SKLR: only here for the beer...

5th July 2008

The marvellous 2'6" gauge Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, north Kent. Photos from their Steam'n'Beer festival.
.......................................................................................................
Originally built to serve the paper mill on the river about two miles outside Sittingbourne, 2009 will be their 40th anniversary as a preserved line (fingers crossed: the paper mill is soon to close and it would seem that the land may have to be used for housing). Sittingbourne Viaduct station is, as the name suggests, on a (concrete) viaduct for about three quarters of a mile after which the line runs through fields & shrubbery to the paper mill at Kemsley Down. This then is a real industrial line with a real working history.
NB. The real ale was so popular on Saturday that it had to be rationed on the Sunday.
Note to preserved railways requiring more visitors: Get some real ale in!

Sittingbourne's Steam Railway nominally closed on Friday 26th December, 2008 after 39 years of Heritage operation. It has been said that this was due to the
beligerant attitude of land owners MReal and in particular their agents Messrs. Strutt and Parker. Please visit www.sklr.net for more information.
.......................................................................................................
Nikon D300, Carl Zeiss 25mm, Voigtlander 58mm & Sigma 150mm.

DSC1170.jpg	DSC1176.jpg	DSC1177.jpg	DSC1186.jpg
DSC1187.jpg	Chopper couplings DSC1191.jpg	Truck loads of real ale fans arriving at Kemsley Down DSC1196.jpg	A fabulous carnival atmosphere @ Kemsley Down; I've never seen so many people having such a good time on a small railway DSC1199.jpg
KD DSC1203.jpg	KD DSC1218.jpg	KD DSC1232.jpg	KD DSC1242.jpg
Bucolic charm @ Kemsley Down DSC1247.jpg	Charmingly overgrown garden railway DSC1251.jpg	DSC1267a.jpg	Ex WLLR Chattenden & Upnor coaches DSC1277.jpg
DSC1284a.jpg	DSC1287.jpg	The light; the detail DSC1289.jpg	Throughout the afternoon trainloads of real ale enthusiasts spilled forth from the trains DSC1290.jpg
Ł8.50 for an all-day rover and your first pint free - I'll drink to that DSC1295.jpg	I want one... DSC1300.jpg	DSC1302.jpg	What better way to relax? ~ a pint or two of Old WhatNot, a trundling narrow gauge train and plenty of coal smoke DSC1311.jpg
DSC1326.jpg	DSC1329.jpg	DSC1331a.jpg	DSC1344a.jpg
DSC1348.jpg	DSC1352.jpg	DSC1372.jpg	DSC1386.jpg
DSC1393.jpg	DSC1404.jpg	DSC1411.jpg	DSC1414.jpg