the railway to the Locomotive Club of Great Britain for preservation as a tourist railway. Other locomotives and rolling stock were sold to the Great Whipsnade Railway and the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway. The SKLR is now the longest continuous operator of the railway. In January 2007, M-real closed Sittingbourne Paper Mill. However, Church Marshes Country Park now has a managing committee and will see the surrounding area between Milton Regis Halt and Kemsley Down being turned into a fully-fledged country park. Preservation The railway is now operated by the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway and operates over almost of the original main line from Sittingbourne Viaduct station to Kemsley Down station. It crosses one of the first and longest reinforced concrete viaducts in the world between Sittingbourne Viaduct and Milton Regis Halt stations. The main fleet of locomotives worked the railway before it was preserved. "Barton Hall" was the first new arrival on the railway in over 25 years on long term loan and was eventually purchased by the railway to assist with railway operations. In 2005, the railway had its first ever visit of a steam loco: 'Chevallier' returned to the railway after being sold to a new owner. It arrived at the railway on a low loader days before the centenary celebrations and stayed on site until early 2006, when it was taken away for restoration. 'Chevallier' was originally built for the Admiralty's Chattenden & Upnor Railway before being sold to Bowaters for use on the Paper Railway, and later moved to the Great Whipsnade Railway. Excelsior, Conqueror and Superior also moved to the Great Whipsnade Railway when it officially opened in 1970. The railway was closed to the public for the 2009 season. Closure threat It was announced on the Meridian Television local news on 22 August 2008 that the railway was expected to close at the end of the year. The last public train was scheduled to depart Sittingbourne Viaduct at 14:00 on 26 December 2008, although the operating company were hoping that negotiations to keep the railway open into the future might be successful. The railway attempted to buy the land it occupies. A bid of £1 was submitted in view of the high cost of removing asbestos-covered pipes alongside the line. The bid was rejected by M-real. English Heritage is considering whether or not to list the 118-span Milton Regis Viaduct. As