Diesel Gala! « Spa Valley Railway

Join us for three days of heritage diesel action between Tunbridge Wells West and Eridge!
Step back to the 1970s and 80s when classic diesel traction operated trains all across the United Kingdom.

Joining us this year for the first time is a Class 47 in the form of 47580 'County of Essex', visiting us courtesy of the Mid Norfolk Railway. This will be the first time a Brush Type 4 has been seen on the Spa Valley Railway and indeed the first time a member of the class has ever operated between Tunbridge Wells West and Eridge.

Also joining us at our Diesel Gala is Class 09 09004, also known as D3668, which was a resident at the Spa Valley Railway between 2003 and 2009. The 09 is being loaned to us for at least one year to support our operations. 09004 will work alongside 08922 during this event. 09004 arrived on 15^th July at the Spa Valley Railway.

Joining 09004 and 47580 is our shunters Drewry 2591 'Southerham', Class 08922, plus Class 25 25185, Class 31/4 31430 'Sister Dora', Class 73/1 73140 and Class 207 DEMU 1317.

This event marks the last time Class 73/1 73140 will operate trains at the Spa Valley Railway, as the owners have sadly decided to relocate to another heritage railway. This is not something the Spa Valley Railway wants to see, but we respect their decision. We will mark the occasion by having 73140 operate all three days, allowing you to enjoy this classic Electro-Diesel locomotive for the last time along our line.

What is a Day Rover, Morning Rover or Afternoon Rover?
A once-common name in the rail industry for a type of ticket, a Day Rover allows unlimited travel on the day of your visit. We also offer Morning Rover and Afternoon Rover tickets at a slightly cleaper price, which are valid for unlimited travel between the times shown on the tickets.

Unlimited travel means you can travel on any Spa Valley Railway service that day or between the times shown on your eTicket.

British Railways Class 47 Diesel-Electric Type 4 47580 'County of Essex'
The British Railway Class 47, also known as Brush Type 4, is a class of diesel-electric locomotive built by Brush Traction at its Falcon Works and Crewe Works between 1962 and 1968, with a total of 512 produced.

The class was designed to operate passenger trains, including Intercity services, and freight workings. They soon became a common sight across the whole country, with the majority being allocated to Crewe, Cardiff Canton & Bescot. They quickly, alongside the Class 37s, became one of the mainstays of the BR fleet and promptly earned their reputation as a powerful and reliable class of locomotive. By 1986, only five out of the original 512 had been withdrawn from service, all due to serious accident damage. However, with the introduction of new rolling stock and spare parts becoming scarce, the decision was made to start withdrawing the class slowly. However, by 1995, only 147 locomotives had been withdrawn, still leaving 360 in service. With the privatisation of the railway, many of the locomotives were acquired by private operating companies and used for either freight or charter services. However, as newer technology became available, they were being replaced from 1996 to 2006, with an average of 15 locomotives taken out of service each year.

47580 was released from Brush Works on 1st September 1964, originally as D1762, and allocated to Tinsley (41A). In August 1979, it was named "County of Essex" and held this name until August 1993, when it was then renamed as "Restormel" in 1995. Throughout its working life, it was transferred to March, Immingham, Finsbury Park, Stratford, Bristol Bath Road, Crewe & Toton. 47580 was then withdrawn from traffic by its owner, EWS, in April 2004 and then stored at Toton until the Stratford 47 Group purchased it.

The locomotive is mainline registered and often operates away from the Mid-Norfolk Railway. In June 2022, it was repainted into its current livery, which celebrated the late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee. The repaint of 47580 was carried out inside Dereham Traction & Rolling Stock Restoration & Maintenance Shed, which was built with the support of the EU Leader Funding Rural Development Programme (Project Ref. 109532).

The Mid Norfolk Railway announced in November 2024 that it was purchasing 47580 and its sister, 47596, from the Stratford 47 Group. We are very grateful to the MNR for supporting our Diesel Gala with the visit of 47580.

Photos courtesy of R. Macintyre and Connor Clark

Class 09 09004

BR 0-6-0 Diesel Electric 09004 is a Class 09 Shunting Locomotive. Built at Darlington in 1959, it spent most of its working life on the South Eastern and Central Divisions of the Southern Region of British Railways.

Whilst visually resembling the more numerous Class 08 shunter, Class 09s have different gearing, which allows for a higher top speed of around 27mph, but at the expense of reduced tractive effort.

When British Rail was privatised in 1996, the loco passed to Connex South Central (predecessor of today’s train operator Southern). Following an accident in 1998, the loco was sent to Selhurst Depot.

It was acquired for preservation in December 2000 and first operated at the Lavender Line before being moved to the Spa Valley Railway in 2003, where it remained a resident locomotive until 2009. 09004 was a regular on our passenger trains and shunting operations along with Class 12 15224 and former resident Class 10 D3489 'Colonel Tomline'. The 09004s were then owned by a group at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway, and they were sold again in 2022 to Valley Rail Preservation, subsequently moving to the Avon Valley Railway, where they resided until recently. The 09 has been relocated to the Spa Valley Railway for at least one year of service and will primarily be used on engineering trains and shunting duties. However, it may occasionally appear in passenger service. 09004 arrived on 15^th July at the Spa Valley Railway.

Photos courtesy of Maryn Normanton

Locomotives:

Class 08 08922
Class 09 09004 – On loan from Valley Rail Preservation
Class 25 D7535 – On loan from South Devon Diesel Traction
Class 31/4 31430 'Sister Dora'
Class 47/5 47580 'County of Essex' – On loan from the Mid Norfolk Railway
Class 73/1 73140 – Featuring for the last time in Spa Valley Railway service at this event
Class 207 DEMU 1317

We hope that 1317 will appear in a new livery on one side only, in time for this event!

The unique and sole-surviving Oliver Bulleid-designed Class 12 15224, which has been stored out of public view for many years, will appear on static display in the yard at Tunbridge Wells West during this event.

Photos courtesy of Andrew Edkins

Timetable
25185, 31430, 47580, and 73140 will operate on all three days, alternating between the A and B sets. One will be a 5-car train, the other a 4-car train, plus the Queen Mary Brake Van. 08922 and 09004 will operate on Friday and Saturday, pulling 1317 between Eridge and Groombridge. 1317 will also be operating independently. We hope to use 08922 and 09004 on a whole line trip on Sunday, too!

Set A: 5-car set, including bar car 'Kate'. Vacuum brake set. Coaches: 5037 – 9414 – 25843 – 4828 – 4999
Set B: 4-car set, including the buffet car. Dual brake set. Coaches: QMBV – 4946 – 1864 – 4949 - 21214

The evening trains will be operated by the following locomotives using Set A:

Friday 8^th August – Class 47 47580 Tunbridge Wells West end and Class 31/4 31430 Eridge end.
Saturday 9^th August – Class 25 25185 Tunbridge Wells West end and Class 47 47580 Eridge end.

Tunbridge Wells West

Station shop, complete with model railway items, drinks and light refreshments.
'G' Scale Model Railway.
Film shows of our heritage, diesels and railways.
Access to our locomotive shed.
09026, 15224 and 33063 are on display.
Resident steam locomotives, including 828 and 34053, are on display.
"Driver for £20" from the platform to the yard.

Groombridge

Trains crossing throughout the event, including Brake Van rides.
Catering kiosk on the station platform serving hot and cold drinks and light refreshments.
The Junction Inn pub offers a 10% discount on food menu items with the presentation of a Spa Valley Railway ticket.
Lots of books on our bookstall under the canopy, grab a bargain!
'N' Gauge Model Railway.

Eridge

Mainline connections with Southern services to Central London, East Croydon, Oxted and Uckfield.
A catering outlet located on the station platform offers a selection of hot and cold drinks, as well as light refreshments.
Trains departing from platform 3.
Locomotives are switching trains throughout the day.
"Driver for £20" from Platform 2 to Platform 3!

Real Ales & Ciders in bar car 'Kate' on Set A:

Harvey's Brewery
- Sussex Best – 4.0%
- Armada Ale – 4.5%
- Dark Mild – 3.0%
- Sisters – 3.5%
Seacider Cider
- Strawberry – 4.0%
- Mango – 4.0%
- Bakewell Tart – 4.0%
- White Peach – 4.0%

Evening Dining Trains – Day Rover ticket holders can also travel on these trains; however, we now offer combined dinner and Rover tickets.

Fish & Chip Supper – Combined Day Rover and Fish & Chip Supper tickets are available. This means we'll sort out your evening meal for you, allowing you to enjoy classic diesel traction and dinner on board the train without needing to leave our railway. Includes a cod, sausage or veggie burger and chips, plus a slice of cake dessert and a drink!
Click here for Friday 8th August Combined Day Rover & Fish & Chip Supper tickets
Click here for Saturday 9th August Combined Day Rover & Fish & Chip Supper tickets
Real Ale & Cider Train – No need to pre-book if you have a day or evening rover ticket, buy a pint and enjoy the diesels working hard!

Tickets – Including Half Day Tickets!

1-Day Rovers

Adult 1 Day Rover – £25.00
Child (2–15 yrs) 1 Day Rover – £15.00
Family 1 Day Rover (2 Adults + 2 Children) – £49.00
Family 1 Day Rover (Additional Child) – £5.00 (Only valid when purchased in addition to a Family 1 Day Rover)

2-Day Rovers

Adult 2 Day Rover – £35.00
Child (2 -15yrs) 2 Day Rover – £22.00

3-Day Rovers

Adult 3 Day Rover – £50.00
Child (2–15 yrs) 3 Day Rover – £29.00

First Half Rovers – Valid from 08:45 until 15:30 Friday & Saturday, or 08:45 until 14:00 Sunday)

Adult Morning Rover – £18.00
Child (2–15 yrs) Morning Rover – £11.00
Family (2A+2C) Morning Rover – £47.00
Family (Additional Child) Morning Rover – £3.00

Second Half Rovers – Valid from 13:45 until 22:00 Friday & Saturday, or 12:00 until 17:45 Sunday)

Adult Afternoon Rover – £18.00
Child (2–15 yrs) Afternoon Rover – £11.00
Family (2A+2C) Afternoon Rover – £47.00
Family (Additional Child) Afternoon Rover – £3.00

Evening Rovers (Friday and Saturday only valid from 16:45 until 22:00)

Adult Evening Rover – £16.00
Child (2–15 yrs) Evening Rover – £1.00
Family (2A+2C) Evening Rover – £34.00

Singles

Adult 1 Stop Single (TWW to GBR or GBR to ERD or ERD to GBR or GBR to TWW) – £8.00
Child 1 Stop Single (TWW to GBR or GBR to ERD or ERD to GBR or GBR to TWW) – £6.00
Adult 2 Stops Single (TWW to ERD or ERD to TWW) – £9.00
Child 2 Stops Single (TWW to ERD or ERD to TWW) – £7.00

Day Rover Tickets are valid on all trains during operating hours, including non-dining travel on evening services. Other Rovers are only valid during the specified times.

A small supplement applies to travel in the Queen Mary Brake Van, which the Guard sells on a first-come, first-served basis.

Other Tickets, including discounts and singles:
Groupon, Virgin Experience Days, and other discounted tickets or schemes, such as the Metrobus 10% discount, are not available or accepted during this event.

Single tickets to travel between Tunbridge Wells West, Groombridge, and Eridge, or vice versa, will be available on the day. Due to the nature of the event, no other tickets are available.

Society Members, Reciprocal Travel or HRA Privilege Pass Members:
Members of the Tunbridge Wells & Eridge Railway Preservation Society, any railway with which we have a reciprocal travel arrangement, and HRA Privilege Pass Holders can obtain a 25% discount on tickets purchased on the day at any ticket office. These are not available for online booking in advance, as our online booking system cannot verify external HOPS ID cards or HRA Privilege passes.

Carers & Disabled Visitors:
The necessary companion or carer of a disabled visitor can travel free of charge instead of paying the advertised train fare, while the fares shown above apply to the disabled visitor.

A carer's free travel ticket can be obtained from Ticket Offices on the day of travel and not online in advance. We request customers requiring a carer's ticket please produce one of the following forms of ID when collecting tickets: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Document, Disability Living Allowance Record Book, Attendance Allowance Book, Invalidity Benefit Book, Visual Impairment Registration Card (BD8), Blue/Orange Parking Permit or written confirmation of the above from the DWP with photographic identification.

A note about our fares:
As you will appreciate, transporting trains on trucks is a significant expense. We have kept the fares as low as possible, but, of course, there are other costs, such as diesel fuel and locomotive hire fees, that we must consider when running this event. We want to thank you greatly for your support of this event.

One-trip returns are not available for this event, and singles are only available on the day of the event.

Tickets are now available, and they'll also be available on the day from our ticket offices.

Whilst you do not need to book a space on the evening trains if you want to travel, you must book a combined Day Rover and Fish & Chip Supper ticket or an independent Fish & Chip Supper ticket if you wish to enjoy the food we provide too. You can book these tickets online via this webpage. Click here.

We cannot take bookings on the day as the chip shop needs to order stocks in the week prior to the event.

Photos courtesy of Connor Clark & Jon Nye

Diesel Gala!

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