Folkestone Heyday-More archive photos and footage from the late 1950's

[@JimTLonW6]

The boat I thought was most exciting was the 'Cote d'Azur'. That was a French one, and had a funny funnel too.

[@Padmat78]

The Rize and Fall of Flingel Bount... The Shadows by Hank & Ben Marvin... great Music...

[@hollpoll]

Thanks for your memories of your Uncle. I made several cross channel trips on these vessels including the "Isle of Thanet" as well - the English Channel could be very rough at times ! Thanks for watching Stewart

[@chestnutsev7]

From Folkestone remember my dad first took me on a ferry to boulogne I remember going over on The Maid of Orleans and came back on the St Patrick. Great days then .

[@unmea69l8er]

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[@chrisbarnard7032]

I grew up in Folkestone in the 60's and 70's ......what a lovely town it was then .....what a dump now !!

[@Ali.McL9]

chris barnard I’ve just moved here from London and love Folkestone! It’s having a revival and is full of open minded creative people, it’s a joy to be part of. It’s a beautiful place full of culture and compassion. A rare slice of community can be felt. Come visit and look deeper than the surface. “Folkestone is the future”

[@TheVickersDoorter]

I know the feeling. We used to holiday for three weeks every summer throughout the 1960s, always staying at the "Czech house" in Earls Avenue. When I went back in 2006 for the day, my heart sank at what I saw. Local planners and developers have succeeded in destroying many fine Victorian and Edwardian buildings in som equite prime locations. The worst act of vandalism was the replacement of the Royal Pavilion Hotel by the shockingly-awful Grand Burstin. It looks like an old Eastern Bloc Stasi building.

[@hollpoll]

Yes I think you are right but the vessel that follows it is the Dover vessel note the squat funnel, thanks for the kind comments and for watching Stewart

[@hollpoll]

@waldenhouse yes moved to australia in 1981used to take holidays with mum and dad late fifties early sixties at Folkestone. collect postcards video and anything else related to Folkestone from that period ! thanks for the kind comments and for watching the clip Stewart

[@ringbolt44]

used it regular to Boulogne on Hengist,Horsa and lovely old Vortigen

[@is1943]

Bring back those days.

[@hirepgym6913]

Those Pullman carriages were still in Folkestone East Station in the 1960's

[@hughrainbird43]

I agree with your sentiments about the World today, it just gets worse! I'm glad I had my childhood in the 1950''s even if it meant a bit more parental discipline that is evident today. One of these childhood pleasures was watching the steam-hauled down "Golden Arrow", and the other "Short Sea Route" boat expresses pass through Petts Wood Junction on their way to and from the "Channel Ports" and London, Victoria. En route to a holiday in Switzerland in 1960, I realised my ambition to travel the route myself. We left Victoria travelling in a Southern Region green-liveried TSO, no Pullmans for us!. After our journey through South London and Kent we were detached at Follestone Junction from the "Rebuilt" Bullied Light Pacific that had hauled us from London, - time has erased the identity, though I think it was one of the "Battle of Britains" - and a trio of ex-GWR Pannier Tank engines were attached to take us down the steep branch to the Harbour station. Again, the identitiy of the ferry which took across to Boulogne has been lost to my memory, and we joined our "couchette" train for the journey across Northern France to the Swiss frontier station of Basel. We had a fortnight spent at Lucerne and Interlaken. We made full use of the ultra-efficient electrified Swiss railway network, climbed Pilatus by rack railway,cruised by lake paddle steamer between Lucerne and Fluelen, where I spent most of my time watching the international through trains on their way up to the Gotthard Tunnel, some freights hauled by the venerable Krokodil engines. We travelled to Interlaken by the only SBB-CFF metre gauge railway, the Brunig Line, and explored the Bernese Oberland Bahn and the line up to the Jungfrau, which seemed to me like along, rather boring Tube journey until we reached the rarified atmosphere of the summit station. But all the time, I was looking forward to our return journey from Folkestone to London by steam train. After the overnight journey and Channel crossing we again boarded a train of green Southern Region coaches, and the Panniers barked their way up through the town, hauling up to Folkestone Junction, but there disapointment was awaiting me. Things had changed, even in the short time we'd ben abroad.There was an belching sound, and two diesel locos were attached to our train, a Type 3 "Crompton" (later Class 33, )and one of the Type 2 Sulzers (later Class 24), on loan to the Southern Region until all the "33"'s were delivered. Diesel haulage was some kind of novelty on the Southern back then, but it did little to assuage my disappointment. Later that Summer Holiday, I did make trips to Petts Wood Junction to watch the trains, but diesel haulage was increasing, and by the next year, steam had gone for good from the Kent Coast lines. I like the "Shadows" sound track, but prefer the clean "Strat" sound of the originals to the later added psychedelic "fuzz". PS I've just watched your "Russians Are Coming" post. I've seen one of these PT47's for real at the Warsaw Railway Museum, and have actually travelled behind one in service from the "Skansen" depot at Wolsztyn to Poznan after "footplating" an Ol49 on the outward journey. Methinks that in reality, these locos would have been rather "Out of Gauge" on British Railways! We have our S160's on preserved railways in the UK, I've worked on "Big Jim" which was brought from retirement at Katowice in Poland to run on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. These were treated with some scepticism by their crews who had them during the War when some were allocated to British depots to help out with the locomotive shortages pre-D Day, after which they were shipped across to Europe. The main problem being the unexpected collapse of the firebox crown sheet on three loco's, on one occasion leading to the death of a fireman on the GWR following a boiler explosion at Sudbury Hill in November 1943.

[@hollpoll]

Thanks so much Hugh for the memories of your own experiences from that era my family used to holiday in Folkestone every year from 1957 to 1961. Heaven was spending a morning at Folkestone Junction and/or watching the cross channel ferries down at the harbour. Very interesting comments all round especially about the Polish/Russian sound loco, yes it would be out of gauge for a British layout but they still look OK at the front of rake of Mk1's for that very reason ! Take care and thanks once again its appreciated, Stewart

[@jaannetts16]

5***s great video, i got some footage of folstone junction on 1 of my railway dvds

[@stuartthegrant]

Weldone hollpoll great shots of Folkestone and feries

[@waldenhouse]

This is great stuff Stewart! - are you an ex-Pat?

[@simonpalmer7407]

great video, but the ship after the Canterbury looks like the Maid of Orleans to me.

[@niamh_20]

Surely Folkestone Harbours heyday was during World War One.

[@sd24440]

awesome stuff great videos..thanks. yes now with full body scans if you don't do then you are subject to full body pat downs to the point of sexual assault..they feel for and everything....