The Kent & East Sussex Railway Gets on Board With Railway 200 Inspiration Train
2,200 Visitors
Volunteers from the Kent & East Sussex Railway (K&ESR) joined forces with colleagues from Southeastern Railway at Hastings Station (Thursday 12th to Sunday 15th March) aboard the Inspiration train as part of its year-long tour around the country, marking 200 years of the modern railway.
The free travelling exhibition is designed to celebrate the past, present and future of rail transport, visiting a total of 60 stations as part of Railway 200.
(K&ESR Chairman Derrick Bilsby (right) with Steve White, MD of Southeastern Railway
Photo: Derrick Bilsby/K&ESR )
Over the four days, more than 2,200 visitors passed through the interactive exhibition, including some 60 local school children and 20 adults with learning difficulties.
Attendees to a VIP event on Friday 13th March included: Rt Hon Helena Dollimore, MP for Hastings & Rye; Steve White, Managing Director, Southeastern Railway; Derrick Bilsby, Chairman of the K&ESR; Gardner Crawley, Chairman of the Rother Valley Railway Trust; Kevin Boorman, Chair of the Marshlink Line CRP; Cllr Becca Horn, Mayor of Hastings plus local councillors and representatives from English Heritage and tourism bodies.
With the help of the K&ESR volunteers and the Southeastern Railway team, the thousands of visitors over the four days were able to explore the railway's epic story, discover its groundbreaking innovations, tackle hands-on activities around the railway's science and engineering, and uncover the wide range of modern railway careers.
(Image above:Derrick Bilsby (centre) with K&ESR volunteers Elliott Waters (left) and Murray Motley (right)
Photo: Helen Douglas)
K&ESR volunteers were on hand to show visitors fascinating artefacts from their own light railway's history and explain the importance of preserving a working heritage line, the value of volunteering in keeping that history alive and its equally important role in passing on key skills.
They were also able to talk about the major Rother Valley Railway project which will reconnect the K&ESR to the main rail network and Southeastern services at Robertsbridge, due for completion in 2028.
The collaboration, which includes ongoing work with the South East Communities Rail Partnership, was initiated by Southeastern Railway Project Manager, Elliott Waters, who is also a long-standing K&ESR volunteer.
K&ESR Chairman Derrick Bilsby was delighted with the event and the positive response from visitors:
"Railway 200 has been all about celebrating the future as well as the past and present of our railways and their impact on the modern world.
"Our heritage has shaped our past, but it is also helping to shape the future. It was inspiring for us to be able to engage with so many visitors – both adults and children - to not only demonstrate the importance of maintaining this key aspect of our heritage but excite them about its future, in particular what lies ahead when the K&ESR is reconnected to the main rail network for the first time in more than half a century.
"A huge thank you to Southeastern for inviting us to partner with them, providing this opportunity."
Hastings was the last stop in the South East for the Inspiration train. The whole tour finishes in the Summer.
