Ashford Steam Centre was a short-lived railway museum at

Willesborough Willesborough is a village, now in effect a residential suburb, on the eastern side of Ashford, Kent, England. The area The South Willesborough Dykes area, on the west bank of the River East Stour, is an area of sheep fields drained by dykes. ...

, Ashford, Kent, United Kingdom. It was located at the former

engine shed The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine shed ...

that was situated east of Ashford railway station. The museum opened in 1968 and closed in 1976.

History

Ashford Steam Centre was established by Esmond Lewis-Evans. It occupied the former

that was located east of Ashford railway station. The shed, with its

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, coaling stage and

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

had been built by the Southern Railway in 1931. It ceased to be used for the servicing of steam locomotives in June 1962, following which it was used to service

diesel locomotives A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...

. The steam centre was established in 1968. On 11 April 1971, the Southern Electric Group organised the ''Man of Kent 71''

railtour A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not normally available using timetabled passenger services. The 'unusual' aspect may be the route of the train, the destination, the occasion, ...

, which visited the steam centre. Class 71 locomotive E5005 and 4TC set 427 were used. In 1974, the centre was open once a month, on the second Sunday of the month. At the time, there were around a dozen locomotives on site. Due to mounting debts, the steam centre was closed May 1976 and its rolling stock was dispersed. The engine shed and surrounding area were cleared in 1989, with the area being used for the storage of motor vehicles. Since 2005 most of the site has been sold for housing development.

Rolling stock

The following items of rolling stock were based at Ashford Steam Centre.

Locomotives

Multiple units

Carriages

Other items of rolling stock

References

{{Heritage railways in England Ashford, Kent Museums in the Borough of Ashford Heritage railways in Kent 1968 establishments in England 1976 disestablishments in England Defunct museums in England