|
28/7/2010 A big thank you to everyone who helped us to operate the Thomas 65 event last weekend. As those that were here will have seen it was an outstanding success and probably one of the busiest weekends the railway has ever seen. An especially big thank you is due to everyone that responded to pleas for help with the event and who assisted with the preparation prior to it and re-arranging the railway for service trains on Monday. It’s a huge achievement and one of which everyone contributing should be extremely proud of. 18/5/2010 Sadly we have learned that long standing volunteer Tom Grimwood passed away in the early hours of this morning. Tom worked on diesel maintenance at Rolvenden for many years and later was based at Tenterden working on TREATs diesels. Tom was also driver Mike Grimwood's father. Our sincere condolances go to Mike and his family. On happier note Jack Ticehurst passed his firing exam on Saturday, well done Jack! 11/5/2010 The first few months of 2010 has been an exceptionally busy period for the Operating Department with many Permanent Way and other works trains, filming work and major special events. The Branch Line Weekend had an enhanced service 3 train service this year using four of our small locos, No 3, 32678, 753 and No 14 and also including several interesting freight workings. The big event of the year for the Operating Department was the May Gala. Despite the poor weather the event still exceeded its income budget and the railway put on a fantastic show featuring no less than 8 of the home fleet as well as a starring role for LMS Jinty 47493 from The Spa Valley Railway and BR Standard Four Tank 80072 from the Llangollen Railway. Both visiting locos were enjoyed by crews and visitors alike, thanks are due to the owners of both locomotives for agreeing to hire them to us. Crewing so many locomotives for the gala has now become relatively easy with all the crews keen to take part in what is now a highlight of the year for them. Many thanks to everyone right accross the railway who showed so much enthusiasm for the event, we couldn't do it with out you! We hae also run several Mutual Improvement Classes this year which have been well supported. A new experimental feature of regular Friday evening MICs has also worked well. These are run roughly once a fortnight (events permitting) and cover a wide range of topics. All staff are more than welcome to attend. Please contact Matt Green or Pete Salmon for details of the next one. 1/3/2010 2009 was a very busy year for us in the Operating Department with numerous promotions and activities across the year, and the occasional although more recent spells of snow. A big thank you must be said to everyone who helped the railway operate so successfully over the course of 2009, and so to 2010… Mutual Improvement classes are planned for the coming period with the first one being held on the 28th February covering Steam Driver’s theory. The next MIC is a route learning trip on the 14th March, a Trainee Fireman’s course over the weekend of 24thH April and a footplate rules exam theory course on the 6th June. Engine bashing sessions are also continuing apace, with the first one of 2010 taking place on the 27TH February. 23 looks a lot better for it. The now famous Engine Bashing Sessions (thanks to Steam Railway Magazine) are open to anyone who is a volunteer on the railway. Tea, coffee, bacon sandwiches, soup and cakes being provided to anyone who helps. Last year we had 75 people help out over 7 sessions, which is a tremendous achievement, and what a difference it has made to the appearance of our locomotive fleet. Work continues behind the scenes on the timetables, Guard’s training, Signalman’s training and general health and safety to ensure the whole department operates smoothly. The 2010 Trainee Signalman’s course started on the 7th March with a few new faces and a few who have decided to try something new. One of the visiting engines for the gala in 2010 is now confirmed as 80072 from the Llangollen Railway. The challenge of topping the 2009 Gala is one the Gala committee are really taking to, causing all sorts of chaos in the Operating Office with various committee members taking over the place to get the job done. 30/01/2010 Sadly we have to report the loss of two more K&ESR people. Angela Clark-Monks was a former employee of the railway and the mother of well known K&ESR Driver Adrian. Stan Kemp was the K&ESR Volunteer Support Officer. Our condolences go to both families. Works are currently in progress at Rolvenden to replace the yard point which has become life expired. The project also includes improved drainage, ducting for electrical supplies to the oil store and concreting the pit steps and some of the surrounding area. 21/12/2009 Sadly I have to inform you that former K&ESR driver Roger Willes, known to most people as Cherry, passed away on Saturday night. Funeral details will be circulated as soon as they are known. Despite heavy snowfalls in the Tenterden area, the K&ESR ran all services over the weekend with only a few minimal delays. Credit is due to all the staff and volunteers who made huge efforts to ensure that the services all ran and gave freely of their time to assist with freeing frozen points and clearing platforms etc. If it could freeze solid, it did! Thank you to everyone who played a part in making sure our customers had a fantastic Santa train in the snow experience. 3/12/2009 The K&ESR has launched an appeal to raise funds to restore 1919 built South Eastern and Chatham Railway passenger luggage van No 132, which carried the bodies of The Unknown Warrior, nurse Edith Cavell and merchant seaman Captain Charles Fryatt. Story and film from the BBC News can be seen here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8393192.stm 9/10/2009 It has been a busy year so far for the Ops dept with many promotions to report. Starting on the signalling side, Noel Young, Mike Goodwin, Philip Crow, Kieran Wildman, Rachel Smith, Michael Haizeldene, and John Wellard have all passed out as crossing keepers at Cranbrook Road. With Mike Goodwin passing out at Northiam and Richard Stone, John Wellard and David Blackman completing the list at Rolvenden. Andy Stokes has also been passed as a Tenterden Town Signalman James Darling and Ron King have both qualified as Guards with Jon Edwards returning after a period of absence. Jim Wilson, Terry Hannocks, Gary Stainburn and Ed Gascoyne have all passed as Firemen, with Ed also passing to drive the Ford and the TRAMM. Dan Jenner has also been passed to operate the TRAMM. Matt Green has been passed to drive steam locomotives. Nearly there! Jamie Douglas and Clive Lowe have been appointed as On Track Machine Inspectors while John Wellard, Ken Catt, Neil Harrison and Ron King have been appointed as Basic Railway Safety Instructors and Colin Avey has been appointed as the Traffic Assistant. I think that is all! We wish everyone listed above well in their new positions. You may have noticed that in the local papers and railway magazines recently there have been several articles about volunteering on the railway. Over the last year the Operating Department have inducted or are in the process inducting over 65 new people to Signalling, Guarding and the footplate grades. We wish every new volunteer the warmest of welcomes. The winter engine bashing season has started with Knowle being cleaned on the 18TH October, Bodiam the 1ST November and the Yank on the 6TH December. Everyone is invited to get involved, regardless of which department you normally work for! Bacon sarnies, soup and cake are provided for free. The Engine bashing days start at 09:00 at Rolvenden, please wear boots and overalls. As well as the engine bashing sessions, we have a programme of Mutual Improvement Classes taking place this winter. The first takes place on the 22ND November and focuses on entering and leaving possessions, a useful class for all Operating staff. The second is a two day Trainee Fireman’s course from the 28TH November. Details of further classes will be published on notice boards and on the Operating website www.kesr-operating.org.uk . For more details please contact Pete Salmon or Matt Green. With the influx of new engine cleaners and the upcoming engine bashing days, we are in need of more cleaning rags than ever. If you have any old rags suitable for engine cleaning please drop them off at Rolvenden where they will be put to good use. Finally, a big thank you to everyone who has helped out so much this year, your help is very much appreciated. As a thank you from the General Manager for all of your hard efforts over the “Last Train’s Gone” gala, the Operating Department has been able to purchase a laptop and projector which will help to improve the quality of training we can provide. Thank you, have a very merry Christmas and here’s to a good 2010! 12/5/2009 It is with great sadness that we must report the sad and unexpected passing of Signalman Neil Rose. Funeral arrangements will notified to staff as soon as they are known. Our thoughts are with Neil's family and freinds at this sad time. 13/2/2009 It is with great sadness that we report that former Signalman Fred Waller has recently died in hospital of pneumonia. Fred was a BR signalman for over 45 years and transferred his experience and knowledge to the KESR on his retirement. Many current K&ESR Signalmen trained with him and received the benefit of his advice. After he retired from the KESR, mainly because of his hip replacement, he visited regularly to make sure his ex trainees were still doing the job "properly". A full obituary appears elsewhere in this issue. Signalman Doug Ramsden has recently retired from Signalbox duties. We thank him for all his help over the years and hope to see him around the railway in other roles in due course. The first two trainees from Roger Temple’s rejuvenated Signalman’s Instruction Course have now passed out at Tenterden Box. Congratulations are due to Gary Walbrin (30th October) and Chris Small (14th December). Also passed out at Tenterden as his second box was Tony Ramsey on 2nd November, which was an eventful day due to two passenger being taken unwell on the Wealden Pullman lunch train and led to a more complicated day and later finish than expected. Well done to Tony, not only for passing out but for playing his part in dealing with the disruption caused by the delays. The 2009 signalman’s training course is now underway with eight trainees taking part in the mixture of classroom and practical sessions. We look forward to seeing them in signalboxes soon, acquiring the knowledge and skills that they need to become fully fledged Signalmen. We have had a recent influx of new volunteers into the footplate ranks, with over 20 new starters in recent months. Several of these new volunteers have already made an impact by participating in winter “engine bashing sessions”, where a loco is selected for a thorough all day cleaning. The P class was the first loco for attention and was given a really good clean, especially on the wheels frames and motion, before it’s recent visit to the Bluebell Railway. This was followed on 8th February with a cleaning day on No 3 Bodiam which was attended by 23 members of staff, who made a big improvement to the loco’s appearance. Further engine bashing days are planned for other locos, free bacon rolls and soup are provided as well as the usual tea and banter. The Mutual Improvement Class season is also underway, with training days on shunting and a Trainee Fireman’s course having taken place by the time you read this. The various Railway Experience products are now managed within the Operating Department by Howard Wallace-Sims. The highly successful Railway Experience’s, Advanced Railway Experiences and Footplate Tasters are all performing well and we are currently working on expanding the range of products to include Signalbox Experiences, Diesel Driving and Freight train working. As always, anyone wishing to join the department is more than welcome. Please contact Pete Salmon or Matt Green on 01580 761097 or e-mail
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. We’d be very pleased to welcome you into our friendly team. If you have any old rags that would be suitable for loco cleaning we would be pleased to accept them at Rolvenden. We are working hard to ensure that our loco fleet is kept as clean as possible, this uses a lot of rag! 11/1/2009 It is with great sadness that we report that former Signalman Fred Waller has died in hospital of pneumonia. Fred was a BR signalman for over 45 years and transferred his experience and knowledge to the KESR on his retirement. Many current K&ESR Signalmen trained with him and received the benefit of his advice. After he retired from the KESR, mainly because of his hip replacement, he visited regularly to make sure his ex trainees were still doing the job "properly". The funeral will be held on Thursday 22nd January at 11.00am at Vinters Park Crematorium, Bearsted Road, Maidstone, ME14 5LG. 26/10/2008 Another running season is rapidly disappearing and here we are once again, trying to think of what has gone on, there has been so much it’s a job to keep up! We have had two successful; Thomas events, the Hoppers weekend, several filming jobs, a route learning trip on the DMMU, several footplate courses and a few Engineers trains, whilst operating a good number of “ordinary” days, although even that was known to change! We have to report that Colin Avey has decided it is time to hand the task of Guards rostering over. Jim Williams and Pete Spratling are due to take over very shortly. We must give thank these gentlemen for their efforts. Colin has been doing the roster for a good number of years now and has done a magnificent job. Beth Furness has passed out as a steam Driver, James Veitch, Kent Evenden, Ed Gascoyne and Matt Green have all passed out as DMMU Drivers. Ed Gascoyne, John Collard and Matt Green have also passed out as Ruston Drivers and Jamie Douglas has been passed out for the Class 14. The Trainee Fireman’s logbook is working well with many trainees doing extra turns to get signatures, Jim Wilson looks set to be the first to complete his logbook. Currently there are about 10 recruits for next years signalling course, while 3 more crossing keepers have been passed out. Paul Curran has also been passed as competent to operate Rolvenden Signalbox We have been in the office recently and have been looking into volunteering and how we can improve our systems. This has led to several changes and a new booklet that is going out with starter packs. We have over twenty new volunteers who are currently going through the system, may we welcome them all. We have also been assessing the hours that volunteers do and have lots of pie charts and data to help us to improve the systems we operate. There are currently 218 volunteers in the department which is slightly up on last year. May I take the time to say thank you for your contribution to the Railway, and here’s to a good Santa season and 2009!
|
