Medway Crompton
Class
33s have been the staple motive power in Kent since their introduction
in the early 1960s. Thirty-six years later, with only eight of the
original 98 locomotives left in traffic, our cameras board the footplate
of 33030 for what was once an everyday journey for the class - the
departmental working from Hoo Junction to East Peckham. With a load of
550 tons, the veteran Crompton is "Wired for Sound" to capture
the familiar beat that has echoed around the Southern Region for more
than three decades.
After passing through Higham, arrival at Strood marks the start of
one of the most fascinating routes in Kent. The Medway Valley line to
Paddock Wood is strewn with antiquated stations, semaphore signals and
manual crossing gates.
If ever there was a line that time forgot, this is it! Winding its
way through the North Downs along the banks of the Medway, the train
travels via Cuxton, Snodland, Aylesford, Maidstone and Wateringbury.
At Paddock Wood, the Crompton performs a swift run-round of its train
before completing the last four miles to the Civil Engineer’s tip at
East Peckham where the contents of the wagons are discharged. After the
unloading operation is completed, 33030 leaves with the empties,
retracing its journey along the valley to Hoo Junction. There’s a
stirring finale to the trip as the loco turns on the power and blasts
through Higham tunnel!
With lineside footage of the train, this is an authentic reminder of
a once familiar sight - a Class 33 hard at work in the Kent
countryside.
"It’s thrash time again sit back and enjoy a
delightful trip along a delightful stretch of railway. Magic!" RAIL
EXPRESS
