomotive 31592

Originally and now numbered 592, this 'C' Class Wainwright engine was built for the South East and Chatham Railway in 1902, altogether 109 of this design were built of which 106 were still going in 1948 upon nationalisation (it says something about their resilience that so many survived). It was withdrawn from active duty in 1967. It is the only one of it's class to survive.

http://www.railuk.info/members/steam/getsteam.php?row_id=5379

Please copy and paste the above web address into your browser for full specifications.

I can't find any images of this engine pictured on the Hawkurst Line through web searches, but it appears on page 31 of Peter Harding's book and in pictures 31 and 35 of Vic Mitchell's and Keith Smith's book.

     
                                             South Eastern and Chatham Railway no. 592


Unfortunately the day I visited this loco was in the engine shed as it was not on roster duty so the pictures are dark, I hope to return later and get some better pictures. During BR days most of the locos were painted black and ex Southern region trains were renumbered to five digits beginning with a '3', where did the Bluebell railway get the plate number from I wonder?

                            The engine was undergoing routine maintenance, hence the rags.

    I was struck by the size of the tender, either this engine gobbled large quantities of coal or it could    run for many miles on a full tender.

    The engine has been restored to close to it's original livery which seems to have been green and        red or green and brown during S.E.C.R. days. (The S.E.C.R. lasted from 1899 - 1923 when it              became a part  of the Southern Railway).






























'Oh my Daddy my Daddy!'
Edith Nesbit's 'The Railway Children' book (1906) was made into a film in 2000 on location at the Bluebell Railway and this locomotive appears in some of the scenes although it was not 'The Green Dragon'.

Edith Nesbit 1858 to 1924                        

Edith Nesbit lost her father when she was three and a constant theme of the film is the children trying to remember the father who was suddenly taken from them. After the loss of their father they 'have to play at being poor for a while'. They move to a different part of the country and make friends with an eccentric railway porter. If you are not British you might find it hard to understand the middle class sentiments of this family early in the twentieth century, but it is a very moving story and well worth watching (it can currently be found onYouTube). Nesbit's first husband was a serial philanderer and she was forced to bring up a number of children who were not her own, but she did find love later in life, and married the retired skipper of the Woolwich ferry who was devoted to her. They moved to St Mary's Bay, (if Nesbit had lived another three years she would have witnessed the opening of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch miniature railway which still runs through the village).






Locomotive 31263

This is another Wainwright engine that began its working life on the South East and Chatham Railway, this 'H' class was built in 1905 and seems to produce the same amount of boiler pressure as the C class but with a smaller boiler. In British rail days these trains were considered ideal for the Hawkhurst Branch as they were well suited to shunting duties (I think that their wheel base was smaller) and pulling light loads.



                                        31263 at Goudhurst Station circa 1960 heading down the line.


http://www.railuk.info/members/steam/getsteam.php?row_id=5181

More details on link above.

                   (31263) 263 building up steam outside the engine shed at Sheffield Park Station


Sixty-six of these locomotives were built at the turn of the twentieth century, sixty four were still in service in 1948 but nearly all were scrapped during the 1960's. This is the only survivor of it's class.

                                      Seen here shunting carriages prior to a trip up the line.

I felt a quite emotional as this loco came towards me, it felt a bit like a living creature. To think that this once steamed through Horsmonden cutting just beyond our back garden which I only ever knew as a quiet lonely place.

                 Again the livery today is similar to it's original South East and Chatham railway colours.

Reversing onto the platform ready to take a load of passengers towards East Grinstead.

The tender is tiny compared to 31592.