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Bluebell Railway Blog:
Archive 2001


Please be aware that due to the historical nature of this page, some of the links on it may be out of date.

Archive of the Blog/What's New pages

latestlatestMost recent updates
Older updates are in the What's New Archive
or the 2022, the 2021, the 2020, the 2019, the 2018, the 2017, the 2016, the 2015, the 2014, the 2013, the 2012, the 2011, the 2010, 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 reports 2001:


Web-site Update Archive

31 December 2001:


30 December:
28 December:
  • Provisional Timetable for 2002 is now available. This includes a new Service Four timetable, applicable between 19th January until 3rd March, during which time the line between Horsted Keynes and Kingscote will be closed whilst an embankment north of Horsted Keynes is rebuilt. Our 473 Bus Service which connects East Grinstead and Kingscote will be extended to Horsted Keynes during this period, to connect with our steam trains.

23 December:
21 December:
  • New photos and news posted by Lewis Nodes on the Loco Works News pages. News of progress with 3217 and 928 "Stowe": More corrosion found on 3217 "Earl of Berkeley" and frame repairs for 928's tender. Also photos of 1638's completed tender, "Baxter" being dismantled and news of recent repairs to 73082 and 92240.
  • New web page for the 2002 Day out with Thomas event, including details of Bedtime stories with Thomas and Schools days, plus booking details and forms.
  • The Bluebell Book Sale ends today.

18 December:
17 December:
9 December:
3 December:
  • New photos and news posted by Lewis Nodes on Friday on the Loco Works News pages. Details of repairs to Stepney (and an update today on firebox problems), overhaul progress for Earl of Berkeley, Camelot requires some attention, and an overhaul of Birch Grove's motion.
  • New link to the The South Eastern & Chatham Railway Society (SECSOC) which covers the SECR, SER and LCDR.

29 November:
  • Santa Specials: 100 extra seats have just become available for this Saturday (1st Dec). Book now by calling 01825 720806.
  • Update to Special Events listing for 2002. (Winter Steam-up reverts to the old name of "Branch Line Weekend").
  • Unavailability of web site:
    Our connection to the internet will be disrupted for a brief period beginning on Thursday, 29th November at 2pm. This is part of a rolling programme of upgrades to the London Metropolitan Network. The new circuit will be considerably faster and be able to take a higher volume of traffic. It is anticipated that the work will take around 30 minutes.

23 November:
  • New photo of the new bracket signal at Horsted Keynes on the Horsted Keynes Re-signalling page.
  • New link to Vanna Video web site. The "A-Z of Southern Locomotives" gives good covereage (of course) of Bluebell locos.
  • New link to the "Wadebridge" 34007 web site - plenty about this Bulleid Pacific and its restoration.

22 November:
  • The Bluebell is now able to offer second-hand books for sale over the internet. Visit the Bluebell Book Sale.
  • Another special event for 2002:
    July: Sat 13 - Sun 14: Railway Children weekend with re-enactments of scenes from the Carlton TV film, and the chance to meet some of the cast. Fund-raising for the Railway Children charity.
  • New Links:
    • Chad Ballooning offer balloon rides from various locations in Sussex, including Sheffield Park. Please mention the Bluebell web site when you book, and they will make a donation to the railway!
    • ChariotsAwait.com provide a directory service for all forms of leisure, family and enthusiast interest transport.
    • Updated link to Vintage Carriages Trust.

9 November:
8 November:
7 November:
  • On-line Jigsaw puzzles of photos of Stepney and Camelot added to the site. They're rather fun, but do go against the grain for me, since they rely on Java!
  • Planned Web-site downtime Tomorrow:
    Migration to, and testing of, a new and improved internet connection will be undertaken tomorrow (8 Nov) at 1pm. Therefore there will be some disruption to our internet connection at this time. It is anticipated that testing should take no longer than 40 minutes.

6 November:
  • Details added for the Carol Service: Saturday 15th December at 7.30pm. Come and join in the singing of carols at Horsted Keynes Station. Led by the Bluebell Railway's Chaplain, the Revd Father Timothy Rawdon-Mogg, the Rector of Horsted Keynes. Entry Free of Charge.

29 October:
  • New photo report from Jon Bowers on this weekend's Giants of Steam 2 featuring the return to traffic of 80151 and much more.

    Although 80151 is now suffering from a leak between one of the superheater flues and the firebox tubeplate, it is expected that this can be solved quite quickly.

  • Update to Contacts web page (specifically address for 80064 group).

28 October:
25 October:
24 October:
  • The latest news from the Maunsell Locomotive Society: Work underway on Schools Class loco "Stowe", which was updated by them on 21st Oct.
  • Updates to the Southern E-mail Group section of the Links page, following changes to SEmG's server arrangements, and removal of some non-functioning links.

22 October:
21 October:
  • New photos from Lewis Nodes of No.80151 with Fenchurch on its test run: Loco Works Photo News. All is set for its debut at the forthcoming Giants of Steam special event.
  • Updates to various of the Locomotive pages consequent to 80151's return to traffic.

15 October:
12 October:
  • Details of the recent Bluebell Railway Letter Service Definitive issue: "Starlight Special" Stamps, First-day Covers and Maximum Cards.
  • Full list of Special Events for 2002 added to the Events page.
  • News and new photo on the Progress on the East Grinstead Extension page.

  • You may have noticed recently that this web site has been occasionally unavailable. These problems have largely been caused by the presence of Nimda worm on the internet which, whilst not directly affecting the Railway's server, have caused severe problems for our host's network in general.

    The host router will be replaced tomorrow, Saturday 13th October, leading to some lengthy down-time throughout the day. It is hoped that this will go some way to minimising the disturbances we have seen recently. Through all of this, it should be remembered that our web hosting is hosted at zero cost by a non-commercial organisation.


9 October:
7 October:
  • Added to the Carriage Restoration Technical (Suppliers) page: the South Devon Railway can supply GWR Carriage Roof Ventilators.
  • Aveling Porter industrial geared locomotive Blue Circle removed from the loco stock list, and other related pages, since it has now been sold. It had been placed elsewhere on long-term loan in recent years, since it had little historical relevance or potential for use at the Bluebell. It is now at the Bucks Railway Centre at Quainton Road.

4 October:
  • Update to the Loco Roster, showing what locomotives it is intended will be used during October, November and December.

2 October:
1 October:

20 September:
  • Slight revision of Carriage Stock List.
  • Our apologies that a faulty ATM switch has resulted in this web site having been down recently. Be assured, however, that being hosted on a VMS system we are unaffected by the 'Nimda' virus.

18 September:
17 September:
16 September:
  • Details and booking forms now available for the 2001 Santa Specials. Booking opens 1st October.
  • Details added for the half-term Stepney Specials, October 29 - November 4.

4 September:
30 August:
  • Preliminary details added for the 1940's Weekend on Saturday and Sunday 15-16 September 2001.
  • Update to "Travel to the Railway" page reflecting the change of local train operator to SouthCentral , and adding link to the Traveline web page.

9 August:
7 August:
30 July:
24 July:
23 July:
18 July:
17 July:
13 July:
12 July:
2 July:
  • Update to the Loco Roster with planned locomotive use for July, August and September.
  • Details now available for the 28-29 July Summer Giants of Steam which features a return visit from Bulleid Pacific "92 Squadron".

28 June:
27 June:
21 June:
19 June:
5 June:
4 June:
  • Photos of last weekends BBQ and Party at Sheffield Park are included on the Latest News page.
  • Update from Peter Richards to the Horsted Keynes Re-signalling page.
  • News page added to the wap site: wap.bluebellrailway.co.uk

31 May:
29 May:
24 May:
21 May:
14 May:
  • Figures for the year 2000 added to the FAQ.

11 May:
  • A new special event, Summer Giants of Steam, will take place on July 28 - 29, with a visit from Bulleid Pacific "92 Squadron". This will again enable double-headed Malachite Bulleid Pacifics to operate. This event replaces our Steam Fair, due to non-availability of fields from neighbouring farms. The traditional Steam Fair will return next year.
  • The double-headed Malachite Bulleid Pacifics photo charters postponed from last autumn will also take place around that time. Contact Ian Bowskill of the BBLS for more details.
  • Foot and Mouth restrictions to line-side access have been lifted, so lineside photographic passes are back on sale. Please remember that, even so, access to adjoining land, even on public footpaths, may not be possible.

8 May:
2 May:
1 May:
  • Restoration report from the LSWR carriage team, updating the page for the LSWR Coach 1520 Restoration Project.
  • Our Chairman, Roy Watts, completed the London Marathon in 4 hours 18 minutes. Further sponsorship in aid of the Carriage Works Extension Project is still most welcome! We now have about £10,000 of the £35,000 we need to complete this project.

27 April:
  • As from this weekend, the Bluebell Railway is once more able to operate services to Kingscote following the completion of repairs to the major embankment slip which severed the line back in December. During the last few months services have only been able to operate over the Sheffield Park to Horsted Keynes section, with the railway's 473 bus from East Grinstead covering the closed section.

    To celebrate the re-opening of the full 9-miles of line, a promotion entitled "Welcome Back Kingscote" will take place throughout May in villages along the line, enabling local residents to travel on our trains as special fares of £2 per adult & £1 per child.

    Villages in the scheme are Fletching, Sheffield Park, Horsted Keynes, Sharpthorne, Highbrook, West Hoathly, Kingscote & Turners Hill. The offer is spread over 3 weeks with a different week per village or group of villages to avoid overcrowding.

  • New: Details of the Victorian Evening on Wednesday 16th May.

20 April:
18 April:
17 April:
  • Update to the web page and booking forms for the popular Day out with Thomas special events, which are booking fast. The Bedtime Story with Thomas on Friday 22nd is now fully booked, as are the schools days. An extra Bedtime Story train has been added for Friday 15th June.

11 April:
9 April:
6 April:
  • New link to The Yetties website. The Yetties are coming to the Bluebell on 30th June this year.
  • Due to work continuing on the embankment slip near Kingscote, we continue to operate trains only between Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes (at a reduced fare). Temporary timetable, for three-train service including Vintage Branchline Train for Good Friday now available.

5 April:
3 April:
  • Update to the Loco Roster with details for April, May and June.

2 April:
  • New web page and booking forms for the popular Day out with Thomas special events on the weekends of June 16-17 and 23-24.
  • Details of the "Notice of Events" service added. With this, a single payment brings full details of special events to you by post for a whole year.
  • New foreign language introduction in Korean.
  • New pages with additional information in Dutch: Bezoekers Informatie & Hoe komt u bij de Bluebell Spoorlijn.
  • Updates to Operational Locos, and Loco Stock List pages.
  • The Steam & Country Fair, which was to have been held over the weekend of Sat 28-29 July has been Cancelled. This event, which would have made use of adjacent farm fields, has been cancelled due to the restrictions caused by the Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in other parts of the UK. A replacement (rail-based) event will take place, details to follow. The Steam Fair will however return next year and we would like to thank our helpers, exhibitors etc. for all their help in the past and we look forward to seeing them again soon.

23 March:
16 March:
13 March:
12 March:
  • The RASCi content rating system now superceded by ICRA (The Internet Content Rating Association), so the listing of this site (i.e. safe for children) has been updated.

9 March:
7 March:
1 March:
  • New Monthly News report.
  • N.B. Foot and Mouth Restrictions
    Due to the current Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in the UK, as a measure to protect our neighbouring farmers, One Day lineside photographic passes have been temporarily withdrawn from sale, and the Bluebell's lineside has been closed to photographers. We would also ask visitors to respect the livelihoods of local farmers by refraining from the use of footpaths in the area as well.

26 February:
21 February:
  • More photos and a report from Nigel Longdon on progress on the East Grinstead Extension.
  • Charles Roberts has produced pages for the Hands On Experience Days in April (Friday 20th and Saturday 21st) and August (Friday 24th and Saturday 25th) 2001.

19 February:
  • Photo reports from Tony Pearce and Jon Bowers of the Winter Steam-Up weekend.
  • New mini special-event: The weekend of March 3 - 4: "Farewell to the Island Terriers" - your last chance to see Freshwater and Newport before they return home to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

16 February:
15 February:
  • Extra bus services now available to the Winter Steam-up weekend, February 17-18.
    For this weekend only, combined National Rail & Bluebell Railway tickets will be valid on Service 270, courtesy of Metrobus.
    This service (East Grinstead - Horsted Keynes - Haywards Heath) departs from the Bus stand opposite the Esso Garage at East Grinstead station at the following times:
    Saturday: 11.05, 12.05, 1.05, 2.05, 3.05
    Sunday: 9.40, 11.40, 1.40, 3.40
    This is in addition to our regular 473 bus.

13 February:
  • Update to the Loco Roster, with full information for March.
  • New link to the web page for Tony & Dave's Photographic Stall, to be found occasionally at Horsted Keynes station.
  • Links to Photo Reports of Events added to this page, above.

12 February:
5 February:
2 February:
  • Final information added about the Winter Steam-up weekend, February 17-18. Six locos in steam, all dating from the 19th century, plus an impressive array of vintage carriages.
  • Web site statistics for January:
    • Total number of "hits": 365,905 (unique file accesses to pages and graphics)
    • Number of Text Pages downloaded: 54,721 (accesses to text pages from distinct hosts).
    • Number of distinct hosts accessing the site: 5,304. (This is the best estimate of the number of individuals visiting the site in the month).
      The above figures exclude Lewis Nodes' locomotive pages.
    • 3,654 people wanted to know "What's New" and looked at this page.
    • 1,426 people looked at the 2001 Timetable.
    • 1,480 people wanted to know about the latest progress was on the extension to East Grinstead.
  • Link added to touristlink.co.uk.

1 February:
  • Details of 2001 Fares for first class and half-line return travel added.

31 January 2001:
26 January:
24 January:
  • Update to the Loco Roster, mainly with information about the February special days.

22 January:
19 January:
18 January:
12 January:
11 January:
  • New photo from Lewis Nodes of Fenchurch, coming together nicely in the loco works. Its return to steam is expected within the next few weeks.

10 January:
  • Slightly revision of the temporary timetable which is currently operating between Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes. Times for our 473 Bus Service linking Horsted Keynes to East Grinstead are also included.
  • New WAP link to the N Gauge Society.
  • Clickable links in the WAP links section now bring up a wap-phone simulator on your web browser. My thanks to Michael Shillabeer of steam.to.

9 January:
  • New link to Steam.To, a web site providing links to other steam railways, in all gauges, plus model shops and manufacturers, and model railway clubs.
  • New section on the links page for Railway WAP links for users of the Mobile Internet.

8 January:
5 January:
4 January:
2 January 2001:

Archive of the Blog/What's New pages

latestlatestMost recent updates
Older updates are in the What's New Archive
or the 2022, the 2021, the 2020, the 2019, the 2018, the 2017, the 2016, the 2015, the 2014, the 2013, the 2012, the 2011, the 2010, 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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