2678 taking on water at Rolvenden

Amidst all the preparations for travelling north I squeezed in a day at Rolvenden signalbox where we operated a 5 train all steam service.

The B set comprised of the iconic Terrier in charge of the equally iconic Victorian set of wooden bodied coaches doing two round trips.

The A set was in the charge of Standard Class 4 76017 with 4 Mk 1 coaches. All trains were satisfyingly busy with a party having cream teas and another group enjoying several bottles of beer and wine.

I had a trainee in the box, first one since passing out last September. I was told he was ready to pass out himself only to find this was his first visit to Rolvenden and he was ready to pass out at Tenterden. Never mind, he got on well and was a very interesting character to talk to.

Also visiting the box was a group of 7 on a behind the scenes tour. Rolvenden box is part of the tour so I got to give the usual spiel about signalling in general and this box in particular. They pulled a few levers and watched a train go by from the vantage point of the box.

We ended the day on time without any issues having to put in an engineering possession at the last which just the thing you don’t want to have to do at the end of a shift