Kent & East Sussex Railway

England's Finest Rural Light Railway

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New Audio Visual Guide

Enhance your visit to the Railway and the Colonel Stephens Museum with an audiovisual Guide available to reserve online or to hire when buying tickets. £3.50 for two people. Please click on the title for more information.

Annual CAMRA Real Ale & Cider Festival - Saturday 16 June

This popular social event takes place between 11:00am and 10:30pm (or until the beer runs out!) and is organised with the Ashford, Folkestone and Romney Marsh Branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. Try a diverse range of some of the finest Ale, Cider and Perry in the exclusive beer tent, or relaxing and listening to an eclectic mix of live music.

Carriage Maintenance Building Extension Appeal - click here for more information

The Kent & East Sussex Railway is running an appeal to raise £200,000 to double the capacity of the main carriage maintenance building at Tenterden station. The expansion is needed to provide sufficient high quality trains to operate the current train time table which carries 90,000 passengers annually.

Donate simply by Text Message!

Together with your help we can achieve our goal. Every donation helps. Simply click on the title to see how easy it is to donate by text message.

Visit Our Updated Photo Gallery

We have just added a collection of photos from our recent Steam Gala taken by Lewis J Brockway to our Photo Gallery. You can click on the slide title to view them.

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Shop Opening Times

W/C 21 May 2012

Saturday 26 9.30-5.30

Sunday 27 9.30-5.30

Visit our Online Store where you can purchase a large selection of items, Publications, Clothing, Special Event tickets (i.e. Day out with Thomas), Driver Experience Days and become a member of the railway.

Home > Stock Register > Diesel Locomotives

No. 44 Dover Castle

BR Class 08 - Dover Castle
(13174, D3174, 08108)

BR Class 08 - Dover Castle

This locomotive was built at Derby in 1955. It is an example of a basic design now over 60 years old and ubiquitous on the national network, industrial lines and the standard gauge heritage railways. Its original number was 13174, this subsequently being changed to D3174 and then to the TOPS system 08108. The locomotive spent much if its BR career at Willesden prior to allocations at Cambridge and March. It was withdrawn in 1984 but remained in East Anglia, being sold to Dower Wood Grain Mill near Newmarket.

It was purchased by a consortium in 1991 and moved to the East Kent Light Railway. The BR blue livery still existed beneath a layer of oily grain and the locomotive was restored to that finish. As 08108 it worked the first train on the preserved EKLR but moved to Rolvenden on the K&ESR in November 1992. It was named Dover Castle shortly afterwards. The locomotive has since reverted to the number 3174 and been repainted in its original black livery. In this livery it appears as ‘Devious Diesel' on ‘Thomas' days. It is normally used as Tenterden sation pilot, on P Way trains and demonstration freights.

It is currently undergoing a general overahul; possible its first since the 1970s.

TECHNICAL DATA

Weight: 48 tons
Engine : English Electric 6-cyl, type 6KT of 400 bhp at 680 rpm
Transmission: Electric. Two English Electric nose-suspended traction motors. Double reduction gear drive
Tractive Effort
(maximum): 35,000 lb
Max Speed: 15 mph
Wheel arrangement: 0-6-0 diameter: 3ft 2ins

The locomotive is fitted for vacuum brake operation

K&ESR Daily News

Monday 21^st May

No service today, next trains run this weekend with our Green Service, 3 steam and 2 heritage diesel departures. First train departs from Tenterden at 10.40