Saturday 23rd August 2025

Today’s tour provides a splendid opportunity to explore Kent – The Garden of England – in the superbly restored 4TC unit boasting opening windows which are ideal given that we will be in the company of two heritage class 50 locomotives certain to bring a vastly different acoustic to that normally experienced on the railways of this beautiful county. 

But that’s not all. Even before we reach Southern Region metals, we will enjoy an interesting and hopefully lively journey across parts of the former Great Western Railway. Our special train starts at Princes Risborough and journeys north to Bicester before arcing towards Oxford where we pause to pick up passengers. Our routing now takes us towards London via the GWR main line – for so many years the natural domain of class 50 locomotives. We call to pick up passengers at Didcot Parkway and Reading but despite this we look forward to a spirited run towards London Paddington – perhaps rekindling memories of the heady days of the 1980’s when such moves were commonplace.

Much less commonplace however is our routing from Acton. We deviate left up the incline and progress via Acton Wells Junction and Mitre Bridge Junction to route us towards the River Thames via Shepherds Bush (where we pick up at Kensington Olympia). By taking the up Kensington and Ludgate lines we bypass Clapham Junction to arrive in the heart of the former BR Southern Region.

Our first notable objective in ‘third rail land’ is the one and a half mile branch line to Bromley North. Perhaps one of the most unpopular diagrams for drivers since the branch now only enjoys shuttle trains to/from Grove Park – our visit represents an exceptionally rare through train in passenger service and probably the first ever time a class 50 locomotive has visited the branch.

Not content with taking class 50 locomotives to a one new location – passengers will soon have the opportunity to be part of yet more railway history as we do it yet again – twice! But first, we utilise the Lee spur (itself very rare for passenger trains) and head towards the Medway.

Our day now adopts a coastal theme as our train heads through the harbour town of Whitstable and the coastal resort of Herne Bay before our lunchtime arrival into perhaps Kent’s most famous resort – Margate. Those wishing to have an extended lunchtime break can alight here but passengers are welcome to stay on board as we head further around the coast to Ramsgate – still the location of a large railway depot and another popular family seaside destination.

Our visit though is relatively brief, There is an opportunity for photographs before we head back to Margate for a longer break – this time between 14.04 and 15.25 – affording you the opportunity to sample the delights of the town.

Suitably refreshed, we return along the coast as far as Sittingbourne and the River Medway. At its mouth lays Sheerness on Sea – located at the far end of a very significant seven mile branch line that formerly carried significant freight to Sheerness Docks and another destination never previously visited by class 50 locomotives. Today traffic is predominantly passenger units but this does not detract from the interesting views we will enjoy on the branch as we pass onto the Isle of Sheppey.

After a brief pause for photographs, we retrace our steps as far as Strood where we join the Medway Valley line towards Maidstone West and Paddock Wood. The line enjoys a steady diet of class 375 multiple units so the sight and sound of class 50’s hauling our heritage rolling stock is  sure to confuse the locals. Beyond Paddock Wood our progress becomes more brisk as we join the South Eastern main line towards Tonbridge and Sevenoaks. Here, we continue to progress towards London but now via the diversionary route through Bat and Ball and Otford. Trains from here regularly proceed to London Blackfriars and that is indeed our destination – representing a third location where today’s train will take class 50 locomotives for the first time.

And still our conundrum is not yet complete. From here it would be easy to regain our outbound route via Kensington Olympia but instead this time we do pass through Clapham Junction (where we set down) as we head west towards Richmond and cross the River Thames at Staines. We are of course following the former London & South Western Railway – a slower and longer competitor to GWR’s route from London Paddington but nonetheless a hugely successful route due to the relatively poor proximity of London Paddington.

After a further set down at Reading, we retrace our steps back towards Princes Risborough via Didcot Parkway and Oxford bringing to a conclusion our comprehensive exploration of Kent whilst adding to the class 50 history books some further branches and destinations that the locomotives have visited.

Timings are confirmed

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Please note that First Class accommodation is in compartments of six seats. There are no Junior fares on this train. A buffet car serving hot and cold drinks and snacks will be available. 

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