The RCTS: then and now
THE ‘Kenny Belle’ (previously covered in the Railway Observer in a named trains article) was not a Pullman Train! Richard Beeching in his plans for a lean, mean, profitable railway (also previously reported in the RO) meant chopping non-profitable lines. The report of modernising the railway highlighted that the closure should go ahead for the Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia service, which was on the West London Extension Railway before being absorbed by the LSWR, Southern and later British Railways. It was pointed out that this unusual service was deemed ripe for closure as it was almost certainly unprofitable. The Clapham JunctionKensington Olympia service (the ‘Kenny Belle’ to its friends) was by no means an officially secret service, but it was by any definition a ‘Ghost Train’ because between 1955 and 1969 it received no mention in the official timetable and at the time of Beeching it consisted of just two trains a day each way. One morning at 08.05, a local user decided to do some research before the line was going to be closed and asked for a ticket to Olympia. The country’s busiest rail junction was visibly shaken. The stationmaster said this is probably only the second or third ticket they had sold for this train since the First World War. The regulars have season tickets. The service used to run from a platform fenced off with a concealed entrance, not very userfriendly! So the ‘Ghost Train’, as it was known, was going to be scrapped. The eight minute journey from Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia operated four times a day by the late 1960s, with the times only known to a handful of railwaymen and a group of Civil Servants that used it regularly. As time slipped by, a ticket was carefully produced. A single Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia was one shilling, although it still bore the old face of 9d, out of date since November 1959. An arrow pointed to platform 1 for Kensington Olympia (this would later become platform 17) through the subway, well away from the hustle and bustle of everyday trains. Four green carriages and steam haulage awaited its passengers. “Well done,” said the ticket inspector working on platform 1 when he arrived. “You need a fair knowledge of the station to find your way to this train.”The Nine Elms-based driver explained they got the ‘Ghost Train’ diagram one day in 16 weeks. He said it had not paid for 43 years, which was why the management gave up and removed it from the timetable. Ultimately, the ‘Kenny Belle’ would survive Beeching and end up being the last steam-hauled service in London. However, the question remains – just why did this service exist and why did it disappear from the timetable in the first place. For information on the Society visit www.rcts.org.uk