Objectives

 The Railway’s aspirations may be summarised under the following four principal objectives;

1)     Purchase of the remaining sections of the track-bed between Northbridge Street and Junction Road (approximately 2½ miles)
2)     Obtain a Transport & Works Act Order (TWO) and other statutory permissions
3)     Reconstruction of the embankments, bridges, level crossings and track.
4)     Completion of the Robertsbridge site and the establishment of brake van rides

 All these objectives have their own requirements for funding.

OBJECTIVE 1 is the focus of the work of the Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust. It is not foreseen that this can be achieved by general fundraising but it is likely instead to rely upon individual specific donations. 

 OBJECTIVE 2 will require the engagement of professional assistance and it may not be possible to complete the first objective until this objective has been satisfied. The drafting and submission of an application for a TWO is a long and expensive process, which may also involve subsequent public hearings.

Some of the supporting engineering studies may need to be funded in the short term.

OBJECTIVE 3 will largely need to be carried out by contractors. Grant funding may be possible once objectives 1 and 2 have been met.

Rebuilding of the bridges on the Robertsbridge – Northbridge Street section together with some of the smaller works will need to be carried out in advance of the main construction and funded in the short term.

OBJECTIVE 4 is the current focus of work being undertaken by the Rother Valley Railway Ltd, its supporters and volunteers. Work is being concentrated in the following areas;

a)       Redecoration of the buildings and general development of attractions and facilities on the Robertsbridge            site to provide a more interesting, enjoyable and educational experience for visitors.
b)     Completion of the restoration of the Rolling Stock which will form the initial basis of the train set for                  public rides. For further details of the proposed service and the individual vehicles concerned,
c)     Completion of the construction of the passenger platform;

Work is currently concentrated on the final stages of completing the access ramp and the casting of the edging slabs.

You can keep up to date with the progress of this work in our updates.

d)    Completion of the first section of trackwork to public carrying standard and the subsequent inspection and         approval thereof by the Railway Inspectorate and the Health & Safety Executive.

The majority of this work has already been completed and the final phase is the purchase, laying and tamping of a further 250 tonnes of track ballast.

To enable the ballast to be laid, repairs will first need completion to the doors and side discharge chutes of our ballast hopper wagon which have suffered from the tin worm over the years. This work should be completed shortly by a contractor shortly.

e)     Restoration for internal use or display of other historic and interesting items of locomotives, coaches and           goods wagons.

Most vehicles on the Railway are privately owned and are on loan. The restoration of these vehicles is the responsibility of and in many cases is actually carried out by the owners themselves. The owners are also responsible for funding the costs of restoration themselves.

The restoration of the first of the two of the Company’s vintage and historic wooden chassis Victorian ex-BP tank wagons has been started and is being funded by the kind sponsorship of B.P.Oil (UK).

 f)      Installation of a system of drainage and the filling in of the valley between Oak Tree sidings and the                    Network Rail embankment to provide land stability and to gain an additional area of level ground on                 which we can lay additional storage sidings.

It is anticipated that this can be achieved without cost as long as suitable free material can be located and imported.

 TO ACHIEVE OBJECTIVE 4 THEREFORE REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF LABOUR AND THE RAISING OF APPROXIMATELY £5,000. IF YOU CAN HELP US RAISE THESE FUNDS, PLEASE REFER TO THE FINANCIAL AID PAGE OR CONTACT US.

 WE SHOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL IF YOU CAN SPARE ANY TIME TO HELP US. WE HAVE WORK FOR BOTH SKILLED AND UNSKILLED PEOPLE AND PARTICULARLY IF YOU HAVE ANY ENGINEERING OR CIVIL ENGINEERING SKILLS AND ARE PREPARED TO ASSIST US IN A VOLUNTARY CAPACITY, WE SHOULD BE DELIGHTED TO HEAR FROM YOU.

IN THE FIRST INSTANCE PLEASE CONTACT DAVID FELTON reception@rvr.org.uk   or via   CONTACT US.

Keep in touch with our progress HERE.