Evening all,
I represent the East Kent Railway in Shepherdswell, and I thought it would be great to share some information with you about our railway, it's history and it's bright and exciting future! We own and operate heritage trains along the ex-colliery line from Shepherdswell to Eythorne, a distance of two miles. We are all volunteers and are passionate about what we do, but unfortunately not a lot of people know we exist! I am currently the only volunteer from Dover!!
We have a range of special events throughout the year, from enthusiast events, to vintage vehicle rallies, Halloween, Santa Specials and the ever popular summer beer festival! At Shepherdswell we have an excellent cafe, open six days a week from Tuesday to Sunday, woodland walks for a gentle stroll, miniature and model railways for the kids, and museums!
We are keen to involve the local community in our future, as we hope to extend the line and return steam, to make the site into a working museum with a little something for everyone! We're a small but friendly bunch, so why not come along and say hello!
We are always looking for new volunteers, particularly at this time of year in which the heavier tasks are undertaken ready for the opening season in March. We have positions for drivers, guards, catering staff, general volunteers, gardeners, everything you can think of! We even run railway experience days, in which you can take control of a train for the day and drive up and down the line!
Our Santa Specials are coming up, and we are desperate to break our records, so it would be great to see some of you coming along to support your local heritage railway! We need your support!
I hope this has enlightened you to our cause, any questions, give me a shout or visit our website at
www.eastkentrailway.co.uk :) Thanks very much.
All the best
Josh Watkins
EKR Youth Team & Website Manager.