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The Phoenix

Issue 66 £1 Winter 2013/14

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Journal of the Rother Valley Railway Supporters’ Association – Phoenix No 66

RVR Supporters’ Association Committee for 2013/14: Peter Brown (Chairman) David Felton (Treasurer) Geoff Wyatt (Lottery manager) Bruce Bassam Trevor Streeter (Membership secretary) Steve Griffiths (Secretary & editor of the Phoenix) editor@rvr.org.uk Plus: Shop manager: Mark Goodrum Mess van manager: Peter Brown

The Rother Valley Railway Robertsbridge Junction Station, Station Road, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, TN32 5DG telephone: 01580 881833 RVR e-mail: reception@rvr.org.uk RVR website: www.rvr.org.uk Membership: membership@rvr.org.uk

Rother Valley Railway Ltd Directors: Gardner Crawley (chairman) Mike Hart OBE (deputy chairman) David Felton (managing director, finance dir,

& company secretary) David Slack (operations director) Roy Seaborne (non-executive director) John Snell (non-executive director)

Reg. Office: 3-4 Bower Terrace, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 8RY (e-mail etc as above)

Co. Managers:

Trevor Streeter (Webmaster) Mark Yonge (Press Officer)

Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust Trustees: Gardner Crawley (Chairman), Mike Hart OBE (Deputy Chairman),

Peter Davis, David Felton, Roy Seaborne, John Snell Address etc as above

Phoenix copyright: The Rother Valley Railway Supporters’ Association

Any uncredited articles and text have been produced by the Editor

Material for the Spring issue - to the Editor by 1 March please

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Editorial Looking back over the year, so much has changed, and so much has been achieved! In last winter’s issue, the rolling stock had just been cleared out of the old three-road yard area, as the front cover showed. Soon afterwards, this end of the line was completely cleared, and subsequently the formation was completely re-levelled, rebuilt and widened, with new trackwork right up to bridge no. 1 and a new platform and site fencing put in place. Steam and passengers then returned to the railway, if only for an all too-brief weekend in the first instance. All this represents a huge amount of work and a major transformation in well under a year – a notable achievement by any standards. After the excitements of the Gala, Robertsbridge Junction has settled down again and as the winter weather closes in a casual visitor might imagine that not much is happening right now. But appearances can be deceptive, for a lot is going on behind the scenes. RVR is finalising the planning application for the next phase of the railway's join-up plans, as well as the formal application for a Transport and Works Act order expected to follow on later in the New Year. Alongside all this is the work towards the reconnection into the main line station's bay platform, which has involved a lot of liaison with Network Rail. The Railway's also been busy hosting some more visits by VIPs as part of the drive to ensure our plans and prospects are fully appreciated, particularly by local politicians. As the new platform moves steadily towards final completion at Robertsbridge Junction, our thoughts are turning to the long planting trough which is a feature of the design, and various other planting opportunities too! While we've always been happy to hack away at the local nature when it's got a bit much, the time has come to be a bit more proactive. More on this topic on page 15. Finally, thanks from all here at Robertsbridge Junction for supporting the Association and hence the overall railway effort during 2013. The New Year should be just as productive, if not more, so please stick with us when membership renewal day comes! A large proportion of everyone’s subscription is donated to the railway each year, after we have budgeted for things like the magazine and its distribution, membership cards and postage - so your fees help the join-up project very directly, each time you renew.

Happy New Year from everyone at Robertsbridge Junction! Editor December 2013 Cover photo: the new station’s ‘running-in board’ (photo: TEDS)

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another Mark Helmsley photo of the Gala

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People

News has just come through of the death of John Snell, one of the railway’s Trustees. We hope to include an obituary in the next edition, and we offer our condolences to his family. RVR was very pleased to receive a visit recently from our local Member of Parliament and Patron, the Rt Hon Gregory Barker PC, MP, who is also the Minister of State for Climate Change. He was shown around by the Trust’s chairman and given a detailed briefing and a brake van ride to Northbridge Street and back. Mr Barker issued a Press Notice following his visit, saying “I was impressed to see how far work has progressed at Robertsbridge Station on building the platforms, station buildings and the railway line itself. It is very exciting to see this award-winning engineering project moving forward at a great pace. Once complete it will be a great asset to the local businesses and communities who will benefit from the increased tourism it brings. I look forward to visiting again soon.”

Greg Barker MP, Mike Hart, Gardner Crawley, David Gillett at Robertsbridge Junction (photo from Mr Barker’s press notice)

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At the Merchant Taylors Hall, London - John Sreeves (2nd from left), Gardner Crawley and Mike Hart (photo: NRHA)

RVR wins new award - by Mark Yonge

We are delighted to announce that at the National Railway Heritage Awards ceremony (above), the Rother Valley Railway was awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ certificate for the reconstruction of the five bridges between Robertsbridge Junction station and Northbridge Street. This follows the top award given by the Institute of Civil Engineers in South East England for this project earlier in 2013. The judges’ comments highlight the challenging aspect of the task which was for the RVR to newly construct or restore no less than five bridges within 320 metres of embankment and as they said, ‘this challenge was definitely not for the faint hearted!’

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The main points of commendation took into account the following:

the lightly built original structures were less than substantial for modern use

even if they had been in good condition;

the decision to upgrade the bridge decks to normal load capacity is applauded,

particularly for future railway use;

clearly thorough research and investigation were carried out;

the use of redundant bridge spans from the Beult viaduct near Staplehurst was

very resourceful;

the quality of the finished concrete was exemplary and certainly much better

than the original structures;

examination of the decks showed a high standard of preparation and finish,

requiring minimal maintenance in the foreseeable future;

the replication of the configuration of the various outrigger walkways and

handrails is to be applauded.

‘Overall, [said the judge] I felt that the works done reflect an excellent contribution to the history of the railway’. Gardner Crawley, Chairman of the Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust, commented ‘We are delighted to have received this award and thanks are offered to all our volunteers and benefactors who enabled these bridges to have a new life. Particular thanks are due to our bridge designers, John Sreeves, Derek Kent and Graham Bessant who spent many hours in their spare time on this project’.

Developments at Robertsbridge Junction Station

Volunteer projects have pushed ahead with ongoing restoration work on several of the vehicles including the third Banana van, Titan, the mess van (east side) and the 3-plank wagon. We've also continued the repainting of the 'Network Rail' gates at the far end of the carpark, and the sorting out and organising of the main workshop. Solar powered security lights have been fitted to some vehicles alongside the platform, to help discourage intruders. The onset of winter has put a virtual stop to painting now, but when the weather is not too grim there are other outside jobs to be done on the remaining stock, as always. We have also been progressively tidying up the ballast on the newly laid trackwork, clearing it from the sleeper tops and filling in the odd bits missed by the machinery mentioned in the last issue. This is slow work and rather hard on the back and wrists - especially if like most of us one is out of practice and well into the third age. It's a case of a bit at a time and let the inflamed wrists calm down again. We've also finally managed to remove the remains of the conductor rail system from the sleepers, apart from the ones under the timberwork put down for the low-loaders to access the track.

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The gates on Bridge 1 have had their anti-climb paint refreshed – it only stays sticky for a couple of years when it's so exposed to the elements. Yet to be tackled are the refurbishment of several antique trolleys and barrows in the RVR collection. We also plan to rationalise and reorganise the contents of the two remaining van bodies and continue external repairs to these vital stores. In fact the list of jobs for volunteers is pretty much inexhaustible – there always seems to be plenty more to do, and as indicated on page 15 the railway now has some serious gardening to do as well!

It’s a relief to be able to announce that at long last we volunteers and our visitors have the use of a decent lavatory. Although we have long been able to use one at the main station, courtesy of our friends at the mainline, it’s fair to say the experience has always been a bit basic. RVR Limited has paid for an upgrade of the facilities so that at last one can wash one’s hands on the premises! On the infrastructure front, the bricklayers have returned and the engineering brick edges to the platform have been creeping southwards. The front face of the platform is complete, with the exception of the ramp down. A large new station name – a running –in board in railway parlance - has been built on the new platform. This is in Oxford Blue with white lettering (see front cover). Erecting this onto its uprights proved to be more exciting than anticipated, but no-one was actually harmed in the process. We’re hoping that the chain link fencing alongside the platform can soon be removed. Work has resumed on the water tower following some redesign work on the civil engineering aspects. As the photo shows, three massive parallel reinforced concrete piers are being built on top of the slab laid in the summer, to take the weight of the huge tank. These piers will eventually be hidden inside the traditional-looking brick structure, which will house water-softening equipment. The tower will supply the smaller water crane which is to be located on the opposite side of the tracks at the foot of the platform ramp, slightly to the south – the foundations for this smaller tower can just be seen in the aerial view as a small grey circle in the lower right hand corner. Trackwise, tracklayers have been busy putting together more of the pointwork for the loco shed, which will also serve as the connection into the bay platform of the mainline station (somewhere to the right of the scene shown in the photo below).

NOTICE OF RVRSA AGM Our annual general meeting has been set for Saturday 10 May 2014,

at 2.30 pm at Robertsbridge Junction.

Only Members may attend – so bring proof of membership.

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aerial view of the water tower formwork under construction (Philip Lane)

Missing RVR publications

We’re looking for the items below to complete our archives: -Rother Valley Railway News No 4 (1993-ish)

-Rother Valley Railway News No 7 (late 1994?) - RVR’s statement of aims document circa 1994

- a special ‘publicity ‘issue of the Phoenix, pre 1997

please contact the editor if you have these in your collection

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Aerial view of the loco shed site (left) and its pointwork. Stored bridge sections to the right and Hastings line trackwork bottom right, soon to be joined to ours. The Permaquip, or ‘tug’, hides under the blue tarpaulin (Photo: Philip Lane)

Rolling stock changes

We have said farewell to the LNER hopper wagon which found a new owner recently, and also to the ex-K&ESR ballast regulator which has served its purpose and went to the purchaser of the Matisa loco. This means that currently on site are the following: the three banana vans, the Maunsell coach, the ex-SR BY van, and the ex-SR brake van (all privately owned). The three-plank wagon and Lowmac are owned by RVR Ltd. The mess van (GBLV) is owned by the Association. Then there are two diesel shunters owned by the company – Dougal and the Class 03 – and two privately-owned motive power, namely Titan and the Permaquip ‘Jenny M’. Currently off-site are the steam locomotive Charwelton, two Dogfish (all at K&ESR), and one tank wagon undergoing a rebuild.

Christmas capers

The RVRSA did its bit once again in the annual village winter festival, providing hot chestnuts and mulled wine free of charge to anyone venturing in our direction.

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RVR’s Capers team (L to R): Jack and Bob Edwards, Bruce Bassam, Geoff Wyatt, Emiiy, Mark Goodrum and Peter Brown (photo JE)

Loco shed pointwork takes shape (Alasdair Stewart)

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Rolvenden carriage shed

Some of you may be wondering about a brief reference on page 16 of the previous issue to work starting on a new shed at Rolvenden. What is this, and what has this to do with us, you might wonder? The project has a great deal to do with us of course, because it is part and parcel of the plan to join up the two halves of the railway in the next few years. The carriages that will be running through to Robertsbridge one day are currently stored in the open, and this means a great deal of weathering of the paintwork and exteriors generally on these historic vehicles, some of which are more than 100 years old. Given the greater mileage that join-up will demand of them, and the need to conserve these assets for as long as possible with the always limited resources of volunteer-hours and money, it's essential to get these vintage vehicles better protection from the elements. This will considerably reduce the frequency with which the vehicles exteriors need refurbishment, and hence the workload on the carriage and wagon department. The RVR Heritage Trust has therefore made a grant of some half-million pounds for the construction of the long-awaited carriage shed, which is being sited just south of Rolvenden Station, opposite the sewage works. RVR is also providing project management for the scheme. The four-road shed will be nearly 400 feet in length, which is enough to house four five-coach trains. About a mile of trackwork is required together with eight points. Alterations to the main line are also required. So far, extensive groundworks have already been completed by Andrew Woods (also the main contractor at Robertsbridge), and a start made on laying out track materials. It's thought that the shed itself will be erected by specialist contractors in the near future. The design is a standard agricultural one, so presumably a question of assembling standardised components on site when the time comes.

Dates for your new 2014 diary!

25 &2 January The Erith MRS Model Railway Exhibition (see advert) Saturday 10 May, 2.30 pm: RVRSA Annual General Meeting (see notice) 17& 18 May - SAMREX 2014: the RVRSA’s Model Railway Exhibition. HELP WANTED: If you can help with the arrangements on the SAMREX exhibition days and/or the setting up on Friday 16th, please contact our show manager Alan Bone on 020 8310 5018, or Geoff at Robertsbridge . We need people to make the food, wash up, and generally help with stewarding and keeping everyone attending happy and contented!

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Site of the new K&ESR carriage shed near Rolvenden(Photo: G Baldwin)

Rye Harbour

Somewhat further south along the River Rother, our contractor Andrew Woods has been putting in a lot of work dismantling trackwork down near Rye Harbour and loading and unloading the resulting materials, which are contributing to the stock of track components for future progress. Unfortunately we haven’t got any photos of this work at present – can anyone oblige? The Rye Harbour branch was opened in 1854 as part of a scheme to build up the port, ideas for which included a cross channel ferry which came to nothing. This goods-only line ran southwards for some one and a half miles off the main railway from Ashford to Hastings, beginning just west of Rye Station, with various sidings serving various industrial premises, and closed in about 1960. The Ashford to Hastings line itself narrowly escaped being closed a few years later, when the then Secretary of State approved a BR proposal to close it. A successful campaign was waged to retain the line – nowadays branded as the Marshlink service - but it remains one of the few former Southern routes not to have been electrified.

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NOTICE

ENTHUSIASTIC VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED

ROTHER VALLEY RAILWAY GARDEN GROUP

As you are all no doubt aware, like Phoenix from the Ashes, the new Robertsbridge Junction station is currently under construction on what was a piece of derelict land.

This new building, designed historically to match those on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, will need to be tastefully planted with a range of trees, shrubs, hedges and flowers. This will considerably enhance its appearance and be an asset to the village.

We therefore need volunteers to make this happen. If you would like to take part and join this group, you will be made most welcome.

Initially it is planned for the group to meet on the third Sunday in each month, beginning at 10.00am. The inaugural meeting will be held on the 19th January 2014. Please contact me at any time or just turn out on the first day when I will lay out the site plan and discuss details.

We look forward to meeting you soon.

Mark Yonge

RVR Membership

The Supporters' Association committee were pleased to note recently that membership numbers are holding up well. As at 4 November, the total paid membership comprised some 142 people, together with 23 honorary members. The latter are people who are closely connected with the railway such as the volunteers from K&ESR, London Transport and so on who support us through their various physical and intellectual efforts on a regular basis ! Most honorary memberships are proposed to us by RVR Ltd, and we are happy to oblige. Membership is of course a prerequisite of undertaking any unpaid work on railway property, since it is a requirement of the railway's insurers. The committee have decided to retain membership subscriptions at their present levels for another year - that is until 2015.

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SECR Class 01 - loco no 3065. This famous class of locos were designed by Stirling for the SER in the 1870s as the mainstay of the longer distance coast routes, then rebuilt by Wainright in 1908 in the ‘O1’ form seen above. Their light weight per axle enabled them to traverse routes closed to other tender locos, and so they were a familiar sight on various lightly-laid branches including the K&ESR. Even so they were too heavy to work right through to Robertsbridge in later years. About half the class survived right through to BR days, but this example is the only one of the original 122 O-class to have survived. It can be seen on the Bluebell Railway.

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Crossword 2/13 by Markham Jary –the solution

1

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4

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5

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F T

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U

8

S A

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9

L I

10

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11

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12

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18 P

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Contributions to The Phoenix

We welcome letters, articles and photographs for The Phoenix, with

a railway theme.

We are happy to edit contributions, so don’t worry about your style!

All photographs will be returned after copying.

Email editor@ervr.org.uk or write to us at Robertsbridge Junction.

Latest RVRSA prize draw winners

1st prize 2nd prize Sept K Wilson (ball 3) A Stokes (ball 12)

Oct Rev J Emmott (ball 22) H Brett (ball 11)

Nov D Earl (ball 16) S Griffiths (ball 4)

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Hazy memories

This winter marks 60 years since the last regular scheduled BR passenger service left Robertsbridge for Headcorn, at 5.50 pm on 2 January 1954. Though the line’s demise is sometimes thought of as a 'Beeching' cut, the fact is that longer ago than most of us care to remember the line ceased to serve the communities along the route for all but goods traffic and the occasional passenger specials. I for one would have been three years old when the line shut to passengers. Skip forward just a few years, and by the time of my first encounter with the railway in about 1959, some of the trackwork had already vanished. I know this from personal experience, because close by High Halden Road is where we happened to be holidaying in a caravan that summer – almost Arcadia, both literally and figuratively! Even without its trackwork, my sisters managed to convince me that we were in exciting danger by taking a walk along the trackbed between the hedgerows close to our caravan site, towards the old abandoned station. Perhaps this is why I can remember that very hot day quite clearly, even now. I suspect my mum was revisiting her own youthful haunts when she chose Arcadia to take us to that summer. I can’t be sure now but I daresay she went ‘oppin in her youth, along with many others in her community, living close to London Bridge Station. How else would she have chosen this caravan site out of so many others?

RVR Online

RVR website www.rvr.org.uk

RVR photo collection www.picasaweb.google.com/rother.valley.railway

RVR News 2013 http://13rvrnews.blogspot.com/

RVR on Twitter https://twitter.com/RVRailway

RVR ‘official’ videos: www.youtube.com/user/RVRailway

Photos and video clips by others are scattered all over the net :

for example the weirdly hyper-real photos at

johnnypowell.smugmug.com/Photography/Landscape/i-JK3xNHZ/A

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My only wish is that I had been taken to Tenterden Station during those balmy weeks of August 1959 to see what remained of the good traffic in the yard there. I didn't manage that visit for a few more years, by which time the preservationists - as they used to called - had established their presence there. I really am kicking myself that I hadn’t taken a camera along that day. Well, the preservationists are still at it (some of them the same of course), and long may they (we) continue. I believe the High Halden Road station building survives too; and in the course of writing this little space-filler I found quite a few photographs online, past and present. The station opened in 1905, and is on the north side of the A262. The caravan site is still there too, close by!

High Halden Road Station in 1953 (Photo: S C Nash)

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Another view of Robertsbridge Junction, circa 1964 (Hugh Malins)

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Impressions of the Hasting line – Orpington to Tonbridge

Part 1 of this occasional series appeared in the Summer Phoenix and it’s probably about time I ventured further south and tackled the next leg of the journey.

After passing the two very attractive and well-preserved coal offices at the southern end of Orpington Station, the hitherto four track South Eastern mainline route from London to the coast narrows abruptly to two tracks, with most of the suburban services having terminated at one of Orpington’s 8 platforms (two of which are relatively recent additions).

I was told recently that at this point on the line south there are earthworks off to one side which represent the start of a long forgotten plan to build a line across country to Sanderstead. A more extraordinary notion it would be hard to imagine, given the considerable height above ground level of the embankment south of Orpington station, which must be one of the highest in Greater London. But sure enough the Southern Railway’s map of lines for 1931 (below) shows the planned route veering off westwards towards Biggin Hill and over many hills and dales to join the Oxted line at Sanderstead, which lies in the hills to the south of Croydon. It seems the

The Rother Valley was one of a fascinating empire of

light railways built under the direction of Holman F.

Stephens.

Join us, and help preserve the history and artefacts of his many lines.

You will also receive our quarterly newsletter ‘The

Colonel’, packed with news, articles and scale

drawings.

For a membership form write to:

David Powell (CSS Mem.Sec.)

Gateways, Bledlow Road,

Saunderton,

Princes Risborough, Bucks., HP27 9NG

telephone 01844 343377

e-mail davidpowell@waitrose.com

website www.colonelstephenssociety.co.uk

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1920s plan was for a single track electrified branch line, and it was put forward by – you may have guessed this – Colonel Stephens as a joint venture with the Southern.

Perhaps the Colonel had some sort of premonition about the future growth of Biggin Hill, but when the line was proposed this was still a relatively small settlement with a small airfield nearby that only subsequently became very famous. I mention this little town because there are in fact no other substantial settlements to speak of on the planned route, nor are any other railways crossed. So one wonders what traffic was predicted for this ‘Southern Heights’ line. Perhaps it was intended to create another ‘Metroland’, in which railways actively promoted housing developments along their routes to provide traffic? It would make an interesting piece of research to delve into the story of this abortive but fascinatingly ambitious project.

Emerging from the Chelsfield Tunnel (597 metres long) under the North Downs, the Hastings line passes through what appears to be more of a chalk quarry than a railway cutting. Indeed this cutting was used as an ongoing source of chalk, notable for emergency work to build up the sea defences along the north Kent coast after the catastrophic estuarial floods of 1953. Polhill Tunnel to the south is even longer, and the line then passes through Dunton Green (where the Westerham Branch once veered off westwards) and meets up with the route from Swanley via Bat and Ball.

Sevenoaks Station immediately south of this junction is notable these days mainly for an enormously long double deck bicycle rack, on which I have never seen a single cycle. Another feature is the steepness of the slope between the island platform edges at the northern end of platform 1: do be sure to apply the brakes firmly on any wheelchairs or pushchairs if you are waiting for a train here! The bike-rack occupies the site of the former parcels bay, a narrow platform dedicated to mail traffic which until recent years sat alongside the track serving platform 1. One presumes it was rendered obsolete by the end of the railway’s Royal Mail services a few years back, or perhaps simply by the concentration of mail sorting offices into fewer bigger centres. To me the present station, once known as Tubbs Hill, seems rather characterless so let us simply record the very long turn-back siding to the south for suburban trains and enter the Sevenoaks Tunnel which is almost two miles long, after which things start to look up once more.

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IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL DURING REBUILDING OF THE STATION! Our shop is open every Sunday, from 10 – 4pm, offering a huge range of railway books, magazines and models, as well as the visitor centre displays. We are serving hot and cold drinks, biscuits and crisps. Please e-mail stock enquiries to manager Mark Goodrum at reception@rvr.org.uk

RAILWAY MAGAZINES (Second-hand)

We have what is probably the best collection in the south-east of England. Try us for that issue you’re missing. Many are old…some are virtually new.

RAILWAY BOOKS From historic to modern, biography to photo collections, we have a wide range of second-hand books at bargain prices.

MODEL RAILWAY ITEMS

We have a large collection of used models and trackwork, mainly 0, OO, and N gauges. We also have some road vehicles and small buildings etc.

REAL RAILWAY ITEMS

3rd rail insulators. Plus cast iron rail chairs from pre-1923 companies and later, plain or lightly painted.

SELLING SERVICE Items can also be sold for you on commission (15%), or simply donate them to us.

PRICING POLICY Pricing second-hand items is an art not a science, so all sensible offers are considered for most goods in the shop!

Rother Valley Railway Station,

Station Road, Robertsbridge

TN32 5DG

Membership Secretary 105 Estridge Way

Tonbridge, Kent

TN10 4JU

Dear Member,

MEMBERSHIP Renewal & Matters Generally

For the majority of our full members it is time to remind you that subscriptions will be due on 31

st

March 2014. The RVR Supports Association has decided to extend the renewal membership at:

£15,- for full first adult membership at the address and £7.50 for second and junior members. For the honorary members these will be reviewed in the first quarter of 2014. So that I may keep our records in order may I ask you to check your details which will accompany the personal posting or emailing. In the main the address list changes little, but one major area of change is the email contact. In any year we have about a 10% change, which is a large ratio. I realise of course that keeping everyone informed of email changes may be a burden, but it is a pity if you are missing out on the additional materials of; maps, full screen pictures, aerials, videos, their location and comments which is included in your membership. The photo library now contains some 4500 images with resolution and additional information increasing all the time. Even more so with the speed and level of rebuild progress.

Only return the details to me if your details have changed. Since we recognise that convenience is an important factor for our members may we invite you to complete the attached standing order and send it on to your bank. Needless to say all methods of payment are welcomed. You will recall in the Phoenix last issue we made a request for images to make up the back of the coming years Membership card. The popular decision after the count up proved to be the same image as on the Autumn Phoenix, being the heritage Terrier 32670 and the modern South Eastern networker outside Robertsbridge RVR station. You may be interested in some vitals. The membership now stands at 170, being 140 full members and 30 with honorary (correcting page 15 of the Phoenix). Representing 13.3% over 2012-13. Of full members 55% pay by cheque. 26% by standing order and SO is increasing. 65% are email connected = 111 and increasing. We lost 19% of 2012-3 members but gained 25% new. Continued on back page…….

Winter 2013

Standing Order Mandate

Your Bank

& Branch

Please Pay

To the

Credit of

In the Sum

of

Commencing

Quoting the

Reference

Bank Branch T itle Sorting Code Number

Alliance and Leicester Bootle 72-00-05 Beneficiary’s Name Account Number

Rother Valley Railway Supporters Association

5 2 2 6 3 0 8 7

Amount in Figures

£ 15 Fifteen Pounds Only Date & amount of First Payment Due Date and Frequency

1st Apr 14 £

15 and thereafter 1st April every Year

Date & amount of last Payment

- £ - To continue until you receive further notice from

me/us in writing and debit my/our account accordingly

This instruction cancels any previous order in favour of the beneficiary above, under this reference

Special Instructions

Account to be Debitted Account Number

Signature(s)……………………………………….. Date ………………...........

…………………………………………………….. Note : The bank will undertake to:

i. make any reference to Value Added Tax or other indeterminate element.

ii. advise payers address to beneficiary. iii. advise beneficiary of inability to pay.

iv. request beneficiary’s banker to advise beneficiary of receipt

Membership Renewal 2014/15

Surname Forenames

Address Membership No

Home Phone

Mobile Phone

Email 1

Email 2

Full Adult Membership renewal @ 15.00 £

Junior Membership renewal @ 7.50

£

Additional Family Memberships @ 7.50 £

Mr/Mrs/Miss £

Mr/Mrs/Miss £

Mr/Mrs/Miss £

Mr/Mrs/Miss £

Total £

………………

Donation £

____________

Method of Payment Cash (at Buffet)

Standing Order

Cheque attached (S.A.E. please)

Please make cheques payable to “Rother Valley Railway Supporters Association” and posted to the Membership Secretary on the cover sheet, (envelope provided)

Membership retention is key for us so please do not hesitate to let us know if we can make your RVR experience better or easier for you.

Taking the opportunity:

Electronic Services Web Presence - Our objective for 2013 was to achieve 365,000 ‘hits’ to the updates (or “Blogger”) space. As of 31

st December we achieved 387,231. The highest day being on the occasion of the

September Gala day reaching over 6000 hits or visitors. Whilst we aspire to make all content available to our members first and that is reflected in the quality of the Phoenix we cannot ignore the flexibility, freedom of space, timeliness and modes (video, maps, full size photographs) that the web brings us. During the course of the year Mike Stickland, a professional web designer (amongst his many talents), revamped the website into a more professional look and feel. During the course of 2014 between us we will try to bring the several ‘expressions’ of the web closer together. Thanks Mike!!

And since we cannot manage if we can’t measure it is always interesting to see what makes up our web presence. All analytics are provided by “Google”. Clearly the majority of viewers access the web presence by going to the updates “Blogger”. I was expecting a higher presence via Facebook. But surprising for me was our global audience which pushed the UK audience

down to 63%. Qatar is a surprise showing. Perhaps there are some Qatari investors out there, or expatriates? We are sometimes asked why we have so many ways of expressing the RVR electronically. The fact is people have different preferences and we try to cater for those albeit we try to interlink. The most interactive, by receiving the most comments, but not the most visited is Facebook. Whatever your preference we are trying to extend that:

http://www.RVR.org.uk = the formal website.

http://13rvrnews.blogspot.co.uk/ = Updates.

https://www.facebook.com/RVRailway = Facebook. https://twitter.com/RVRailway = Twitter

Happy New Year!

Trevor Streeter – Membership. membership@rvr.org.uk