Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

[2561Minoru]

Has anyone been able to visit the line? Cant say i have

It lives up to the reputation of being the "Worlds smallest public railway" since being created in 1927

 

[blackfive460]

Yes, I have.
Was there something else you wanted to know?

 

[2561Minoru]

Yes there is

Are they planning to build a new loco by any chance?

My favourite loco of theres is Hurricane and Black Prince to add also

 

[Oracle]

I first visited around 1964 and it has changed little since then save for the Dungeness loop being built. I would have thought that they were more likely to build a diesel loco than a steam loco.

 

[blackfive460]

Yes there is

Are they planning to build a new loco by any chance?

Not something I'd know about I'm afraid. Why not ask them?

 

[4SRKT]

I like the RH&DR but not as much as Ravenglass. True, it's a double track main line for more than half the way and you get scale speeds approaching 75mph, but the surroundings are just too dull. Plus the line's too flat and straight so you don't get the locos being taxed much, or any decent views around corners. As a curiosity it's worth several visits, but give me River Esk labouring up to Beckfoot anytime.

 

[junglejames]

Yes there is

Are they planning to build a new loco by any chance?

My favourite loco of theres is Hurricane and Black Prince to add also

No plans to build another loco as far as i know. They just keep the current fleet up to scratch.
They do build new coaches every now and again though.

Huricane is a brilliant loco. I do like the diesels as well.

As mentioned, the line hasnt got the awe inspiring scenary of some lines, but it is different in its own right.

Whether it be running alongside the Military Canal, and looking into back gardens to see if the topless sunbathers are out!!, looking up the hill towards Lympne Castle, or racing along the shingle landscape after New Romney.

A lovely line, and well worth a visit.
Along with the Ffestiniog, my favourite Narrow Gauge line.

 

[4SRKT]

Along with the Ffestiniog, my favourite Narrow Gauge line.

Have you been on the Welsh Highland yet? The Ffestiniog used to be my favourite NG line until I did the WH in August. Simply unbelievable.

 

[sprinterguy]

I like the RH&DR but not as much as Ravenglass...As a curiosity it's worth several visits, but give me River Esk labouring up to Beckfoot anytime.

A very well rounded post good man! Very much my sentiment as well: I have yet to visit the RHDR, but have been eagerly intending to for several years, due to the draw of the small Gresley-outline Pacifics. I’m put off however by what I know of the landscape round that area. The Ravenglass and Eskdale on the other hand is an awesome little railway.
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Have you been on the Welsh Highland yet? The Ffestiniog used to be my favourite NG line until I did the WH in August. Simply unbelievable.

I’d love to do a full round trip from the North Wales coast and back via the Welsh Highland and the Ffestinog sometime in 2011, money permitting. I’ve yet to sample the delights of the Welsh Highland, I’ve followed bits of the line by car on the adjacent roads and it looks pretty spectacular. I’ve visited the Ffestiniog once and I was a bit disappointed after all the hype that surrounds it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a nice line, but the vast amount of respect that the line has always seemed to instill in many mortal men didn’t quite match up. “Never meeting your heroes” I suppose. Probably didn’t help that it was exceedingly foggy the day I chose to visit!

 

[Greenback]

Personally, I still prefer the FR because it has more of a history than the WHR. The WHR is a spectacular trip, but as my interest inr ailways also encompasses social history, the FR has more to offer me with its links with slate quarrying, shipping, and the construction of the harbour and Cob in Porthmadog. In contrast, the WHR had a relatively short operating existence, and having had to be reinstated provides much less of a sense of history for me. I enjoyed the run of course, but in a slightly different way!

 

[Waddon]

I think the WHR is going to be great, in 10 years time, when it has bedded in a bit... right now, despite the great scenery and locomotives, its too touristy corporate and characterless for me, but it's essentially brand new and I'm sure that'll change with time...

 

[junglejames]

I havent been on the WR yet. Im going to wait until the connection with the Harbour Station at Porthmadog is open.
Out of interest, does anybody know when the WRs original station in Porthmadog closed (the one close by to the mainline station) and why?
Its only been my recent trip there that led me to realise its being connected to the FR. The time before that, that i had been up to Porthmadog, they had the 2 ends of the WR completed, and the Southern end ran into a small station near to the mainline station.
Looking forward to heading up again soon though and going on the WR. I do like that part of North Wales, and i wont be leaving it so long next time.

 

[Greenback]

I am not sure where the original WHR station was in Porthmadog, but I have a feeling it would have been pretty primitive, given the nature of the line in the 1920's.

The small station near the mainline station is tille there. This is a relatively modern construction, being built on the former exchange siding. The line there is part of the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog). Unofrtunately the history of the rebuilt WHR is very complicated, involving several different incorporations at various times, and a lot of legal argument.

 

[Waddon]

Out of interest, does anybody know when the WRs original station in Porthmadog closed (the one close by to the mainline station) and why?

The station next to the NR station is still open, for the Welsh Highland Heritage railway (WHHR), a different organisation to the Ffestiniog's Welsh Highland Railway, the two lines physically link up, and they were at one time going to each run their own trains over parts of the restored route, but it seems that relations between the two organisations have broken down, and even though the WHHR helped build part of the new line they apparently won't now have the running rights to use it... bit of a shame really...

 

[junglejames]

The station next to the NR station is still open, for the Welsh Highland Heritage railway (WHHR), a different organisation to the Ffestiniog's Welsh Highland Railway, the two lines physically link up, and they were at one time going to each run their own trains over parts of the restored route, but it seems that relations between the two organisations have broken down, and even though the WHHR helped build part of the new line they apparently won't now have the running rights to use it... bit of a shame really...

That does sound complicated. Who started the line off? WHHR surely?
Sounds like someone running out of money, and someone else stepping in to help out, and eventually relations sour.

All i know is a few years ago you had the Southern end of the line, starting at WHHRs Porthmadog station, and the Northern end starting at Caernarfon. Im guessing it was soon after this the FR got involved for whatever reason, because at the time there was no word of FR on the line, and the Northern end was advertised at the Porthmadog station.

 

[4SRKT]

A very well rounded post good man! Very much my sentiment as well: I have yet to visit the RHDR, but have been eagerly intending to for several years, due to the draw of the small Gresley-outline Pacifics. I’m put off however by what I know of the landscape round that area. The Ravenglass and Eskdale on the other hand is an awesome little railway.

I used to volunteer on the R&ER in my teens, and spent some splendid weeks up there guarding trains. Long days and quite hard work, especially the diesel turn that took out trains from Ravenglass at 09:00, 13:00 and 17:00, so including the time taken to clean out your rake before starting and getting the stock back in the shed and cashing up was close to a 12 hour day. Lots of festering in between turns though. In many ways this was a great turn, not least because it was the first one up the line so the deer hadn't been frightened away from the line for the day.

It was nice when a visiting RH&DR loco was able to show what it was made of on a more challenging line. I was guard on Black Prince's turn one day, and it was great fun. River Esk though was and will always be my favourite. Those tiny, 8-coupled driving wheels: ideal for storming up those banks with a heavy load. Truly a titan among 15" gauge locos. I'd really like to see what the RH&DR 4-8-2s could do on the R&ER.

The R&ER has a special place in my heart because of all these memories