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KESR boss speaks of national rail link and fantastic people

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Exclusive by Geoff Courtney

With the possibility of a link to the national network moving ever closer as part of an ambitious £4½ million project, the general manager of the Kent & East Sussex Railway has laid out his vision of the line’s future that includes the creation of two new senior posts, increased interaction with volunteers, and developing use of the internet.

Tender moments: Shaun Dewey, general manager of the Kent & East Sussex Railway, with No. 376 Norwegian at Tenterden station on August 13. The 2-6-0, built in 1919 by the Swedish firm Nyquist & Holm for the Norwegian State Railway, was brought to the UK in 1971 after being purchased privately, and is the only tender locomotive on the KESR. GEOFF COURTNEY
Tender moments: Shaun Dewey, general manager of the Kent & East Sussex Railway, with No. 376 Norwegian at Tenterden station on August 13. The 2-6-0, built in 1919 by the Swedish firm Nyquist & Holm for the Norwegian State Railway, was brought to the UK in 1971 after being purchased privately, and is the only tender locomotive on the KESR. GEOFF COURTNEY

Speaking exclusively to Heritage Railway to mark his first year in office, Shaun Dewey also enthused about the “fantastic mix of people” at the Tenterden-based line, emphasised the importance of educating youngsters to further improve the railway’s attraction to a generation that had never experienced steam, and mused on the lack of local engineering skills owing to the line being based in a countryside environment.

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A former aviation industry executive, 64-year-old Shaun speaks positively about the dream of a link to the national rail network at Robertsbridge, 3½ miles from the railway’s current terminus at Bodiam.

Read more in Issue 220 of Heritage Railway


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