Immerse yourself in the golden age of the railways on this fantastic steam train day that’ll see you being shown just what goes on behind the scenes at this popular heritage railway in Kent known as the ‘Jewel in the Weald’ that covers 21 miles of the countryside from Tenterden to Bodiam.
Lifting the lid on this rural light railway starts in the best way possible – with introductions to your fellow tour guests and guide along with a nice cup of tea. Then it’s off to have a good look around the carriage and wagon workshop where you’ll see skilled craftspersons who work day in day out to renovate the rolling stock that are coupled to the steam trains. It really is a labour of love and the team’s passion for their work certainly comes across.
Your access all areas day then steps up a gear as you climb aboard the first steam train departure of the day from Tenterden to the intermediary Rolvenden station. On arrival at Rolvenden you’ll be shown around the locomotive shed where all the heavy engineering takes place to keep these magnificent locos running smoothly on the tracks. And look for the spanners on the wall – some of them are enormous and look like they’d weigh a ton!
You’ll then move across the station to have a tour of the fully working signal box to see what all those levers do and then you will be able to watch from the side of tracks as the steam train which departed from Bodiam stops to be filled up with water. Having witnessed this impressive ‘refuelling’ of the steam train your day continues when you step aboard that train to head back to Tenterden Station for a visit to the Colonel Stephen museum before lunch.
The afternoon of your exclusive day out with the steam trains starts with you hopping aboard an afternoon service to experience and enjoy the full 21 mile round trip on the Kent and East Sussex line. Once back at Tenterden your fabulous steam train day comes to a close with a farewell drink and the opportunity to ask any remaining burning questions you may have to the experts. At the end of the day it’s all about the wonder of travel by steam train and we think this experience gives you the perfect blend of a guided tour and steam train travel.
