Dark Railway Preservation Society

* **Disbanded**: September 1979
* **Chairman:** Mr. Chairman
* **Base of Operations**: Galen Junction Station

The **Dark Railway Preservation Society (DRPS)** was a preservation society that aimed to assist in the historic preservation and operation of the Dark Railway.

## History

### Formation of the DRPS - 1969

The idea for the "Dark Railway Preservation Society" (or "DRPS") was first discussed in June 1969, when Mr. Otthaniel Dark met with Mr. Caracus Smash and Mr. Gwion Chairman to discuss the possibility of setting up an official preservation society to support the railway and it's future.

Mr. Chairman, a well respected figure in the local community, had instigated the meeting after seeking out other like minded individuals who wished to support the railway, which, at the time, was financially stable but lacking in enthusiastic staff and volunteers. After many lengthy discussions, and after meeting these interested individuals, the society was officially formed in September 1969, with Mr. Chairman (obviously...) becoming chairman, Mr. Dark becoming vice chairman, and Mr. Smash assisting with the committee.

### Galen Junction

The society's first order of business was to decide where to base themselves. A location that came to mind was Galen Junction station which, at the time, was abandoned and in a deplorable state, having been closed to traffic at the end of 1968, when British Rail withdrew passenger services to that station, with the Dark Railway following suit (as the station had only ever been an interchange between the two railway companies).

Mr. Dark had always held an ambition to keep this station open, so he suggested that, if the society as a whole could repair and clean up the station, the site could be used as a base for the DRPS to use. With this kind offer, the society began working at the station, clearing away weeds and repairing the station buildings.

Of note in this period is the provision of electrical systems around the station buildings, the complete replacement of the roof and redecoration of the waiting room, repairs to signs and posters around the station,, and the complete cleaning and redecorating of the station office for administration use once again.

An interview with a local reporter from the "Kentish Times" newspaper commenced during this time with Mr. Chairman, to drum up support for the society and it's goals. This article managed to attract a few more members to the cause, and has boosted the society's profile enormously.

At the end of September, Mr. Dark was approached by society members in regards to assisting with anything else around the railway. Mr. Dark, seeing an opportunity for the volunteers to prove themselves, offered them two restoration projects: an SR 10 ton brakevan (No 56069) and an SR 5 plank wagon (No 721149), along with one of the railway's old tool vans.. The two restoration projects were moved to the old goods shed, whilst the tools van was parked in platform 2, used for storing the society's tools and equipment.

The 5 plank wagon was restored remarkably quickly, thanks to the efforts of one society member who managed to acquire alot of wood for use on the restoration of the planks, with some spare for the restoration of the van. It was then painted into SR Brown, and remains at Galen Junction in our care. The brakevan took a while longer to restore, as the frames and wheels had to be sent to Caracus Smash Ltd for a more substantial repair.

By the beginning of October, another opportunity had arisen for the society. Mr. Smash had been offered a small Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST in need of overhaul by the National Coal Board and, after a whirlwind fundraiser, the society purchased the locomotive for £300. However, the locomotive (ex-Backwell, Kelling and Four Bridges Colliery No 5) required extensive restoration, and was restored at Caracus Smash Ltd by society members and CSLtd staff. Things were looking good for the society.

### Society Open Day - October 1969

Mr. Chairman and Mr. Dark soon arranged for a society open weekend at Galen Junction in order to fundraise for the overhaul of the society's recently acquired Andrew Barclay, the continued conservation of the station, and to assist with its other restoration projects. Organisation took time, with the centrepiece of the event being the display of two locomotives on the grounds of the station, these being the society's Andrew Barclay, No. 5, and Mr. Caracus Smash's own locomotive under restoration, No 70047, which, when in working order again, will be moving to the Dark Railway.

Other notable aspects of the open day was the unusual gesture by British Rail to run a shuttle service over the (then) freight only line between Colhapper and Galen Junction, utilising a Diesel Multiple Unit to relieve pressure on local roads. Another interesting aspect of the weekend was the provision of narrow gauge steam rides on a temporary track built through the trackless platform three. A Quarry Hunslet, "Welsh Guardsman", was provided (with passenger stock) by a friend of Mr. Smash's, Mr Towley, free of charge to run the narrow gauge line.

The Kent Model Railway Club was also in attendance, with a large tent set up to display their model railways and for traders to buy and sell models. A steam traction engine and steam organ were also in operation, and fairground rides and stalls were set up, mostly run by local traders and society members.

Unveiled for the open weekend was a newly constructed club room for the society, so that meetings can be held here or, if not in use by the committee, members can use the room for making refreshments or relaxing.

Overall, the open weekend was a great success, with visitors attending and wishing us well, and a great community spirit becoming evident as the weekend went on, with more and more society members joining our ranks. Sufficient funds were raised towards our projects and for the upkeep of the station, thrilling the society.

### Explosion of Galen Junction Sheds - 1969

Unfortunately, after all the hard work of the society over the open weekend, a catastrophe occurred on the site just a week later. On the evening of the 29th October 1969, a huge explosion in the vicinity completely destroyed Galen Junction's shed complex, along with three of the railway's privately owned locomotives (diesel shunter No. D2992 "Owen", Class 20 No. D8198 and historic Fowler 3F No. 47407).

Though official newspaper reports state that the explosion was caused by a leaking fuel tanker and hot ashes from No 47407, evidence soon came to light that, in actuality, the explosion was a deliberate act of vandalism, as it was discovered that the explosion had actually been caused by dynamite from Soma Quarry. It is beleived that the crew of a locomotive (ex-resident Stanier Jubilee No 45725 "Repulse") was involved somehow, as criminal charges are being filed against them by the Dark Railway Company at the time of writing.

DRPS Members were on hand over the next week to clear up the site, and, thankfully, none of the DRPS' stock was damaged in the incident.

### Other activity in 1969

After this incident, and because of all the support the DRPS had given to the Dark Railway Company, Mr. Dark initiated a scheme for members to become active volunteers on the railway, and at present, society members are being interviewed for voluntary roles on the railway, such as working for the permanent way department, operations department, locomotive department and carriage and wagon department. In particular, those volunteers who have signed up for the permanent way department are already being pressed to work on track maintenance over the winter period on the Walschurch to Manston Fore section of line.

Work on the Andrew Barclay officially began after the open weekend, once it was returned to Caracus Smash Ltd, with society members coming to the workshop to assist with the restoration of "their" engine. As of November 1969, the locomotive's boiler and saddle tank had been lifted from the frames so that work could begin on individual components. The frames for the brakevan were returned to Galen Junction during November (after reconditioning and repairs) so that the restoration team could continue restoring the superstructure and roof, ready for it's eventual release back into service.

### Activities during the 1970's

In 1970, it was announced by Mr. Dark that the railway line between Colhapper and Galen Junction had now passed into the ownership of the Dark Railway, with the preservation society taking on the restoration and upkeep of the railway line here so that regular passenger services could run to Colhapper once again. The society also took on the hefty job of rebuilding Galen Junction and Axley stations, involving, amongst other things, the construction of a new canopy at Axley, the inclusion of a new bay platform and goods loop at Axley, and the re-aligning of the railway lines at Galen Junction.

In March of that year, the society's engine, ex-Backwell, Kelling and Four Bridges Colliery No 5, was finally restored to working order. It arrived on the railway in April alongside No 70047, and was soon set to work by the society, mainly working on permanent way and occaisionally working at Soma. When a new museum was planned, and when Caracus Smash Limited was relocated to Galen Junction, No 5 was let in on the secret, but recieved some backlash from the other engines who wished to be let in on the secret, most notably by Theo and Otto.

The society were also donated an ex-LBSCR coach for use on passenger shuttles at their sites at Galen Junction (mainly between the station and the DRPS' workshops, built on the site of the old goods shed which became redundant in 1968).
In 1971,  the society acquired an English Electric Type 3B electric Shunter, named "Buzz", from a power station on the coast, and put their new engine to work at Soma. Unfortunately, the locomotive was unsuitable for the tasks that the DRPS had envisioned for it, and after a discussion with Caracus Smash, Buzz's ownership was transferred to Mr. Smash, whilst Mr. Smash's diesel shunter, No. D2217 "Mr. B", had his ownership transferred to the society. Since then, the society have found great use for Mr B, mainly for permanent way work. In 1972, the society purchased a withdrawn Western Region hydraulic, Class 35 Hymek No. D7070 ("Andy"), for general use around the railway. In 1973, No. 5 was sent out on loan to another heritage railway. It was ultimately decided to sell the locomotive to that line, and in his place the society acquired a Great Western pannier tank No. 5405 ("Goose"). During that same year, the society began operating most services on the branch line to Soma, leading them to unofficially adopt the line as their own. The society's decision to continue operations during a blizzard led to the viaduct to Soma collapsing due to a runaway crossing it at speed. Though the viaduct was later repaired, the incident left a nasty stain on the reputation of the society.

### Decline and disbandment

By 1978, the DRPS was in an extensive decline. Most of its members had left the society over the previous two years, including the Dark family themselves and Mr. Caracus Smash. This left just a handful of members who regularly demonstrated their lack of competency handling railway operations. This was particularly seen in the handling of No. D7070, which was prone to breaking down and was in poor working condition owing to the regular mishandling of the engine's controls. The decline in members led to a sharp decline in revenue, leaving them in debt to Zeke Dark for unpaid rent. Zeke agreed to overlook the debt for Mr. Chairman's sake. However, the financial difficulties led to the society making cutbacks on operations, resulting in No. D2217 being withdrawn from traffic. Both of the remaining operating locomotives were pushed to work as much as possible, resulting in a lack of maintenance. This led to No. 5405 suffering a cylinder failure resulting in its withdrawal from traffic. The society refused to entertain the idea of returning No. D2217 to service in the wake of this, resulting in Mr. Chairman discretely selling the locomotive back to its previous owner, Mr. Smash.

Zeke Dark began to distance himself from the society going into 1979, keeping them off passenger and freight services due to D7070's poor condition. He was justified in this decision after the Hymek suffered a catastrophic generator and gearbox failure after taking an engineering train. The loss of their last operational engine left the remaining members at a loss as to what to do, particularly as they didn't want to return to the more unsavoury jobs on the line. Zeke refused to give them a loan for D7070's repairs and, disgusted with their conduct towards him and Mr. Chairman, formally ceased association with the DRPS and evicted them from his land. Realising it was all over, the remaining members voted to disband the society and Mr. Chairman was left to deal with their outstanding debts and remaining affairs including selling off their rolling stock. Their nonpowered stock found various private owners, including their brakevan being purchased by a former member. No. D7070 was sold to the North Western Railway as a spares donor for classmate D7101, whilst No. 5405 and its autocoaches were purchased privately by Mr. Chairman himself.

## Former rolling stock

* Barclay 0-4-0ST No. 5
* GWR 5400 Class 0-6-0PT No. 5405
* BR Class 04 0-6-0DM No. D2217
* BR Class 35 Hymek Bo-Bo No. D7070
* English Electric Type 3B 4wBE No. 909
* Two GWR autocoaches
* An ex-LB&SCR 4-wheeled coach
* A 5-plank wagon
* A SR 10-ton brakevan
* Several general hopper wagons

## Trivia

* The Society was set up by the series creator, Thomas Dibden, as a way of introducing a fictional preservation society for the Dark Railway, with real people being given the opportunity to run and interact with an organisation alongside the Dark Railway Company in a "roleplaying" environment.
* The society was featured in *The Dark Railway Series* between Series 7 and Series 11.
* The decline and disbandment of the society was inspired by the decline of interest among the real life community in the society.
* Interestingly, the group shares it's abbreviation with the Darlington Railway Preservation Society (which, amusingly for both, the abbreviation, DRPS, could be seen as the word "Derps".)