Damage to Historic Train

Wednesday, 23 April 2025 14:02

By Martin Webber

Graffiti vandals have undone hours of restoration work by volunteers at Spa Valley Railway.

Late in the evening on Sunday 20th April, paint sprayers attacked an historic local train in the sidings and caused major damage.

A spokesman for SpaValley Railway said: "There are no words to describe how upset we are!"

The statement continued: "Last night our beloved Class 207 DEMU 1317 was mindlessly attacked and both the motor and trailer carriages covered in graffiti.

"Today our volunteers have had to spend time away from other essential projects to try and remove the graffiti but as you can see the paint is beyond saving.

"1317 is the only original un-refurbished three car Class 207 left in the world. 1317 formed the last public shuttle service from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells West on 6th July 1985, the day the line closed and is one of our most historic assets.

"We preserved 1317 in 2004 and thousands of volunteer hours and thousands of pounds have gone into restoring the unit over the years and for this to happen is just devastating. The unit is in full working order, regularly looked after and seen operating along the line it was built for.

"If you know anything about who might be culpable please contact us privately and we will ensure anything passed to us is only shared in confidence to the relevant authority.

"The whole of the unit will now need to be repainted. This is going to cost us time and money we simply don't have and will take away much needed day-to-day revenue we would otherwise be spending on the Broom Lane Bridge project.

The Spa Valley railway concluded: "If you would like to help us to reduce the reliance on our day-to-day revenue streams whilst we restore 1317s paint to its former glory, please consider donating to our most vital Broom Lane Bridge appeal online here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/spvr-broomlane

You can read more about the Broom Lane Bridge Appeal here:

https://www.westkentradio.co.uk/news/west-kent-news/spa-valley-rail-appeal/

The cost of repairs is estimated at £ 30,000.

Kent Police say their officers attended the scene to carry out initial enquiries and are now asking the public for help.

Anyone with information is urged to call the west Kent appeals line on 01622 604100, quoting reference BOS-26130-25-4693-IR.

Local residents with private CCTV or drivers with dashcam, who may have been in the area at the time of the incident, are also asked to check for footage.

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or complete their online form.