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

Home > Stock Register > Diesel Locomotives > BR 03 class Diesel Mechanical

BR 03 class Diesel Mechanical

Nos 46 and 47 BR 03 class Diesel Mechanical 204hp 0-6-0
(BR D2023 & D2024; THPA Nos. 4 & 5)

46june2006

These twin locomotives have had a remarkably similar career. They were built at Swindon Works in 1958, becoming Nos. D2023 and D2024 respectively. The design is very similar to class 04 which were used on the Kent and East Sussex lineduring the final years of the BR freight service.

These two locomotives were both withdrawn from BR at Lincoln in July 1971 and a year later became Tees & Hartlepool Port Authority (Middlesborough Docks) Nos. 4 and 5. They were transferred to Grangetown in 1980 and sold to the K&ESR in 1983, arriving on 14 August (No. 47) and 4 September (No. 46).

No. 47 has yet to enter traffic but No. 46 quickly received a major overhaul and was fitted with vacuum brake equipment. It re-entered service in Brunswick green livery,and although in black for some time was repainted green in 2006. It has taken an active part in operating the railway but is usually used as a standby engine for Dover Castle.

TECHNICAL DATA

Weight: 30 tons
Engine : Gardner 8L3, 204 hp at 1,200rpm
Transmission: Fluid Coupling and five-speed epicyclic gear box
Tractive Effort 24,000 lb max [15,650 lbs]
Max Speed: 28 mph
Wheel arrangement: 0-6-0 diameter: 3ft 7ins

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