Disabled Access at the Bluebell Railway
At our stations
Level access is available from each of the station drives. Our stations have bridges or subways connecting the platforms, but those with walking difficulties or wheelchairs can be escorted by our station staff via a ramped crossing between the platforms. On occasions, at Sheffield Park, such access may be blocked by the position of a steam locomotive on the end of its train, and patience may be required. It is therefore advisable to ask our staff to help you cross well before the train is due. Guide Dogs are most welcome on the Bluebell. Train destinations are indicated both visibly (with traditional "finger boards") and through audible announcements. Our station staff will be pleased to give visitors any help or assistance which they may require.
Sheffield Park: Marked parking bays, near the coach parking area, close to the main station entrance are reserved for wheelchair passengers. Suitable toilet facilities are available in the ground floor of the "Bessemer Arms" restaurant building. Ramped access and paved gangways are available to view the locomotives within the main Loco Shed. The shop on platform 1 and the museum on platform 2 are both accessible, as is the bar on the ground floor of the Bessemer Arms, where a full meals service is normally available. The staff may be able to assist in arranging for the buffet service from the first floor to be made available in the ground floor dining area.
Buses on Service 246 (runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only, UCKFIELD - SHEFFIELD PARK - Timetable here) are equipped to carry passengers in wheelchairs. For more information and booking, telephone RIDER Services, East Sussex County Council, Lewes: 01273 478007.
Horsted Keynes:
At the mid point on the railway the toilet facilities all date from the 1880s, and are spacious but otherwise not converted. Being based around old railway coaches, the various exhibitions and shop on Platform 1 are not wheelchair accessible, but the new carriage exhibition is. The shop and buffet on platforms 3-4 are small but none-the-less are at platform level, as is part of the public viewing area in the carriage workshops at the south of platform 5. Parking may be arranged with the station staff on arrival.
Kingscote:
This station has a recently built disabled toilet, constructed along with the gents' facilities when these were rebuilt, having been demolished by a former owner of the station building to make way for a car-port. There is no parking at this station, access being primarily via the bus link to East Grinstead, which is provided by a "Low Floor, Easy Access" vehicle. Taxis may set down and pick up disabled passengers, but council planning restrictions prevent public parking on the site. Access to the Northern end of the line will, of course, be greatly improved for all our passengers, not least those with disabilities, once our extension to East Grinstead is completed.
On our trains
One of our carriages has been extensively modified with double-doors, wheelchair lifts and an open saloon. Please give the Sheffield Park office a ring in advance to find out if this wheelchair-accessible saloon is operating, and if so on which train, if more than one is in the timetable. At present wheelchair passengers are also carried in any carriage brake-van, with access via a portable ramp. Thus all of our trains (except when formed of the Observation Car on its own, such as for the Autumn Tints on weekdays in the first three weeks of October) can carry at least a couple of wheelchairs, but the special saloon provides a much more enjoyable way to travel, and can accommodate larger parties with entirely flexible seating and a panoramic view from the windows.
On this website
This page has been checked using the Bobby Approval system, and the experience of that has informed the design of the remainder of the site. Graphics are designed to provide adequate contrast between colours for Deuteranopes, Protanopes and Tritanopes, as well as those with normal colour vision; this has been checked using the simulations provided on the Vischeck web site. All graphics have "alt" tags, and features such as frames and tables which cause text-to-speech browsers problems are avoided whenever possible.
Return to Bluebell Home Page,
to the Timetable or to Special Events.
How to get to the Bluebell Railway - Books and Videos by mail order
Disabled Access - Nearby Attractions - Accommodation in the area
Visitor Info. - Catering - Contacts - What's New - Extension - Locos - Carriages & Wagons - Signals - History - Other - Links - Search the site - FAQ
Why not become a BRPS Member? - Get more involved as a Volunteer
Last updated by Richard Salmon, 11 September 2007.
© Copyright, disclaimer and credits.