Bluebell Railway web site:
Site Update Archive 2010
Please be aware that due to the historical nature of this page, some of the
links on it may be out of date.
The Current What's New page contains
all the recent update information.
Also see the 2009, the 2008, the 2007, the 2006, the 2005, the 2004, the 2003, the 2002, the 2001, the 2000, the 1999 and the 1997-8 "What was new" archive pages.
Web Site Update List: further down this page.
Photographic and video reports 2010:
Please note that some photos included below are taken by volunteers and staff during the course of their duties, and so may have been taken in areas not open to the general public. These photos are very valuable, since they enable the public to see these otherwise hidden facets of the railway, but visitors to the railway should note that they may be unable to visit these locations themselves.
- Dave Clarke's new gallery covering the restoration of Coach 3360 - 31 Jan 2010 and updated regularly
- The relaunch into service of our LBSCR E4 0-6-2T No.B473 (Birch Grove) - 30 Jan 2010
- Golden Arrow promotional Video produced for us by Rail TV UK - Jan 2010
- Ashley Smith filmed the 1.02pm service at Horsted Keynes on Saturday 16th January 2010 - available on YouTube, and also has some stills taken that day.
- Some new YouTube videos:
- Dave Clarke's latest photos of various Carriage & Wagon department (and other) projects: BR Mk.I TSO No.4941, LSWR Lavatory Brake Third No.1520, SR (Bulleid) CK No.5768, SECR Birdcage brake third No.3363: 1, 2, C&W infrastructure: 1, 2, the retrim of the first class in Mk.I CK No.16210, LCDR/SECR carriage No.51/3360, SR GBL (Gangway Bogie Luggage van) No.2462, GWR 5-plank wagon No.87782 - 1, 2 and 3, SECR 100 seater No.1098, SR Maunsell brake third No.3687 - 1, 2 and 3, No.39617, the SR Conflat D and drilling out the S15's copper firebox stays - 2nd photo - November, December 2009 and January 2010
- Martin Lawrence's videos on YouTube show the three locos in use on 3rd January climbing Freshfield Bank: the Dukedog, the C-class which was hauling the last Pullman service until February, and the Standard tank 80151 - 3 January 2009
- Derek Hayward has a gallery of photos showing the Victorian Train on January 2nd.
- John Evans' new album of photos - 2 January 2010
- Paul Pettitt has updated his albums with photos of the Santa Specials in the snow, of Standard 4 No.80151, and of 'Dukedog' No.9017 - 1 January 2010
- Derek Hayward has put up a new gallery from 1st January, including quite a lot of photos of the locos currently in the works. Derek has also re-organised his photos of our locos, largely creating a separate gallery for each loco, with new galleries for locos: No.9017 "Earl of Berkeley", No.34059 "Sir Archibald Sinclair",
U-class 1618 U-class 1638, P-class 178's overhaul, North London 27505, Baxter, Brighton Atlantic 32424, Adams radial 488, Q-class 541, Stepney's overhaul, C-class 592, Fenchurch, the Standard 4 tanks 80064, 80100, 80151, 2MT tank 84030, 9F 92240, Stowe, Normandy, B473's overhaul, D3023 and 13236, WD1959 (USA 30064), plus the Wickham trolleys and the SEG's 4 Cor motor coach.
Web-site Update Archive 2010
31 January:
- The relaunch into service of our LBSCR E4 0-6-2T No.B473 (Birch Grove) took place yesterday, and the sun shone, resulting in lots of great photos! That on the right is from Tony Sullivan.
- Galleries of photos of the relaunch available from:
- Below are some more photos from Saturday. Derek Hayward's photo in the yard at Sheffield Park shows that the Fairburn Tank has arrived ready for Branch Line weekend, seen here standing next to the BR Standard 4, the design which displaced the Fairburns from the ex-LBSCR branch lines.
- Three more of Derek's show the residents of Birch Grove who were invited to take part in the re-launch of the locomotive named after their hamlet, Father Dr John Twisleton, the Rector of St Giles Church, Horsted Keynes and Chaplain to the BPRS, blessing the locomotive, and later in the day, a spirited departure from Sheffield Park.
- The last photo below, from Michael Hopps, shows the engine at Kingscote in the dark, on the special evening train run for working members of the Railway.
30 January:
29 January:
28 January:
- Major update to the Extension progress page, with photos from Michael Hopps, covering work undertaken over the last 4 months.
27 January:
Stop Press - B473 Launch - Saturday 30th January
Our newly overhauled LBSCR E4-class loco will be relaunched into service on Saturday, with a ceremony at 2pm at Horsted Keynes.
The special train that afternoon will be formed of four coaches in matching Southern Railway livery, and is principally intended for the volunteers and staff who have worked on the project, and our invited guests. However, 80 seats in ex-SECR carriage No.1098 will be available to the public on a first-come - first-served basis. The train will leave Horsted Keynes at 2.45pm for a round trip of the line, and tickets (at normal all-line return fare) can be booked by ringing our Sales and Information office on 01825 720800.
The special train will then leave Sheffield Park at 3.30 for Kingscote, leaving there at 4.30, returning to Horsted Keynes at 4.45 and then back to Sheffield Park. A special evening train for all working members (i.e. Volunteers and Staff) will also run.
B473 will also haul these matching coaches in public service on Sunday 31st January. Timetable service 2 will be in operation for the public services.
24 January:
23 January:
- Quite a bit of publicity generated on radio and the Internet, thanks to one of our supporters who is "selling" the rubbish from the tip on eBay to raise funds to help clear the 90,000 tons of rubbish, which is all that is between us and our extension to East Grinstead.
You can buy a shovel-full for 99p, or a whole barrow load! (In fact 99p pays for 25kg and £10 for a quarter of a ton of rubbish to be removed). Do it now!!!
If you want to give larger sums of money, for the development of the railway, why not donate directly to our 50th Anniversary Appeal, or purchase a "Tenner for the Tip" certificate.
If you are not yet registered in eBay, if you register to raise funds for us through EasyFundraising, and then join eBay, the Bluebell gets
ANOTHER £4.50.
In case you haven't heard, we now plan to take the rubbish out by train, 1000 tons per day, each train saving 50 lorry movements. We will be starting this later in the spring, once we have laid track down from East Grinstead to the north end of the tip.
- Michael Hopps' photo taken in December shows that, following the waterproofing work, the ballast has now been laid right across the viaduct, along with the cable ducts for the signalling.
18 January:
- Derek Hayward's photo (taken last year) shows the rebuilt lever frame in the Horsted Keynes signal box, to which No.25 points are now connected - see news reported yesterday, below.
17 January:
- Nick Talbot took this photo from the footplate of the C-class at about 12.30pm today, showing the fields of water on the approach to Sheffield Park. The waters were starting to subside by the end of the day.
- On Saturday Ashley Smith filmed the 1.02pm service at Horsted Keynes - available on YouTube, and also has some stills taken that day.
- Used postage stamps: The Maunsell Loco Society now have a suitably labelled box for collecting used postage stamps in the Waiting Room at Sheffield Park. The money raised by the MLS in this way at the present time will go towards the overhaul of SR Schools-class loco No.928 "Stowe".
- Resignalling progress at Horsted Keynes: Following weeks of backroom work, at 5pm on Saturday No.25 points (the dock siding
points) were officially transferred to the lever frame and their switch on
the back wall of the signal box removed.
Charles Hudson operated these points for the first time using the
refurbished frame by pulling lever 25. Charles now has the honour of being
the last person to use the old frame before it was put out of use and the
first person to use the new frame.
- Update on yesterday's photo - whilst this will be the first time that 178 has been operational in preservation, the boiler pictured is actually the one which arrived on No.323, so was in steam on our first day of public service in August 1960. This boiler has however not been used for the last 40 years.
16 January:
- We can now confirm that we will be running a (steam heated and steam hauled) train service the full length of the line this weekend, Service 2 as timetabled.
- Duncan Bourne's photo shows the boiler for SECR P-class No.178 undergoing its (successful) out-of-frames steam test yesterday. Now the push is on to get the loco back together and ready to run at the Branch Line weekend next month. This should be the second of six locos to return to service this year!
15 January:
- We can confirm that we will be running a (steam heated and steam hauled) train service this coming weekend.
Whilst the ice and snow on the local roads is melting, as of today access to and parking at Horsted Keynes remains less than ideal, so visitors this coming weekend are advised to use Sheffield Park station if possible, although we hope the situation will continue to improve throughout the weekend.
An inspection of the tunnel will be made in the
morning, and if it is clear then Service 2 will operate as normal. If we are unable
to run through to Kingscote, then we will operate a Sheffield Park to Horsted Keynes shuttle service.
- Update to the FAQ page.
13 January:
- Visit our Facebook Page for a competition: We'd like to know.... What's your favourite part of Bluebell and tell us why? Be it our rolling stock, locomotives, lineside or people? Best answer wins a Bluebell 2010 calendar!
- David Warwick's photo of No.34059 in the snow on a Santa Special service
is Fotopic's front page photo today.
- Derek Hayward has completed two more galleries, featuring the Dukedog No.9017 "Earl of Berkeley" and Battle of Britain Pacific No.34059 "Sir Archibald Sinclair". This photo shows the latter engine leaving Sharpthorne tunnel with its train on 15th August 2009.
- Yesterday the station platforms at Horsted Keynes were cleared of snow to prepare for the operation of trains this coming weekend, but 3" of fresh snow has fallen overnight, and reports today indicate that Horsted Keynes is again virtually inaccessible due to icy road conditions, with problems also on the A22 and A272 in the area. A thaw is apparently expected on Friday - check this web page for updates later in the week.
- On Sunday, four of the Carriage & Wagon department made it in to Horsted Keynes, and David Chappell supplies the photo below showing their contribution to clearing the snow from the platforms...
- Part two of Daniel Green's YouTube video of train services on January 2nd is now available.
12 January:
- Full details now available for the Victorian Picnic Evenings on 2 & 4 July and 11-12 September. Bookings now being taken.
- Further details confirmed for the 5 weekends of Timetable Recreations from 1963, 1972, 1983 and 1990, which we are staging during the closure of the line north of Horsted Keynes whilst we re-lay the track through the tunnel in late February and March.
- Some new YouTube videos:
10 January:
- Dave Clarke's photo shows B473 (Birch Grove) in steam for its formal steam test on 30th December. The planned relaunch (postponed because of the weather) is now 30th January.
- More of Dave Clarke's latest photos of various Carriage & Wagon (and other Bluebell) projects:
9 January:
- Dave Clarke's photo of LSWR brake 3rd No.1520 taken on 3rd January shows that Paul Welch has finished the lining and sign writing of the east side. It now awaits two or three coats of varnish, some more work to complete the interior, and then final mechanical set-up over the pit. It is hoped to have the carriage finished by the end of March.
- Dave Clarke has also now published his latest photos of various Carriage & Wagon department projects:
- Andrew Strongitharm has assembled an album of his "Best photos of 2009".
8 January:
- In view of the uncertainty about the weather next weekend, it has been decided to put the re-launch of B473 (LBSCR E4 "Birch Grove") back to 30th January. Consequent update to the Loco Roster.
7 January:
- Trains cancelled this weekend
Because of the problems staff and passengers would have faced in reaching the Bluebell Railway this weekend,
we have taken the decision to cancel all our trains, and close to visitors, on 9-10 January.
6 January:
4 January:
- The next dates for Photographers' Personal Track Safety training sessions, required to qualify for the new certificate (which acts as a lineside photographic pass) are: Friday 15th January, Saturday 6th February, Saturday 13th March and Sunday 21st March.
To book a training session please contact the General Office.
- An exhibition, illustrating The Bluebell's operations and the impending extension from Kingscote to East Grinstead, has just opened at [
East Grinstead Library] Chequer Mead Arts Centre in East Grinstead. The exhibition also includes material relating to the services this year, and the opportunities for volunteering which help the railway to provide the extensive range of activities on offer.
- Derek Hayward's photo on the right shows the volunteer crew of our Victorian train at Kingscote on Saturday, and the first photo below is also from Derek from Saturday, showing the Victorian train arriving at Kingscote.
- The second photo below (from Martin Lawrence) shows the Dukedog, one of the three locos running on Sunday. Martin has videos on YouTube of all three climbing Freshfield Bank: the Dukedog, the C-class which was hauling the last Pullman service until February, and the Standard tank 80151.
3 January:
- More photos from yesterday:
Paul Pettitt's photo on the right shows the morning Victorian Train on its departure from Horsted Keynes;
Mike Hopps' photo below shows the Dukedog making its entry to Horsted Keynes;
Martin Lawrence's shows 80151 hauling its train into the distance.
- Paul Pettitt has updated his albums with photos of the Santa Specials in the snow, of Standard 4 No.80151, and of 'Dukedog' No.9017, and his January 2010 Picture of the Month is of S.R. U-class Mogul No.1638 at Nobles Farm with a Santa Special.
- Derek Hayward has put up a new gallery from 1st January, including quite a lot of photos of the locos currently in the works. Derek has also re-organised his photos of our locos, largely creating a separate gallery for each loco, with new galleries for locos: 1618 1638, 178's overhaul, 27505, Baxter, 32424, 488, 541, Stepney's overhaul, 592, Fenchurch, 80064, 80100, 80151, 84030, 92240, Stowe, Normandy, B473's overhaul, D3023 and 13236, WD1959 (30064), plus the Wickham trolleys and the SEG's 4 Cor motor coach.
- Also below is Derek's photo showing that the sidings leading to the Woodpax site are clear, ready for the contractor to move onto the site next week to commence construction. (Note: This area is strictly out of bounds - as official photographer for the project, Derek will keep us up to date with visual progress.)
2 January:
- Update to the web page for the February 20-21 Branch Line Weekend, with details of the locos expected to be in steam, and a couple more attractions which have been notified to me.
- Photos today from Tony Sullivan showing the Victorian Train at Horsted Keynes, together with the reformed Scrooge and Bob Cratchit who were also there, giving out presents to the children.
1 January 2010: Happy New Year
- 2010 is the Bluebell Railway's 50th Anniversary year:
- Tomorrow (2nd January) we are able to offer passengers with All Line tickets purchased for travel before or on the 2pm train the opportunity to:
- Visit Mr Scrooge in his office where all children will receive a gift
- Play the Victorian games (Hoop-la, Splat-a-rat and the shooting gallery)
Passengers wishing to take advantage of these activities must obtain supplementary tickets, priced at £2.50 per adult and child, available from Sheffield Park & Horsted Keynes Booking Offices or the Sales and Information Office at Sheffield Park.
Note: Mr Scrooge's office will close at 3pm.
Visitors wishing to travel on the Victorian Train and receive the refreshment hamper must instead book specifically for the Victorian Train service.
- Mike Hopps noticed that we'd not had any photos from the Remembrance weekend on here, so here to make up for it are his photos of the two poppy-bearing engines from 7th November 2009.
- During December 2009, there were 32,905 unique visitors to this page.
The Current What's New page contains
all the recent update information.
Also see the 2009, the 2008, the 2007, the 2006, the 2005, the 2004, the 2003, the 2002, the 2001, the 2000, the 1999 and the 1997-8 "What was new" archive pages.
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1 January 2010: Happy New Year
