Kent & East Sussex Railway

Oh of course.

 

Apparently Knowle hasn't been fully right since she was released from overhaul... I understand she wasn't in great shape when she visited Embsay after her trip to the IOW last year. (No reflection on the IOWSR, just to be clear)

 

Anyone know what loco is on the heritage train this weekend? TIA.

 

I've always rather liked the K&ESR's own historic house colours.

 

Not sure when it is usually updated but there is now a loco roster shown on the website. So could be worth keeping an eye on that.

Loco Roster – Kent and East Sussex Railway (kesr.org.uk)

 

OK Thanks will keep an eye on that but looking at the timetable again suggests its one loco in steam only anyway. Cheers.

 

That roster appears to be the locomotive department's running schedule for steam raisers and PIC.

It is formatted landscape, so you may need to rotate your phone to see the full width.

If I look at it on my phone upright, only half of the page is visible.

The righthand side shows which locos are off shed at what time. And also which locos need warming fires in the afternoon ready for next day service.

[Edit: I see that roster is only up to 9th. So I was actually reading last weekend's arrangements.]


(Of course I could be totally wrong)

 

I've had a look at the crew roster. It does indeed show one steam loco, plus the DMMU.

 

Are any locos still in that livery?

 

Assuming your mean the KESR colours of the early preservation period, then no. However, Hastings and Gervase (although homed elsewhere) are in RVR blue.

I was one of the individuals in KESR C&W that phased out brown and cream carriages in favour of authentic vehicle liveries. With our Mark 1 fleet that meant either blood and custard or maroon depending upon the carriage's regional location. The blood and custard rather like the brown and cream, did not weather very well, unlike maroon or SR green. The grouping and pregrouping carriages were also returned to their original liveries. The move to paint Mark 1s in current DMU green was driven by financial constraints, ie, we could not afford new transport paint but were awash with DMU paint, but I am pleased that C&W are now appear to be moving towards SR carriage green. I am afraid that I am not somebody that would wish to see a return the brown and cream years.

 

Interesting because I always thought maroon and its variants weathered as bad as SR Green and its equivalents and they aged worse than Cream & Brown/ Carmine.

 

Aren't modern pigments a tad more robust?

I remember seeing Blue Pullman stock awaiting it's fate at Swindon and boy, had the Nanking Blue faded. By then, it was closer to a washed out Wedgwood blue. The blue and yellow on the 4DD units, dumped on the downside sidings at Plumstead (presumably half way between Slade Green Depot and the breakers) were both noticeably sun-bleached. From memory, BR(S) EMU green used to weather darker than it's original shade!

At Waterloo, when I were a spog, it was well nigh impossible to tell what colour anything was in any event. From Riddles 'standards' to Bulleid Pacifics and 2BIL and 4SUB units (or where the windows on the EMUs were, for that matter!), it was all covered in the same patina of grot accented in dark brake block brown which covered everything from the ballast up, back then. I do recall the 4COR units out of Fratton, on the Pompey services, being noticeably cleaner than locos from Nine Elms, or EMUs from Stewarts Lane.

Freshly applied, even the unrelieved suburban BR blue made for a welcome splash of colour on the interminable succession of 2 and 4EPB units, which monopolised Slade Green after the demise of the 4DDs. Given the lack of evidence the carriage washer at Slade Green ever worked, it was tricky to judge how badly the 'Rail Blue' weathered.

 

Hastings & Gervase have 'K&ESR' on their blue tanks, as do Marcia and Austerity No.25 so I guess the K&ESR blue of the very very early 1960s preservation period has had a bit of a comeback (by the 1974 reopening, K&ESR green was in favour for the active locos, whilst Gervase & Hastings' blue paint faded away for years in the sidings). Swiftsure and WD300 are also in a rather similar shade of Longmoor Military Railway blue.

And re: Poplar

Perhaps the time will then be right for a return to green as K&ESR No.3? I'd love to see it someday in its late 1940s green livery, without Bodiam nameplates, as not yet seen during the preservation era.
Like at the top of this web page: https://www.terriertrust.org.uk/appeal

 

Wasn't KESR blue abandoned in favour of green because it weathered quite badly? Whether the modern variant fares better will have to be seen.

 

I think the plan for Poplar/Bodiam is that in 2024 or so, it will be repainted in the 1940's K&ESR green you mention.

 

Looking at Moorgate sets, blue also weathered poorly. I have no real insight into the make up of pigments but I feel like I see more drab maroon than any other livery. That could be a numbers game but I have seen the fading cream/ chocolate before. Of course there are a number of variables in how a livery fairs over time which are bigger than just the pigment.

 

I believe that was reported in the 60s yet Austerity no.25 has been in KESR blue continuously since 1981 I believe.

 

Indeed, but the stability of the pigment is a biggie. I was watching footage of a spring gala last week and a set in very tired chocolate & cream stood out. Sunlight isn't kind to paint .... even in the UK!!

An old panel beater/sprayer of my acquaintance always said of automotive paints (this was back in the 1970s) that due to fading, reds were the trickiest to match (or word to that effect!), with yellows coming a close second. In railway use, you've the performance of varnishes as another significant variable. Witness LNER 'teaks' overdue for a once-over in the paint shop.

 

My understanding is that red pigment is most prone to absorption of ultra-violet radiation and to resultant discolouration over time. I have certainly seen many preserved carriages in maroon livery that have faded to drab pink.

In the Pre-grouping era, red was most popular among major railway companies in Scotland and the North of England (NER, NBR and G&SWR had carriage liveries similar to Midland Red). Brown was more favoured in the sunnier South of England, although there were exceptions here. Can anyone advise how well the SE&CR dark red-brown stands up to weathering, especially in regard to ultra-violet discolouration?

 

That is very true. Red has a long history of being problematic in terms of fading. When KESR used carmine and maroon, transport paints were used and they retained their pigmentation. The problem with blood and custard came with soot staining rather than fade. Maroon and green are better at hiding filth. To a certain extent, heavy cleaning and even re-varnishing can alleviate the problem but that only goes so far.