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News and Views of the Rother Valley Railway
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The Phoenix
Issue 50
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News and Views from the
Rother Valley Railway Issue 59 £1 Spring 2012
Journal of the Rother Valley Railway Supporters’ Association
Issue 59 Spring 2012
RVR Supporters’ Association Committee for 2011/12: Helen Brett (Chairman) David Felton (Treasurer) Peter Brown Geoff Wyatt Steve Griffiths (Secretary & editor of the Phoenix) [email protected] Membership secretary Trevor Streeter
The Rother Valley Railway Station, Station Road, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, TN32 5DG telephone: 01580 881833 RVR e‐mail: [email protected] RVR website: www.rvr.org.uk RVR membership: [email protected]
Rother Valley Railway Ltd Directors: David Felton (Chairman & Co. Secretary) Roy Seaborne John Snell Mike Hart OBE David Slack
Reg. Office: 3‐4 Bower Terrace, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 8RY (e‐mail etc as above)
Managers: Helen Brett (Shop mgr) Peter Brown (acting Loco mgr) Steve Griffiths (Safety mgr) Paul King (Forestry and Conservation mgr) Simon Relf (acting P/Way mgr)
Trevor Streeter (Environmental Compliance mgr; webmaster) Geoff Wyatt (Carriage & Wagon mgr) Mark Yonge (Press Officer)
Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust Trustees: G vid Felton ardner Cra r Davis, Da
Mike Hart ( John Snell wley (Chairman), PeteOBE), Roy Seabourne,Address etc as above
Phoenix copyright: The Rother Valley Railway Supporters’ Association & contributors as named.
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Editorial
Welcome to the spring edition of your magazine. A lot has been appening on the railway since Christmas and we will try to do it hjustice in the limited space we have available. But first of all, an important announcement: if you haven’t yet renewed your RVRSA subscription, please do so now. Despite the increase in postal rates, membership rates are unchanged this year. We think you ill find that renewal provides RVRSA members with excellent value w
compared to many other preservation societies. The last few weeks have seen another great leap forward for the railway with the arrival and placing of four, soon to be five, bridge spans between Robertsbridge and Northbridge Street, together with the arrival and preparation of a large amount of track components for the next phase of work at Robertsbridge – tracklaying next month. Many readers now get frequent alerts by e‐mail to the developments n the railway as they happen, but the story to date is featured below, oalong with just some of our many photos. Details of the Trust’s final plans for Robertsbridge are still being finalized and discussed with interested parties, so once more we have to respect the process and be patient before details can be made widely available. But the main running lines and their pointwork are forging ahead next month. Don’t forget to come along to the next AGM, set for aturday 28 April. This is a strictly members‐only event, so please do Snot bring guests or friends if they are not members too. Finally, you should find the annual accounts enclosed with this issue. ou will note that the RVRSA have donated over £6000 for the railway, hich effectively pays the day to day running costs at Robertsbridge.
Yw Steve Griffiths (editor) cover – new bridge No 2 is swung into place in February (GW)
Any uncredited articles and text have been produced by the Editor
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People We are pleased to welcome several new volunteers at Robertsbridge including local resident Bruce who has kindly come forward to cook for e regulars most Wednesdays. As the banner below indicates, we ould still like to find someone to look after our needs on Sundays.
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Latest news ‐ The Northbridge Street extension Our last issue showed five sets of bridge abutments between Robertsbridge station and Northbridge Street awaiting bridge spans. These represent an ambitious civil engineering challenge for any railway, and for many years the need to deal with these bridges have effectively confined our railway activities to the relatively small length of trackbed between Station Road and the first bridge. The western extension project will greatly extend our operating potential as well as etting us closer to the ultimate goal of join‐up with K&ESR, and has
We need a new volunteer to do simple lunches and teas for the crew on Sundays. Training is provided. Please contact RVR at Robertsbridge.
gbeen eagerly awaited. The first week of February was earmarked for the delivery of the five spans – one new and four restored –and the placement of the latter our. We were blessed with excellent weather and dry conditions. The f
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complicated sequence of events ran as follows. Monday saw the delivery and unloading of the newly fabricated components for Bridge 1 and the walkway components of the other four, from the fabricators in Wales. The opportunity was taken to relocate the remaining ex‐Staplehurst spans from their resting place on the east side of the line at Robertsbridge to the west side, tucked out of the way next to the ex‐BR spans acquired from Reading (see previous issue).
Span for Bridge 4 lowers onto lorry (GW) On Tuesday, the four refurbished ex‐Staplehurst spans, dating from 1904, were delivered from Lamberhurst to the working area at Northbridge Street. Work began to take down some fences on the ricket ground adjoining the railway, and lay a temporary road across cthis land parallel to the embankment right up to bridge 2. Wednesday morning saw the main activity of the week, beginning with the placing of the span for Bridge 5, about 50 yards from the public highway. This was completed by 10am and followed by the trickier exercise of loading another span onto a flat bed lorry and manoeuvring this down the slope onto the cricket pitch and along to Bridge 4 where it was met by a huge mobile crane. The span was lifted over the trees nd dropped carefully into place onto special steel plates placed on the ridge abutments. ab
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On the village cricket pitch, lacing Bridge 4 span looking east (SG) Attention then shifted to Bridge 2, where the crane was relocated to remove the existing span to the bridge and replace it with a refurbished one. Finally, as the light began to go, Bridge 3 was tackled, and this placement was completed by late afternoon. In the meantime work went ahead to assemble the galvanized steel walkways to the ides of the four newly placed spans, these being a current‐day
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srequirement for new works of this kind. Thursday was spent finishing off, completing the walkways, removing the roadway, and replacing the fences and gates. The end result is an impressive line of four shiny black bridges from the Edwardian era complete with galvanized walkways which will soon fade to grey. This s a very visible statement that the RVR is looking eastwards to join up iwith Junction Rd and Bodiam once again. As a feat of logistics this was all pretty impressive. RVR volunteers in our dayglow orange and white helmets helped keep the public ‐ dog walkers and local children especially ‐ away from lifting operations.
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Bridge 3 is placed as dusk gathers – seen from sport ground (SG) The project coincided with a longer road closure by the highway authorities to enable repairs to be done to the river bridge alongside site of the old level crossing at Northbridge Street. As a result, our contractors’ cranes and lorry trailers could be safely parked on the road close to the action, and were free to make the difficult anoeuvres onto the RVR site and the cricket ground without m
worrying about holding up local road traffic. Many passers‐by commented favourably on these very real signs of the ailway’s progress and are clearly looking forward to the return of
age. rtrains to this end of the vill Since that dramatic week, work has proceeded to fix the bridge spans to the pads, and to cut slots into the concrete parapets at bridge 2
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down to track‐bed level to enable vehicles (and in due course the track) through to access Bridge 1 from the east. This allowed the abutment on that side to catch up with the upgrading and strengthening already undertaken on the west, ready for the new span. It is expected that this final bridge on the new extension will be ssembled in situ very shortly. This will allow the start of tracklaying awork, due to begin at the Northbridge Street end in May. Work on the bridges has involved commissioning and coordinating many different contractors and interests, including The Brunswick Ironworks in Caernavon, Beevers in Lamberhurst for shot‐blasting and treatment, Coussens for transport and lifting operations, and Andrew Young and others for the works to the abutments and trackbed. We are also grateful to the Parish Council and Cricket Club for their cooperation over access, and to the East Sussex County Council. Our congratulations and thanks go to all of them and especially to the project team at RVR who organized the whole exercise, notably our seconded‐in project manager Alasdair Stewart.
P/Way update
It was decided some time ago to upgrade the existing trackwork at Robertsbridge to the higher standard required for steam locos and five coach trains, in place of the lightly laid trackwork suitable only for the brakevan rides and 0‐4‐0 locos we’d been envisaging in recent years. Components for this upgrade and also the extension to Northbridge street have been gathering at Robertsbridge over the last few months, with a mixture of concrete sleepered flat‐bottom rail (113lb per yard) nd wooden sleepered bullhead track and pointwork. Space for storing aall this material is already at a premium at Robertsbridge. Much of this material has arrived in the form of half track panels, and these have been dismantled and prepared for re‐use. This way the components can be more readily moved to the correct locations and assembled in situ. Use of a large crane to move whole panels is not practical on the narrow embankments. Rails will be welded up into
longer lengths. A large stack of concrete sleepers has been placed at Northbridge Street now that the bridge works have been completed, ready to be distributed along the side of the trackbed. Ballast is being laid on the bridges. Large amounts of crushed concrete need to be laid and graded to complete the sub‐base, to be followed by track‐laying now expected in May and then ballasting and tamping. Meanwhile a number of mature trees too close to the track for safety have had to be emoved, in some cases to avoid any stability problems with the rembankment itself. Volunteers from RVR, augmented by honorary RVR members drawn rom K&ESR’s track gangs, will be working with our contractor Andrew fYoung over the next few months on various trackwork tasks. Once the new track has been laid up to the loading pad area from the ast, it’s expected that all the rolling stock at Robertsbridge will be erelocated to the new metals to enable the station area to be tackled. Meantime, over at Junction Road, we have just replaced non‐standard track keys over several hundred yards (see photo below).
Inventory/catalogue project
We have built up quite a collection of items of railway interest at Robertsbridge, most of which is in store. We began a list some years ago, but this is now being updated and extended to form a complete inventory or catalogue. This is timely, because we are having to review pretty much everything on site to work out what to do with it, under e plans to relocate almost everything for the development of the tion area.
thta s
Do you have any unwanted copies of the Phoenix? Our archive is missing the following:
Dec 2000, Dec 2002, Sept 2003, Dec 2003, Mar 04, June 04, June 05, Sept 05, Dec 05, Mar 06, June 06, Sept 06, Dec 06, Mar 09
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Prize draw report – by Geoff Wyatt (Promoter) and David Felton (Treasurer)
This past year’s prize draw or lottery has gained extra participants, leading to a 40% increase in income, and also increased prize money as a result. The object of the lottery fund is to improve the welfare of and amenities for the RVR supporters. We have therefore spent about £1600 to date on making the mess van into a comfortable asset for our members, both working and visiting. It now sports a handy kitchen, a more salubrious dining area, and nearly complete office with IT facilities and a small changing/locker area. All this in a van just 54 feet long. Still to come are the fitting of the three remaining pairs of doors in lace of the collapsing oldies, completion of the east‐side repaint, and pinternal cladding in the locker area. Now is the time to try your luck, with good odds and just £5 per month o enter. Forms for joining are available at Robertsbridge, or by emailing [email protected] or by phoning 01424 813 300. he accounts for the year are published on the inside back cover of this sue.
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Latest RVRSA prize draw winners
1st prize 2nd prize December C Ashfield (ball 2) Mrs Clinton (ball 18) January D Masters (ball 8) D Earl (ball 16) February H Brett (ball 11) A Stokes (ball 12) March T Long (ball 7) S Griffiths (ball 4)
Stock update Still exp tec ed to depart Robertsbridge soon are the following items:
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a) the Matisa locomotive no 97701, which is privately owned b) the ex‐LNER box van no 161278, belonging to the Supporters Association (this is sold).
c) the Weatherhill loader belonging to RVR Ltd (this is sold) d) ex‐SECR luggage van, belonging to Hastings T’way Society.
Lamp Hut rescue
The old corrugated iron lamp hut from beside the bay platform of the mainline station next door has arrived safely at RVR’s yard, after a journey of about fifty yards across the station car park. Work is well advanced on refurbishing the building, including removal of the tenacious ivy, the flaking paint and some rust. We expect to re‐glaze the window and paint all of bituminous black as before, so that it can e a useful and attractive feature of the renewed Robertsbridge site ‐ blocation to be decided. Rumour has it that this example was the prototype for the OO‐gauge Hornby model hut, R8015, designed to conceal point motors. So when building your model of the RVR, do not forget to obtain one of these huts! Many thanks to Network Rail and its contractors for this welcome ct of railway conservation. It could easily have been crushed and espatched to a scrapyard somewhere. ad
The Robertsbridge lamp hut arrives (SG)
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Carriage and wagon news
A buyer has been found for the LNER van, with proceeds going into the Supporter’s Association’s funds. This will help in completing work on he GBLV, which is being retained at Robertsbridge as a messing acility, including a small office. tf
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
OF THE ROTHER VALLEY RAILWAY SUPPORTERS’ ASSOCIATION
SATURDAY APRIL 28 at 2.30pm, RVR ROBERTSBRIDGE
Members are invited to attend the 2012 AGM
We expect to have a representative of the Trust/Company to address the meeting in the usual way.
The agenda will be
Chairman’s welcome and remarks
Report on the accounts Officers’ reports
Election of officers Update from the Company/Trust
The Association needs to elect six members as its committee for 2012/2013
Any current member is eligible for election to the
Committee. This committee normally meets every six weeks or so, on Saturday mornings (including a joint session with a
representative of the Company).
The duly elected committee will appoint a chair and confirm other posts within the Association such as Secretary, Treasurer and Editor at a subsequent committee meeting.
Non‐members cannot be admitted. Evidence of membership will be required.
Venice‐Simplon Orient Express at Robertsbridge, by Bob & Jack Evans
If only we were writing about the famous Pullman train, and not just the former Venice‐Simplon Orient Express (VSOE) ticket office from ictoria Station, which many of you will know is currently the main tation building for the RVR at Robertsbridge. Vs
The VSOE today (JE)
This prefabricated fibreglass construction has been at Robertsbridge for some years now. We began improvements about two years back after the buffet closed down, and it’s been decided to take this much further with both internal and external TLC. With the line restoration between the station and Northbridge Street progressing visibly, we anticipate that the renewed interest that we have experienced from ocal people and railway buffs will intensify in the near future, lespecially if we are able to run short train rides. Volunteers have therefore started further revamping the work to provide a smart new information centre that tells the story of the line and our plans for re‐establishing the link between the picturesque communities of Robertsbridge, Bodiam and Tenterden once more. The shop too, is to be revamped to provide a smarter and cleaner nvironment for all‐comers to browse and buy something from the clectic ranges of items on sale there. ee
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Most of the RVR workforce will be involved at various times. We will be aintaining the usual weekend shop opening hours as the work
until further notice. mcontinues, but the museum area is closed Currently we are building a new partition between the shop and information areas. After some re‐plumbing and electrical work, both areas will be completely re‐decorated and new display shelves and cabinets are already being constructed. We will gain a significant amount of wall display area this way and smarten up the interior considerably, as well as making the coffee/tea facility more prominent. Outside, the roof will be re‐waterproofed, the walls repainted and the “Rother Valley Railway” sign
The new partition ‐ shop
and front porch given a face‐lift.. counter will go here (JE).
Track laying, and the construction of the new platform and one day a new station building will take place around the VSOE, so this will be the place to come for information about how the RVR project is rogressing, buy a memento in the shop and partake of some efreshments. We hope to see you there! pr The summer Phoenix deadline is 5 June
All contributions welcome - Ed Relief is at hand RVR has taken delivery of two portable buildings fitted out with toilets, which will be brought into use once main services can be installed.
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King’s Sutton continued– by Geoff Wyatt Continuing with my article from the previous Phoenix, the first picture below depicts the morning push‐pull (or auto‐car) with its milk siphons, ready to depart from Adderbury for Kingham, calling at Milton Halt, Bloxham, Hook Norton, Rollwright Halt and Chipping Norton. It is 12.29 pm and the Auto‐Car is waiting for the fireman of the Inter‐ports xpress, Swansea to Newcastle, to hand in the staff for the single line hey are just vacating. Et
(GW) This 'express' will take a total of 10 hours for the whole journey! It is eaded by a Bulldog, which will be changed at Banbury for an LNER hengine. GWR coaches will finish the journey. The photo below shows Adderbury with its iron ore exchange siding. ll around this area in the 1920s were quarries, all long gone. A
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Adderbury iron ore exchange siding (GW)
(GW) This final picture shows another Auto‐Car about to stop at King's Sutton, this time with the more robust 5700‐class pannier tank engine. It is bound for Bicester and beyond. A stranger, an LMS 4f, waits at the
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Banbury end of the platform, ready to back up into the yard and leave his lone wagon. That done, he will complete the journey to the exchange idings at Banbury. Note the ornate chimneys. The village had iron and smagnesium springs rivalling Bath, but somehow fell into decline. As many may realise a model layout is never finished. However, some get bored with their layout and start all over again, sometimes many times. Mine will suffice me, as after 75 years it is still not finished. Now, where did I put that super‐glue?
Diary dates
RVRSA Model Railway Exhibition AMREX May 19th and 20th, 2012 at Robertsbridge village hall. Open Sto all. Could SA members kindly park on local roads or the mainline station arpark (charges apply), to maximise space in the village hall car‐park eave room focl r exhibition visitors? RVRSA AGM – our annual general meeting has now been set for Saturday 28 April 2012 at 2.30pm in the visitor centre at Robertsbridge RVR. Only Members may attend, and you will need to ring proof of membership or convince the membership secretary that ou are on the current mby embership list. &ESR Gala Weekend, 5 to 7 May. RVR will have a stand as usual or this 3‐day event, and volu t cKf n eers are needed to help rew it.. K&ESR hopper weekend, 8 & 9 September 2012. Passenger train running is being extended beyond Bodiam across the RVR metals to unction Road over the event weekend, for only the second time since he stretch of line was restored. RVR will have a stand at Bodiam. . Jt
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Hastings Tramway Club news
We are pleased to say that the Club has found a new location for its collection of tram bodies and memorabilia and hope to be moving there later this year. In the meantime they have been rationalising and ismantling the shelter that had been erected over the two historic dtram bodies, ready for the eventual move. We will keep readers posted. The Tramways club have also very kindly donated the overhead gantry that sits over the pit road at RVR Robertsbridge to the RVRSA. It’s oped to place this very useful bit of kit outside one of the proposed ew sheds, eventually, for working on railway vehicles. hn
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2012 MODEL RAILWAY EXHIBITION
LAYOUTS, TRADERS, REFRESHMENTS
ROBERTSBRIDGE VILLAGE HALL (Opposite RVR)
Saturday & Sunday
19 & 20th May
Open 10am, closed 5pm.
Access for the disabled
RVR’s shop will be open both days
Admission £3.00 (child £1.50)
Presented by the Rother Valley Railway Supporters Association – all proceeds to the
railway
RVR Online
RVR website www.rvr.org.uk
RVR photos site www.picasaweb.google.com/rother.valley.railway
RVR News 2012 http://12rvrnews.blogspot.com/
RVR volunteers blog http://12rvrailwaydiary.blogspot.com/
RVR on Facebook www.rvrfacebook
RVR shop www.ebay.co.uk – look for seller ID ‘rothervalleyrailwayltd’
Letters to the Editor
Message from Tony Sparks (responding to an RVR e‐news bulletin) Marvellous! What progress and a great credit to all. I am a director of the Great Central and we have learnt the value of blowing our trumpet to get a loyal following, and hence volunteers. Living in Norfolk I don’t get to RVR territory very much although my wife comes from Tonbridge, so we have links there. Keep up the great work, and I hope to be able to isit sometime. The RVR and the KESR combined are going to be a
railway. Your work is really fabulous. vgreat Tony
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Membership renewal
If you have not yet renewed your membership please do so as soon as possible. Those members with standing orders do not need to do nything, providing their contact and other details have not changed asince they last received their membership card. Membership cards for those with valid standing orders, and those who have paid by cheque should be enclosed with paper copies of the Phoenix, unless they have elected for the electronic Phoenix only.
Elsewhere on the former SE division…
Latest developments in the massive Thameslink scheme mentioned in last Spring’s edition include the work to remodel the main concourse at London Bridge station ‐the version completed in 1978 (one of many rebuilds). A new concourse already serves the terminating platforms, and this will run underneath the through platforms in the years ahead o improve circulation between the upper and lower levels. The tallest tbuilding in Europe now soars directly above it. The new Borough viaduct just south of the existing has reached the top of the old ‘Railway Approach’ in the east, hard by the new bus station below. Its ‘London’ end is marked by the old junction with the western curve into Cannon Street, and a short section of viaduct has been idened on its north side right up to the windows of the old houses w
below. One assumes they are not used as housing now. This project relieves the two‐track section which for a century or more has been a major bottleneck on the whole of the south eastern section of the former Southern system. At the ‘country’ end of the new viaduct, a major redevelopment of all the platforms at London Bridge beginning next year has been announced. This will provide nine through platforms to replace the current six, all within the existing site boundaries. You have been warned! Platform seven will presumably
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reappear after its lengthy absence. Other active signs of the project are further platform lengthening on the Sidcup line, and the double‐racking of the St John’s flydown, just starting. More details can be ound t tf a http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/6345.aspx
Bridge 4 takes to the air ‐ like flying a kite….(GW)
Charwelton RVR’s 0‐6‐0 loco is thriving, out on loan to K&ESR, and currently doing a grand job on driving‐experience duties amongst others. RVR’s ex‐BR diesel loco D2112 is also over at K&ESR at present. But we hope it will come across to help with ballasting work before too long.
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Enlist today
The Rother Valley was one of a fascinating empire of light railways built under the direction of Holman F. Stephens. Join us, and help preserve the history and artefacts of his many lines. You will also receive our quarterly newsletter ‘The Colonel’, packed with news, articles and scale drawings. For a membership form, write to:
David Powell (CSS Mem.Sec.) Gateways, Bledlow Road, Saunderton, Princes Risborough, Bucks., HP27 9NG
telephone 01844 343377 e‐mail [email protected] website www.colonelstephenssociety.co.uk
Most of the Udiam Six Chaingang at work (l‐r Mark, Martin, Simon, Geoff and Jorge) (SG)
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For report see page 10
ROTHER VALLEY RAILWAY
PRIZE DRAW
ACCOUNTSFOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 December 2011
TICKET MONIES RECEIVED 981.00£
PRIZES PAID OUT 490.50£
490.50£
EXPENSES;Lottery Registration fees 20.00£ Postage & sundry expenses 4.14£
24.14£
NET INCOME FOR THE YEAR 466.36£
ADD;CUMULATIVE NET INCOME BROUGHT FORWARD 1,406.00£
1,872.36£ DEDUCT;PAID OUT FOR RESTORATION & FITTING OUT OF GBLV
STAFF MESS VAN 1,700.00-£
CUMULATIVE NET INCOME CARRY FORWARD 172.36£
Hawkhurst Signal Box Late news: we understand that an appeal is about to be launched to acquire the Hawkhurst Box and transport it to Robertsbridge. We will keep you posted…,
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The RVR shop is open every Sunday, from 9 – 5pm. Serving ice-creams, cold drinks, biscuits, sweets, crisps Please e-mail stock enquiries to Helen Brett at [email protected]
SELL VIA RVR We are happy to have your unwanted railway items to sell for railway funds. Items can also be sold for you on commission (15%). PRICING POLICY Pricing second-hand items is an art not a science, so all sensible offers are considered for most goods in the shop!
BACK NUMBERS OF RAILWAY MAGAZINES We have what is probably the best collection in the south-east of England. Try us for that issue you’re missing. RAILWAY BOOKS From historic to modern, biography to photo collections, we have a wide range of second-hand books at bargain prices.
MODEL RAILWAY ITEMS We have a large collection of used models and trackwork, mainly 0, OO, and N gauges. We also have some road vehicles and small buildings etc.
FULL–SIZE RAILWAY ITEMS 3rd rail insulators. Railchairs from pre-1923 companies and later, plain or lightly painted. We now have an Ebay account, so you may find some items listed online. Look for our seller name: ‘rothervalleyrailwayltd’ (no spaces).
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