Snow in Kent : The Prequel Saturday 17/01/1987

Monday 12th January 1987

I was still living at my parents in Sittingbourne at this time. Snow had been forecast on the Sunday night, when my Dad woke me up at 0550 I asked if it had snowed? Yes a bit. 

A Cuppa before we headed out to the shed for our pushbikes "why don't you go first" my Dad said. 

A bit strange, he always went out ahead of me - I stepped out & the snow came up to the top of my legs! "You Git Dad!".

So our normal 10 minute bike ride to work turned into a near 2 hour battle through the snow on foot!

We both worked at the Smeed Dean brickworks in deepest Murston, next to Milton creek. 

The whole area was once a whole host of thriving brickworks & cement factories which provided the materials for the Victorian expansion & rebuilding of London. 

Just this one brickworks still going now, producing high quality, traditional London Yellow Stock Bricks. These have been used extensively throughout London & the South East for two centuries. After acquiring a smallholding and brickworks in Sittingbourne Kent George Smeed (1812-1881) collected town ash & clinker from the fire grates of Victorian London and mixed it with local chalk and brick earth to create the original London Stock bricks. 

Anyway back to the snow, we had our names taken that we had attended, there was nothing doing as far too much snow to even make a start. My Forklift was just a large mound in the snow. A cuppa or 2 before the long trudge home - at least we'd be getting a full days pay for turning up.

Tuesday 13th to Thursday 15th January 1987

The next three days had a lot in common! Walk out of the house early each morning, peer over the former Shortlands Jn rail overbridge just to confirm there had been no trains running at all , then struggle through the snow to work. 

The various parts of the Smeed Dean site were previously connected to the Southern Railway by it's own narrow gauge system. (The building marked PH bottom right being the New Inn)

We got the brickworks a bit nearer being ready to restart each day, the aim being to be ready for full production from the following Monday.

We were generally on our way home by about 1pm - the good news was Neville, who drove the big Volvo earthmover/digger that loaded the brickworks hoppers, was now driving his digger home each day - with about a dozen of us perched in the shovel to save walking home & a lucky few sharing his cab!

Most of us would jump out at the New Inn, Murston, for a much needed pint or 2. It's great drinking when your getting paid!

The New Inn by Shortlands Jn railway overbridge. You can just see the covered footbridge on the far left.

Friday 16th January 1987

The same routine at work, everything was looking good for start of play on Monday. 

No lift home in Neville's digger today, however, he had been seconded to the Army to try to dig their way through to the Isle of Sheppey, which had been snowed in all week. 

None of us could work out why they were bothering, there have been years of rivalry between the denizens of Sittingbourne & Sheerness, going as far as things like pre-arranged school fights!

After walking up to the railway overbridge - Result! Clear signs in the snow that trains had been passing this way. 

I would enjoy my beers this evening then try my hand in the morning to see what was about.

Saturday 17th January 1987

The 20 minute walk to the station seemed to pass quicker than normal this morning, probably due to the anticipation of having no idea what might work or what was going on!

I didn't have long to wait - a Crompton came round the corner on the first southbound service about ten minutes later!

33059 in the snow at Sittingbourne which I took to Faversham

A Hellfire start to the day, even though I hadn't started "Bashing" locos at this point, my favourite locos had always been Class 33's - after all they worked through my home station on a daily basis (but not normally on passenger duties like this!) Plenty of Thrash on the climb up Shortlands Incline, passing the New Inn on the way!

33059 Sittingbourne - Faversham 0645 Victoria - Faversham 7m 18ch

This was very much a day of jump on and see what happens next, for some reason I jumped on a class 73 hauled train - I expect it was running on Diesel but the excitement probably ended there.

73113 Faversham - Sittingbourne 7m 18ch

What's on the next Southbound? Another ED - so I only took it to Teynham, looking for better things

73101 Sittingbourne - Teynham 3m 15ch

Total bowl-out there, the next up Stopper arrived unassisted!

EMU Teynham - Chatham 

73135 arrives at Chatham with a down service. The Brutes are painted in Red, White & Blue: they certainly seem to have got more care than the Royal Mails Customer's goods which are strewn across the platform.

73135 Chatham - Sittingbourne 8m 64ch

A hat-trick of 73's! I took this to the familiar environment of Sittingbourne, where I had a cuppa from the buffet & nattered with the Chargehand awaiting developments. 

What a development there was - Class 56's were new to Kent, so much so that 2 of the class had just recently been based at Hither Green for Driver Training before the class started to work throughout on the Oxcroft to Ridham Dock Coal trains. A Big Grid rolled round the corner on the next Southbound!!

56062 Sittingbourne - Faversham 1024 Victoria - Faversham 7m 18ch

Proper thrash up Shortlands Incline - not only that it was on EPB stock!

56062 stands at Faversham with many heads looking out to see if it would work through to Ramsgate

I didn't have long to wait to work out what my next move would be - no sooner had I taken the photo of the class 56 than a Crompton stormed in from the Canterbury direction!

33202 arrives at Faversham from Dover!

Not only that but it was a "Slim", the Hastings Gauge sub class. Christ! It ran round to form the next service to Dover, I don't know what I was doing for tickets on this day - probably just getting on & seeing where the moves took me and pay if required!

33202 Faversham - Canterbury East 1315 Faversham - Dover Western Docks 9m 68ch

33202 under the hellfire signal box at Canterbury East on it's way to Dover

Looking back now I wish I'd gone down to Dover & (hopefully) back again as it was massive, however in the event I've never done a Crompton in for a Crompton out of Canterbury East again! 

33037 Canterbury East - Faversham 1310 Dover - Faversham 9m 68ch

A fantastic experience, that was the highlight of the day so far. Then more ED madness.

73135 Faversham - Sittingbourne 1307 Ramsgate - Victoria 7m 18ch

Time for a couple of pints & a warm up in one of the 2 Shepherd Neame pub's outside the station, I think the Railway was the pub of choice today.

What next? More Grid action!

56062 Sittingbourne - Strood 1407 Ramsgate - Victoria (started Faversham) 12m 00ch

56062 at Strood on the 1407 Ramsgate - Victoria (started Faversham)

EMU Strood - Chatham

33211 Chatham - Sittingbourne 1524 Victoria - Ramsgate 8m 64ch

A fitting end to the day behind 33211, a top day that really inspired me to start Bashing Class 33's in earnest - by June of 1987 I was out travelling behind the class most weekends (including overnights) and all of my holidays.

Cheers Poodle