LBSCR Billinton Radial Tank, No.32473
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The only surviving locomotive to a design by Robert Billinton, "Birch
Grove" is one of a family of locomotives known as Radial Tanks due
to the radial axle beneath the cab. Mixed traffic locomotives, they were
equally at home on local passenger workings as branch-line goods services.
Although almost the oldest, the E4s were amongst the last of the Brighton
Radials to survive.
"Birch Grove" itself was one of the first two Brighton locos to be repainted into Southern Railway livery as B473 in February 1924. It was bought straight out of BR service in 1962 and served the Bluebell
for a decade before being withdrawn for a protracted stop-go overhaul. It
finally became operational thanks to a bequest which paid for the major boiler
repairs required and a team of volunteers who undertook some of the
easier boiler work and most of the remaining work, as is well recorded on
the following web
page.
Remarkably "Birch Grove" retains her original boiler, number 891, fitted new in July 1898. It had been passed to various other Brighton tanks of classes D3, E3 and E4 before being refitted to Birch Grove in 1960.
It was repainted from LBSCR livery (right) into BR lined black (above) in February 2005, for a limited period.
BR Standard, No.75027
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The Standard 4 tender engines were designed as a modern branch-line engine,
capable of hauling both freight and passenger services on the country's
secondary routes. Some, with larger tenders, were allocated to the
Southern Region; however No.75027 is a foreigner to the south.
On its withdrawal from service it was one of the very last steam locos operating on British Railways. It was bought from BR by Charlie Pyne, one of our members, and donated by him to the railway. The locomotive appeared to be far larger than was necessary on the Bluebell of the late 1960s, but it soon proved its worth though as we entered the seventies. A relatively modern loco, capable of hauling heavier trains up our 1-in-75 gradients, it was very much appreciated. It remains to this day the ideal locomotive for many of our trains, powerful yet economical, attractive and easy to prepare and maintain.
LSWR Adams dock tank, No.96 "Normandy"
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A deceptively powerful shunting locomotive, it spent most of its working
days at Southampton Docks. After disposal by BR it was used, again at
Southampton, shunting a private wharf, from where it was purchased by members of the
Bulleid Society who later moved their stock to the Bluebell.
Remaining out of use for many years, only after it received an overhaul was it realised just how useful an engine it was. "Normandy" has been called "the reason we don't need a diesel", and has put in sterling service on our works trains for the construction of the northwards extension. When its ten-year boiler certificate expired in 1995 it was given a very rapid overhaul to put it straight back into service.
It has been used most weeks for our Monday and Thursday shunts, the only regular steam shunting turn in the country. It is not suited to high speed, and was only rarely to be found on passenger trains.
With the end of its boiler certificate on 6 July 2006, we must now wait and see whether the steam-shunt mantle passes to this loco or the North London Tank, and to cover the interim until one of these locos is overhauled, D3023 has been hired.
North London Railway Goods TankThis powerful goods locomotive was built for shunting in the docks served by the North London Railway, and for the goods traffic emanating from the docks, and carried on the NLR's 14-mile main line, probably frequently venturing out onto other companies lines with exchange traffic. The NLR subsequently became part of the LNWR and, at the grouping in 1923, the LMS. Several locos from this class became celebrities thanks to their use on the LMS's very steeply graded Cromford and High Peak line in Derbyshire.
When this, the last one of the class, was withdrawn from traffic in 1960 it was kept at Derby until coming to the Bluebell in 1962. Used by contractors for the demolition of the line from East Grinstead to Ardingly, it has since been used in the rebuilding of the same line, on the Bluebell's northwards extension. Requiring very major boiler work before it can again be steamed, in the interim it was placed on loan to other locations, and so both relieve space at Sheffield Park and act as an ambassador for the Bluebell in foreign parts, but has now returned. It is hoped to be able to commence its overhaul in the near future.
BR Standard, No.92240A few years after its initial return to traffic a number of boiler stays were found to need replacement, and the opportunity was taken to re-certificate the boiler for a new ten-year period at that time. In spite of its size and power, it is an economical locomotive to run, and is much better suited to our 25mph speed limit than an express locomotive. It was withdrawn from service before the end of its boiler certificate due to the deteriorating condition of its tubes, with work also likely to be required on the firebox and front tubeplate.
South Eastern & Chatham Railway No.263
Built as the standard loco for the SECR's suburban services, the H-class
were a popular loco in later years for services on rural branch lines in
Sussex, especially after the withdrawal of the LBSCR D3 tanks. This
particular locomotive ended up working the line between East Grinstead and
Three Bridges and was withdrawn when that line was closed in January 1964.
Purchased from BR by the H-Class Trust, it was initially located at
Robertsbridge, but soon found a home at the South Eastern Steam Centre at
Ashford, where the engine appeared at various open days. However, in 1975
the Trustees decided that the locomotive would have much more scope for
running if based on the Bluebell. Since then it has had two periods in
steam, and is now awaiting its turn in the queue for an overhaul, which
will involve substantial boiler work.
LSWR Adams Radial Tank No.488
Designed for the LSWR's inner suburban network, these locomotives were
displaced by electrification, and the entire class were scrapped by 1927
with the exception of two which were retained to operate the Lyme Regis
branch, where sharp curvature made the use of anything other than this
class of loco impossible. Many other classes were tried, but they either
couldn't cope with the heavy loaded holiday trains, or were too inflexible
for the many curves. This particular loco though had been sold to the
military during the first World War, and in 1919 was sold on to the
privately run East Kent Railway. In 1946 it was bought by the Southern and
overhauled to provide relief for the other two Lyme Regis engines, and the
three operated the branch until 1960.
No.488 was chosen by the Bluebell since, out of the three, it was closest to original condition at the time of withdrawal, having an original Adams boiler. Following several spells in traffic over the next 30 years on the Bluebell it is the boiler which is now preventing this fine Victorian engine from steaming. It will probably require a complete new boiler barrel before it can work again.
SR Schools-class, "Stowe"In September 2000 it was bought by the Maunsell Locomotive Society, so securing its future on the Bluebell. The team that rebuilt the tender for No.1638 have now completed the major rebuild of Stowe's tender, and it is hoped the locomotive may be overhauled in the next few years. In the interim it has been repainted into Southern Railway Bulleid-period Malachite Green livery.
SR Maunsell U-Class, No.1618
The Sevenoaks accident of 1927 resulted in the rebuilding of the K-Class
tank locomotives, known as the Rivers, as U-class tender engines, in
which form they were much more successful, being very useful mixed traffic
locomotives. 1618 was part of a batch which were to have been built as
Rivers but the order was changed, and they came out as U-Class
locos. On withdrawal from Guildford in 1964 it went to Barry Scrapyard in
South Wales, and was the second of the many locomotives to leave the yard
for preservation.
Restored to working order, it steamed initially at the Kent & East Sussex Railway. However it was too heavy to be used on that line and so its owners relocated it to the Bluebell in 1977, and it has subsequently had two spells of activity. The U-class is an ideal locomotive for the size of trains we run on the Bluebell, and its sister locomotive, No.1638, has been restored to working order, again by the Maunsell Locomotive Society, entering service for the first time in 42 years in 2006.
SR Maunsell Q-class No.541In 1973 it was moved to Ashchurch in Gloucestershire and moved on in 1978 to the Bluebell, where its owning group merged with those of U-class No.1618 and S15 No.847 to form the Maunsell Locomotive Society. The blast pipe and chimney arrangement have been further modified using BR Class 4 components, in the same way as BR had done to some of the class. This has the advantage of returning the locomotive visually to very close to its original form. Major restoration work saw it return to steam in 1983, operating for the following decade. Following a period out of use it would now be near the top of the queue of locomotives to enter the works for an overhaul, but two other Maunsell Locomotive Society engines have been given higher priority, so it must wait a while yet. It is however displayed in prime position in the locomotive shed.
SR "USA" class Dock Tank No.WD 1959 (BR 30064)30064 ended its days as Eastleigh Works shunter, and on withdrawal in 1967 was sold to the Southern Loco Preservation Co. Ltd, and after several years in Hampshire came to the Bluebell along with the other SLP Co. stock, which is now owned by the Bluebell. Following a number of years in use on the Bluebell, it now awaits major boiler work. In 2003 it was repainted into wartime livery as WD 1959.
BR Standard Class 4 Tank No.80064
Wheels: 2-6-4T
BR Standard Class 4 Tank No.80100It is retained because it is the only one of the three to belong to the railway, and the strong links between the class and the line, but relegated to a long-term restoration objective, thanks to the presence on the line of restored 80064 and 80151.
SECR Wainwright P-tank, No.323
Long the flagship of the Bluebell's fleet, painted blue (Photo:
Right) and named "Bluebell" between 1961 and 1998, this loco was
repainted into SE&CR wartime plain green livery, for the 1999 centenary
of the SE&CR (Photo: above).
The P-class tank locomotives were, in design terms, an updated copy of the LBSCR Terriers, but, with only eight of them built, made rather less of a name for themselves. However, with four of the eight surviving into preservation, they have blossomed, and are now much more favourably regarded as highly capable little locomotives. Their greater water capacity and larger cabs give them a slight advantage over the considerably older Terriers.
There is a web page for the P-Class Fund:
an appeal to raise the funds for the overhaul which started towards the end of 2003. The locomotive is partially dismantled, but the overhaul is currently suspended whilst the workshops concentrates on larger locomotives.
SECR Wainwright P-tank, No.27
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The P-class tank locomotives were, in design terms, an updated copy
of the LBSCR Terriers. Coming to the Bluebell in 1961, for two
years it carried the name "Primrose". In 1963 it was repainted into full
SECR passenger livery, and, with No.323, was a mainstay of the Bluebell's
operational fleet for much of that decade.
Dismantled many years ago for overhaul, this is planned to recommence under the ausipcies of the "Fenchurch Fund" and the "Villa Team", once the overhaul of "Baxter" is complete. Major work is required on the boiler, as well as some significant mechanical renewal.
Contractor's Locomotive "Sharpthorn"The above photograph shows it during this event. Since then it has remained on the Bluebell, having been purchased by the Bluebell from the receivers after Samuel Williams went out of business. Being considerably smaller than "Baxter", it is not a large enough locomotive to haul passengers (although the Selsey Tramway used one of this class for their trains of 3 4-wheelers, albeit without the steep gradients of the Bluebell line). As such can be given no priority in our works schedule for overhaul. However a volunteer group on the railway have it in mind as a project for about 15 years' time, several other locomotives having higher priority for their efforts as well! In the mean-time it remains on static display, now at Horsted Keynes.
The locomotives listed on this page are generally accessible to the visitor in our loco shed at Sheffield Park, although a few may, at times, be stored away from areas with public access.
Last update 9 May 2008 by Richard
Salmon.