The collection was first displayed in the Town Museum in Station Road, Tenterden which was opened in 1977 in what were once the railway stables. The opening of a new display in a building in premises adjacent to the station at Tenterden was a great step forward when it opened in stages between 1996 and 1998. Display and interpretation could be vastly improved and documents stored on one site. Suff
icient space was now available to display a locomotive, even if it was the smallest standard gauge locomotive in Britain, the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire locomotive 'Gazelle'. The present display is designed to inform and entertain a general non-specialist visitor through displays and models for an hour. The collection began in the 1960s largely through the foresight of Philip Shaw, the Kent and East Sussex Railways Historian, who began putting aside items donated by former employees of the Stephen's empire. W H Austen junior in particular, was a considerable source of material, much of which he had inherited from his father. Following nationalisation in 1948 and the closure of Colonel Stephens' office at Salford Terrace, Tonbridge, a large chest was stuffed with papers relating to the various companies and this sat unopened for 30 years or so in the porch of William Austen's home. It proved to be a veritable treasure trove of papers and small artefacts, some of which have still to be sorted and indexed. We must be thankful that other employees also retained material from the offices, because everything else was taken away and burnt. Fortunately, a large number of personal relics of Colonel Stephens have survived including nearly all the furniture and paraphernalia of his office, a representation of which may be seen in the Town Museum. This includes his roll-top desk and office chair, wicker filing trays, ledgers, pictures, rubber stamps, brief case and even pens, pencils and pieces of chalk. We also have the Colonel's drawing table and stool, his stationery cabinet, and his drawing office and surveying equipment. These are all displayed in the Museum as a representation of the Colonel's Office. Other bygones of the great man have also remarkably survived and most may be seen - his masonic regalia, bible, camera, family snapshots, pocket watches, walking sticks, vesta case, and his cigar case containing the last unsmoked cigar at the time of his death. A particular prize is the collection of family letters and papers spanning nearly 50 years. The archive collection embraces material from all the 16 railways associated with Colonel Stephens and a general selection of artefacts may be seen in the Museum. It is only a selection because lack of space prevents more being displayed. Included are timetable posters, trespass signs, nameplates, permanent way materials, documents, tickets, notices and a host of other miscellaneous items.
