Thomas the Tank Engine versus Adolf Hitler

Many regard armored trains as being both archaic and of questionable military relevance, but in times of war even unlikely resources are utilized for martial purposes.

The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway (RH&DR) was the joint dream of two men: Captain J. E. P. Howey and Count Louis Zborowski. Captain Howey was indeed a former army officer, but also a part-time racing driver, a millionaire land owner and a miniature railway enthusiast. Count Zborowski was a very well-know racing driver between the world wars, and he owned and raced the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Mercedes. He was even wealthier than Captain Howey, and he was very keen on building a fully working express railway using 15” gauge. Howey was known to own and operate miniature railways. He was inspired by Zborowski, and they initially attempted to purchase the Ravendale and Eskdale Railway in Britain’s Lake District, but this arrangement did not work out. Nevertheless, Zborowski ordered two 15” gauge locomotives named Green Goddess and Northern Chief. However, Count Zborowski was killed in a racing accident at Monza before the locomotives were delivered, but Howey was determined to continue building the 15” gauge railway line. He commissioned Henry Greenly to help out, and it was Greenly that suggested locating the railway line to the Romney Marsh in Kent and more specifically southwest of Dover.

The opening of the railway took place on July 16, 1927, and the inaugural train trip was between Hythe and New Romney with the mayors of both towns on board. The line was initially a humble eight miles long, but it was soon expanded to Dungeness via Greatstone for a stretch of 13.5 miles in total.

Despite the size of the railway and its stock, The RH&DR was not for amusement. The line was used for passenger and freight traffic between the wars, and it was also used for mail services. The railway became famous in its own right, and the number of locomotives was eventually expanded to nine with a number of luxurious coaches.

The Second World War obviously changed the fortunes of the RH&DR, and the line was requisitioned by the British War Department in 1940 and operated by the Somerset Light Infantry. Being so close to the shore as well as potential invasion beaches for any German invaders, the railway became quite important.

  

To defend the beaches of Kent against invaders the RH&DR did sport an armored train, a small contraption consisting of two armored railway cars with the locomotive Hercules in between. The locomotive was fitted with boiler plate armor, and two hopper cars were converted to mobile gun platforms. Each car was armed with a Lewis machine gun and a Boys .55 caliber anti-tank rifle next to each other in the rear of the car with an additional Lewis in an anti-aircraft pintle mount at the front. The armored train started patrolling from New Romney to Hythe at dawn, and at 8 AM the train was to be stationary, camouflaged and ready to fire on German low-flying fighters returning from missions over England until 5 PM. The train occasionally spent the night in Hythe, reversing the trip next morning. Despite the war, the personnel of the train were supposed to take off for lunch between 1 PM and 2 PM. The train was also used as a leave train on Sundays for excursions to Hythe. As stated in a contemporary article about the RH&DR armored train: “British Tommies man machine guns eager to pot any Jerry wot shows ‘is bloomin’ fyce.” It has been claimed that the armored train actually saw combat when it was attacked by a German aircraft at some point. The attacking aircraft was supposed to have crashed while attacking, since the pilot misjudged the altitude, thinking that he was attacking a full-size train. This has not been confirmed, although representatives of the RH&DR of course insist that this is true.

 

 

There will always be an England.

The RH&DR was used for extensive troop transport as well as freight transport, especially while building and supporting Project PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean), a pipeline used to support the fuel needs of the Allied invasion forces in France after D-Day. The railway resumed peacetime services after World War Two and it remains in use to this day.

 

Present-day replica of the RH&DR armored train. Notice that the locomotive is placed in the front instead of between the cars.

It should be added that the author is fully aware of Thomas the Tank Engine being a post-war product of literature, but the comparison was irresistible.