The snow has hit us hard this week, on the run up to our Day Out With Thomas ™ event. We have spent hours clearing the stations to make them safe. It is so cold but everybody is enjoying themselves. Although we have had less than the expected number of visitors for this weekend, next weekend’s bookings are strong, let us hope it is warmer!


I have had some good news about a filming contract which will take place in a couple of weeks time and will see us on ITV at the end of the year. It is just a shame we will not be on TV in the summer!!

At our last Board meeting, the Board agreed to fund an extension to our Carriage & Wagon shed, which we desperately need just to keep up with maintenance and current restoration projects. There will be more about this later, as we will launch an appeal to help us raise the £200k the project will need. Talking of appeals, our Cavell Van appeal has got off to a good start with £6k of the £35k need already received.

The first guest locomotive, a standard tank, has been secured for our May Gala. We will press release this shortly.

A few days ago I went to a presentation by Kent County Council of their vision for Kent in the future. An extension of the High Speed Rail Link to Manston Airport is a wonderful idea, but I am a bit concerned about the idea of a link from Ashford to Gatwick as this appeared to go through my back garden. Another idea is for a 3rd Thames road crossing, this east of Gravesend. The leader of Gravesham Borough Council then appeared on the radio to say not in our back yard. Unusually I have some sympathy for this argument!

Developing High Speed Rail travel is an interesting concept. I like the idea of linking all the airports with a circular inter airport railway – it would be so much quicker than M25/M11/M1/M23 combinations. When light railways were developed and Colonel Holman F Stephens built the Kent & East Sussex Railway slow speed rail travel was an innovation. There was a famous Punch magazine cartoon of two ladies having a discussion about their journey. The first asked “Shall we walk or travel by train?” The second replied “As we’re not in hurry we’ll go by train”. There may be one or two commuters caught up in recent delays and cancellations caused by recent inclement weather who might argue the same still applies!