23. Close Calls on the Farm (continued)¶

I am carrying on from last month writing about incidents that I was involved in, or witnessed in my time working in agriculture.

In April 1987 I managed to upset a rather large number of rail commuters. I was fertiliser spreading, driving a Ford 7610 tractor with the spreader mounted on the back, fully loaded. To get to our marshes you must cross the railway. Railway crossings in those days were not very well maintained, planks of heavy wood laid parallel to the tracks, with many not in good condition. There was about a three-inch lip to get onto the crossing, which made the tractor bounce, this caused the top link between the tractor and spreader to break.

With tractor and spreader blocking both tracks I immediately rang the signal box from the phone on the crossing and told the signalman what had happened. He told me that a train was on its way down but was a long way from us. He cut the power to make him stop. I told the signalman that I would go back to the farm and get our rough terrain loader and help, and would soon have the crossing cleared.

When I got back to the crossing with the loader and Fred Kulzer and Bob Wellard, I rang the signalman to get the OK to get the tractor and spreader off the crossing. In 1987 there was no tele-communication between train driver and signalman. If the power unexpectedly went off, the driver would ‘coast’ to the nearest telephone, get off and call the signalman to find out what the problem was. The driver had not made contact yet but it was presumed he must have stopped, so the signalman gave me the OK to clear the line.

The crossing at Sheriffs Court Farm is situated on a bend, from the farm, the north side, you could see right down into Minster station. You have to walk over the crossing to see towards Canterbury. I said to Fred and Bob that I would have a look and see if I could see where the train had stopped. As I got to the other side of the crossing, I saw a diesel/electric engine pulling three large empty diesel tanks just about to come around the bend. I waved at the driver and shouted at Fred and Bob to get out of the way. Although not travelling at a great speed, the engine could not stop and smashed into the tractor taking it fifty yards up the track. Nobody was hurt.

Being a diesel/electric engine, the driver had switched over to diesel when the power went off and carried on, as he could see no reason to stop. The line was shut for about 12 hours. The weight on the front of the tractor sheared off and went under the train and was pushed through a dozen sleepers. The tractor had to be craned off the track as it was across the electric rail which is not fixed.

After being interviewed by the transport police, I was told that incidents like this often took several years to get sorted out. I received a letter, two months after the incident, that no further action would be taken.

More next month.

Terry Marsh

Originally published in the Monkton News (July 2026).