Sulzer class 24 D5000 climbs past Buckland with the 9.10 am Charing Cross to Ramsgate.
“We had covered no less than 329 miles by rail and all for the 10 shillings and sixpence cost of a Kent Rover ticket”
1961 Summer timetable.
Completion of Phase 1 of the Kent Coast electrification programme in June 1959 meant the end of steam from Victoria to Ramsgate and Dover via the Medway towns. It was greeted with some dismay by the small band of youthful enthusiasts who used to frequent the footbridge which crossed the country end of Bromley South station, and from which we used to watch the seemingly endless procession of Maunsell 4-4-0s, King Arthurs and Moguls mixed up with BR standard class 5s and of course the Bulleid Pacifics, which worked mainly on boat trains between London and Dover or Folkestone. These were to last another two years, but in the immediate aftermath of June 1959 they didn’t have the same appeal as our beloved Ramsgates at three minutes before each hour worked by such gems as Sir Meleaus de Lile or Sir Dinadan. However every cloud has a silver lining and the completion of this phase of electrification saw the introduction of a short lived Kent Rover ticket giving unlimited travel over the newly electrified lines from London and Bromley South to Ramsgate, Dover and Sheerness. The temptation to spend the day bashing up and down the lines in the newly built CEP and BEP stock was irresistible. The pattern of these trips was broadly similar each time: Bromley South to either Ramsgate or Dover, then a diesel or steam hauled train between the two and a return to Bromley South, followed by the same in reverse with a side trip to Sheerness for good measure. The standard hour train service, especially on Sundays, was quite generous, as follows:
4 CEP 7115 at Dover Priory on the 8.40 am from Victoria (8.57 am from Bromley South).
xx40 each hour |
semi-fast Victoria to Ramsgate and Dover Priory, dividing at Gillingham |
xx40 each hour |
Charing Cross to Ramsgate stopping service |
xx15 each hour |
Victoria to Sheerness stopping service |
xx39 each hour |
stopping service Sheerness to Dover Priory |
A similar pattern operated in the up direction.
On Sunday mornings extra trains operated to cater for Londoners wishing to visit the Kent coast resorts for the day, with a similarly enhanced evening return service. This seems incredible to us now but was in the days before universal ownership of the car and when the train was used for such outings. In fact some extra trains remained in the South Eastern timetable into the early 1980s. The timetable extract shows the Sunday morning down service from the summer 1961 timetable.
So on a warm and sunny Sunday, 11 September 1960, a happy band of three brothers set off to walk to Bromley South and catch the 8.57 am to Dover Priory. These trips were in the days before serious train timing could be undertaken but records of times to the nearest half minute were kept and survive today. These included some estimates of speeds which must be taken very much with a pinch of salt as they were arrived at by the basic method of counting the time taken to cover twenty-three rail joints and converting this to miles per hour! In those days of course welded track was still in the future. Our train was comprised of twelve coaches: 4CEP+4BEP+4CEP, with the front eight coaches including the buffet unit running through to Ramsgate. As we were going to Dover we travelled in the rear unit, 7115, one of the main batch built in 1959.
We left Bromley South 5 minutes late and ran non-stop to Chatham in 24 minutes, regaining a minute and a half on the fairly tight 25½ minute schedule for the 23.4 miles, with some lively running down past Farningham Road. After Chatham the train called at Gillingham, where it divided with the front eight coaches soon away to run fast to Whitstable. Our portion with 4CEP 7115 departed, still 3 minutes late to call at Sittingbourne, Faversham and all stations to Dover Priory except Selling, Bekesbourne and Snowdown, these stations being served by the following 9.39 am from Sheerness. Further lively running saw us into Dover Priory two minutes early, where we crossed the footbridge to Platform 2 in time to see the 10.38 am to Victoria depart also with another 4CEP. Our unit 7115 would sit at Dover until the 1208 pm up and we were to see it again later at Gillingham when joining up with our 1210 pm from Ramsgate. However, I digress and much to our delight the 9.40 am stopping service from Ashford which had arrived at 1026 was hauled by BR Standard class 4 2-6-4 tank and was still standing in Platform 3. Soon afterwards the engine uncoupled to take water at the far end of the platform. We hadn’t expected to see much steam that day so this was a bonus.
BR Standard class 4 2-6-4 tank 80066 at Dover Priory on the 9.40 am local from Ashford.
BR Standard class 4 2-6-4 tank 80066 takes water at Dover Priory after working the 9.40 am local from Ashford.
Dover had very special memories for us, as it was a favourite destination for family summer outings and holidays in the 1950s, nearly always undertaken by car, mostly in an ancient Austin Seven into which were crammed the complete family of Dad, Mum and four children. I can still remember the drama which accompanied the climb of Dover Hill out of Folkestone, with my father adjusting the fuel mixture from controls on the dashboard to ensure that we made it to the top! Later a Morris 10 was acquired to make the journey slightly more comfortable. However the best and most enduring memory of Dover was when, on returning from an illicit shed bash one hot summer day, we encountered unrebuilt WC class 4-6-2 34091 Weymouth simmering away in Platform 3 with a train for Victoria via Faversham. We were invited onto the footplate by the kindly, elderly driver. I can still feel the warmth of the enclosed cab and hear the hum of the turbo generator while we watched the fireman using the pedal to open and close the steam-operated firebox doors. All too soon the driver was preparing to depart but not before asking us where we were going. Alas we were bound for our campsite at Martin Mill but I am quite sure that if we had been going to Faversham we would have got a cab ride in that superb engine. That would have been around 1957 so unfortunately before the days when a camera was carried.
Sulzer Class 24 D5000 at Ramsgate after arrival with the 9.10 am from Charing Cross.
Back to 1960 and our next train was the 9.10 am Charing Cross to Ramsgate, which during the week was still steam hauled by a Bulleid light Pacific and would be until June 1961, but on Sundays was diesel hauled. It rolled in on time at 10.55 am behind BR Sulzer class 24 Bo-Bo D5000. It had run fast from Waterloo to Folkestone Central in 87 minutes, a very undemanding schedule for the 69.2 miles, and then called all stations to Margate (1203 pm) via Ramsgate, reached at 11.47 am.
I can’t recall whether any coaches were dropped at Dover but we climbed slowly up the steep climb past Buckland to Guston tunnel with eight fairly lightly loaded coaches of Bulleid- and Maunsell-built stock including a Bulleid 4-set at the front of the train. The gradients on this climb vary but are as steep as 1 in 68 in places. Steam runs up here were always exciting and the inside of the train was often filled with smoke if the youthful travellers returning to base at Martin Mill kept the windows open! The BR Sulzer class 24s were not really intended for the Southern as initial deliveries were for operation in the Crewe and Derby areas, but fifteen of the first twenty were diverted for use on the Southern to help out until the completion of the Kent Coast electrification, Phase 2. The heavy weight (75 tons) of these locos was too much for the Chief Civil Engineer to accept and they had to have their boilers removed, later to be restored so they could provide train heating when working in tandem with the indigenous Class 33s which were only fitted for electric train heating.
On arrival at Ramsgate an early lunch was taken, no doubt from the contents of our duffle bags, which included such delights as spam sandwiches and tizer! We then continued on to complete the first circular trip back to Bromley South on the 1210 pm from Ramsgate with 4CEP 7153 and 4BEP 7007, both from the original main production batch for Phase 1 of the Kent Coast electrification in 1959. These units were powered by English Electric 250hp EE 507 traction motors, two mounted on each nose end axle of the motor coach at each end of the unit, producing a nominal 1,000 hp per 4-coach set, or 3,000 hp per 12-car train. 7153 was prototype for the refurbishment of the CEPs to modern standards in 1975. The original CEPS and BEPS, with express gearing, had a balancing speed on level track of about 72mph and a maximum speed of 90mph, though this could often be exceeded with keen drivers trying to make up time. They could be very rough riding. This was alleviated to some extent by the fitting of hydraulic dampers quite early on, and later by replacement of the original MK 1 bogies with MK 2 then MK 4. They did, however continue to provide an entertaining ride right up until final withdrawal in 2005 – real trains indeed!
2 HAP 5629 at Sittingbourne with the 3.16 pm from Sheerness.
Anyway, back on the 1210 Ramsgate, we left on time and called all stations to Whitstable, then fast to Gillingham, where we arrived two minutes early, despite being checked outside behind the front portion from Dover, which as stated earlier was 7115 again. We had come up from Whitstable, 23.2 miles, in 26 minutes, with some very fast running, up to around 90mph past Teynham, where I can still recall the train crashing violently around over the crossings at the station. The continuation to Bromley South was more sedate, arriving on time at 149 pm. A quick turnaround saw us on the 157 pm back to Sittingbourne, with another CEP/BEP/CEP formation, numbers unrecorded. We left 4 minutes late and were on time at Chatham, after another very fast run of just 21 minutes for the 23.4 miles, and speed in excess of an estimated 90mph at Farningham Road. In the early days especially, drivers seemed to enjoy getting the best out of their new trains, or maybe some were just trying to prove that the electrics could do anything that Sam Gingell could do with a Standard ‘5’ or Bulleid light Pacific? We got off at Sittingbourne to have a side trip to Sheerness on the 250 pm train with 2HAP 5629, returning at 316 pm with the same unit and then continuing to Ramsgate on the 404 pm train, which had started as the 240 pm from Charing Cross and was comprised of an 8-coach train of 2-car 2HAP units. We left Sittingbourne 3 minutes late and arrived at Ramsgate 2 minutes early at 503 pm. Here we continued our clockwise circuit on to Dover on a fine late summer evening by catching the 547 pm to Charing Cross, eight coaches hauled by Class 33 Bo-Bo D6516.
4 EPB 5235 in the car sheds at Ramsgate.
These engines would give many years of mostly reliable service all across Southern territory and some would last into preservation. Rated at 1550 hp with four Crompton Parkinson traction motors they were very useful all round machines. This train would continue, calling at Folkestone Central, Shorncliffe, Sandling and then fast to Waterloo in a very easy timing of 87 minutes for the 64.7 miles. It seems incredible today that so many trains omitted to call at Ashford, but it was then just a small market town, as indeed it still was when we lived there for a few years from 1968 in the early years of marriage.
Class 33 D6516 at Ramsgate with the 5.30 pm to Charing Cross.
So onto the final leg of our day out, by catching the 7.10 pm Dover Priory to Victoria as far as Gillingham. By now the Sunday evening return from a day out at the coast was well underway so our train had the full 12-car CEP/BEP/CEP formation of units 7143, 7011 and 7123. We left a minute late and arrived at Gillingham on time where we had decided to change into the following 7.10 pm Ramsgate to Victoria train which at this peak time on a Sunday evening was running separately from the Dover train. We were however surprised when it ran in 2 minutes late at 8.17 pm, not with the expected 12 CEP/BEP formation but with units, 6075, 6069, 5615, 6071 and 5314, a 12-coach train of 2HAPs and one 4EPB, the latter without toilet facilities. Despite the suburban gearing of 5314 we only took twenty-six minutes from Chatham to Bromley South arriving on time at 8.50 pm at the end of an interesting and varied day out in beautiful late summer sunshine. We had covered no less than 329 miles by rail and all for the ten shillings and sixpence cost of a Kent Rover ticket. So it was a happy gang of brothers who walked the last mile home from Bromley South to enjoy a belated and no doubt very burnt Sunday lunch.