Kent and East Sussex Railway Petrol Railmotor

The Kent & East Sussex Railway operated between 1900 and 1961 (after 1948 as part of British Railways), though a preserved railway with the same name opened in 1974. The railway, in common with a number of other railway companies in the early twentieth century operated a number of early railmotors, with petrol engines, along it's route. The line's general manager Colonel Stephens was a keen enthusiast of this new mode of travel which he hoped would reduce the cost of running services on the line.

Ford railmotor at Tenterden Town [1]

Information for Ford railmotor
Number built:	4
Built:	1923-24
Builder:	Ford / Eaton Coachworks
Motor:	Ford 4-cylinder petrol engine
Power:	20 hp (15 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	2-2wPMR

The railmotors were very similar to contemporary motor buses but with flanged wheels. Indeed the first was purchased as a Wolseley Siddeley motor bus but fitted with flanged wheels. In 1923 a pair of Ford railmotors were purchased from Edmonds of Thetford, these railmotors had bodywork by Eaton Coachworks with the chassis from a Ford Model T. Another pair were bought in 1924. The railmotors were operated until the mid-1930s. Finally a pair of railmotors built by Shefflex Lorries were purchased in 1930 and were operated until the late 1930s.

A replica of the Ford railmotor was built in the early 2000s and has operated on the present day preserved line. It is now preserved at the Colonel Stephens Museum at Tenterden.

[1] Railway Mechanical Engineer (Vol 97 No. 7 July 1923) p. 502