Maidstone West Steam Specials

Maidstone West

Steam Specials

28th August 2000

On the August Bank Holiday of 2000, West Country Class No. 34016 ''Bodmin'' was a celebrity on the southern

half of the Medway Valley Line. The locomotive hauled shuttle services between Maidstone West and Tonbridge,

six return trips being run during the day. The locomotive is seen at the southern end of Maidstone West, ready

to depart for Tonbridge. Denis Hooker

28th August 2000

The stock used over the bank holiday was that of the Mid-Hants Railway's ''Green Train'', which comprised

BR Mk 2a carriages. This rake of carriages has since been sold by the MHR. The centre track here shows

signs of recent ballasting, whilst stabled beside the ''down'' platform is stock of a more recent era: Class

508. Denis Hooker

28th August 2000

Despatched to Barry Scrap Yard, Wales, in February 1965, No. 34016 was one of the earlier locomotive rescues,

moving to the Quainton Railway Society's 1968-established Buckinghamshire site in 1972. Subsequently being

moved to the Mid-Hants Railway in late 1976, restoration of the locomotive was completed in September 1979.

The engine was last overhauled in the year 2000, and the sparkling locomotive is seen shortly after this in the

above view, at Maidstone West. Denis Hooker

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