Railways in England
Photographs and Stories from English Railways
On my last trip to the UK, I had planned to make a visit to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway on the way back to Dover to catch the ferry. After a week of lovely weather, conditions deteriorated and I was caught up in bad traffic on the A 27. I arrived at Dymchurch just in time to photograph the last trains in each direction, with just about enough light to get a reasonable picture.
Locomotive No 14 has been named 'Captain Howey' after the founder of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.
This viaduct was one of many on the old Somerset and Dorset line. It was demolished not long after this photograph was taken, and as can be seen below, there is now little evidence a railway ran across this valley.
Today birdsong replaces locomotive whistles and the nearest thing to steam is the mist rising from the ditch alonside the road.
A trip down a branch line on one of these trains used to be the best way to see rural England.
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