A cab ride aboard a tamper, travelling from Ashford to Hastings across the affectionately known Marshlink line, through Rye. The line was singled in 1979.
I always watch these videos and really appreciate them, always been train mad from when I was a kid living in Brighton and going up to London on the train with my mum, sometimes on a steam train. I have lived on the Marsh for over 25 years and it is a beautiful part of England. Thanks for video, always my early morning piece of peace and quiet.
Play it at 2x speed and it feels like I’m on a high speed train! Thank you for the video. I’ve always wanted to see that line in person but getting to Ashford International itself is expensive and time consuming.
Great video emmo, lovely journey, Dymchurch, rye, Winchelsea such a beautiful part of Kent, been to Hastings many times, looking forward to seeing your next video, thanks 👍😀👌
Fantastic video, great to see the journey from a driver's view on a route I regularly travel- thanks for posting! I must have missed this passing as I presume it was the last moment VST schedule & I didn't check Real Time Trains! Simon (Hastings)
Very, very last minute. I had a phone call saying the machine was at Ashford facing the wrong direction for the next day. So I had to run it out of Ashford, round via Hastings to Tonbridge, then direct back to Ashford, which had the effect of turning the machine
I'm sure Hastings Diesels did this journey on their channel, but the other way round, however it was quite a miserable day, so it was a real pleasure to see the countryside in all its glory on your video. Thanks for sharing.
More wonderful childhood memories! We holidayed several times in Winchelsea and Camber and would change at Hastings or Ore onto the steam train for Rye. After the Dorking line trip, all I need now to complete the set is a fine-weather journey from Coulsdon to Chichester via Horsham. (Yes I know you did it in the gloom...)
@@emmo999 - The "Marshlink Line" looked to be well-engineered, with very few sharp curves, so that if it was upgraded and electrocuted it could form part of a genuine high-speed route from Ashford all the way along the south coast of England to Brighton .... and even beyond!
I’ve already recorded and uploaded the exit from the tamper sidings. Setting up the camera takes time, so for the sake of a 5 minute shunt, I didn’t feel it necessary. If I hadn’t already shown the exit to the sidings, I would have done
Thank you as usual! As always lovely and calming to watch before getting dinner! Can I ask you probably been asked before but do you have suspension in the cab or do you have the bumps as bad as they sound?
The suspensions is fairly hard, a necessity of the way a tamper works when it’s actually working. This unfortunately leads to rattles around the machine
@@emmo999 Yeah I dont see tampers down here much in the day. There was one down here a few months ago though. Cheers. Hope you manage to get down soon.
In hindsight, I’m kind of surprised myself! I guess TPWS now stops a train passing a signal at danger, and signallers have better communication than ever before with drivers so could contact the driver of a train going the other way
@@emmo999 I looked at the other end to see whether there was a catch point there, but it looks as if the points into the truncated up-line are effectively performing that function. Best I could see, the points were indeed switched to the siding as you go past. While there are other protections, I think catch points should still be there as the last resort. I've sent a query to Network Rail.
I got a response about this from Network Rail. "Thank you for contacting us about a possible missing catch point at Appledore station. I have spoken to the the local operations manager who looks after the signalling in this area and he has informed me that the way the signalling works here does not need catch points. If a train coming from Ashford to Appledore needs be signalled into the platform then there would be a section kept cleared pass the station signal at Appledore. This section of track is considered the safety section which is over a half a mile of clear track. If a train is travelling from Rye to Appledore is being signalled into the up platform at Appledore the signalling system will prevent the signaller from setting the signal until the train arrives in the station. Therefore, there is no longer any need for catch points as the signalling interlocking system prevents the possibility of a collision." I find this explanation less than compelling, since catch points are there to deal with situations where trains go past signals at danger, for whatever reason. Still, that's what they said. I doubt I'd achieve anything by trying to argue with them.
Ah don't fancy the farmer or livestocks chances on those cattle crossings .......is their no system in place for them ? ......is it just a game of Russian Roulette. If you have 3 or 4 cows or a dozen sheep in the middle of the crossing.....no hooter is going to do any good
