Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway's “95th Anniversary” Steam and Diesel Gala will be taking place on Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th of May 2022.
The celebratory event will see all available Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway's (RH&DR) steam locomotives in operation alongside in service plus diesel's J B Snell and Shelagh of Eskdale, which is on long-term loan to RH&DR from the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway.
Services will be running right through the weekend beginning on Saturday morning and ending on Sunday night. Two locomotives will run in the evening between New Romney and Hythe, night-time operations last tool place during their 90th Anniversary in 2017.
Special services over the weekend will see non-stops, parallel runs and multi-headers with a full enthusiast timetable set for release during April. The event will see a selection of both passenger and freight services with plenty on offer to keep visitors busy day and night.
This year's visiting engines are:
- River Irt from RH&DR's friends at Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Co.Ltd – this locomotive was previously called Muriel and will also be celebrating 95 years since being given a new locomotive-type boiler and extended frames for the rear truck, a small cab and a 6-wheel tender which replaced the side-tanks.
- Katie which is also from Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Co.Ltd – Katie is an 0-4-0 steam tank locomotive built in 1896 by engineer Sir Arthur Heywood for use on the Duke of Westminster's private railway at his Eaton Hall estate in Cheshire. Due to having taller features, Katie cannot steam underneath RH&DR bridges, however, she will be steaming between New Romney Station stopping before Romney Warren Halt.
The gala will have both Standard and Weekend tickets available to buy online here: https://www.rhdr.org.uk/timetables/
Gladys the RH&DR Bar Car and the Royal Saloon will be available through an online auction which is set to take place during April. A previous auction to use Gladys during the End of Season Parade during 2021 saw more than £500 raised. The auction will raise money that will allow the heritage railway to carry out projects such as a locomotive overhaul for Doctor Syn which is located at the Engineering Department alongside other locomotives which RH&DR aims to have steaming for their 100th Anniversary in 2027!
