EDITH SHEPPARD b 1891-1963 Stationmaster at Dorking during the first World War Edith Sheppard’s life and opportunities changed completely because of the war. She was able to take up a job that had only been open to men before. Edith was born in Eastbourne, 1891 and had a brothe...
Read articleCHARLOTTE MARSH 1887-1961 Suffragette campaign organiser – ‘Charlie’ Marsh relied on inexpensive train travel to attend protests in London with fellow Dorking resident and suffragette Helen Gordon Liddle. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1887, to Ellen and Arthu...
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In this weeks highlights we have been talking with young people about safety issues when they travel and seen some progress at Crowborough. We had a visit to the Houses of Parliament to a reception hosted by local MP Helena Dollimore and addressed by the Rail Minister. Read mor...
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The best-selling novelist of all time – the writer of 66 detective novels – Agatha Christie loved train travel and was fond of using trains in her novels, as crime scenes for example. Sometimes they’re such a big character in the book they feature in the title. In The ABC M...
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On 4th July 2025 as part of our Railway 200 celebrations, Wokingham Station welcomed invited guests and passengers to join its 176th birthday. Wokingham station opened in 1849 and remains a busy hub for the community. To mark this occasion, an artwork was commissioned for permane...
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All steam head ahead for our Rail Fair 200 on 1st Aug in Lewes. Glimpses of our 200 plaques are appearing at stations featuring some current station masters as well as those from the past. We are still completing projects covering all four pillars of the DfT strategy for commun...
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Join us for a FREE family-friendly day to celebrate railways past, present and future. Southeast Communities Rail Partnership is hosting this special Railway 200 event to unveil 200 ‘blue plaques’ (100 with historic connections to Community Rail lines in the South East and 10...
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A series of ‘blue plaques’ has been displayed to recognise the wide range of people who have contributed to the development of the Marshlink rail route. Each of the 10 plaques summarises the historic links to the line between Hastings and Ashford International. The list o...
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PIONEERING RAILWAY ENGINEER Born in Ashford in 1889 to Florence and Edmond Holmes who was an Inspector of Schools. In 1891 the family were living at Highworth House in Ashford with five servants. During the First World War, Verena helped build aircraft propellers, took technical ...
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IZZARD FAMILY MODEL RAILWAY In the late 1950s and ‘60s John Izzard, an accountant for BP, was working abroad in Aden (now Yemen) with his nurse wife Dorothy. Dorothy was expecting their first child so John began a model railway. Second child Edward was born in 1962 and the fami...
Read articleExplore your local area by train and find day trips, attractions, walks, architecture & heritage sites to visit.
The Southeast Communities Rail Partnership is a voluntary not for profit partnership which aims to encourage people to travel by train and to engage people in their local railway
