No 70, Poplar at Tenterden Town

A busy morning for both of us was followed by an afternoon in Tenterden and a ride on the Members Special in the evening to mark the return to traffic of No 70 Poplar (Also known as No 3 Bodiam or 32670 in BR days) on the KESR after a three year restoration. This is the same loco that appeared as an extra on Thursday.

The makers plate in the loco reads “Brighton Works 1872” which makes this loco 150 years old this year. It’s also thought to be one of the first, if not the first of the class to be built.

The Terrier Trust is hosting a whole series of events across the country to mark the 150 anniversary: https://www.terriertrust.org.uk/. We are fortunate to have two Terriers which will be working over the Jubilee holiday with No 78 Knowle (No (3)2678) also in action.

In the morning a Press Train hosted local TV and radio reporters at Tenterden Town, a bottle of local sparkling white wine was smashed against the buffers by the town’s mayor.

The weather was in a very disagreeable mood especially towards the end of the day. Here the clouds form an attractive backdrop but by early evening became more menacing especially to the north. We were fortunate only to experience a little light rain.