The Bluebell Railway's 2010

BRANCH LINE WEEKEND

Relive the age of the country Branch Line

P-class with Mixed train - Brian Easter - 22 Feb 2009

Sat 20th & Sun 21st February

The weekend features an intensive passenger steam train service using our vintage branch line locomotives - including two visiting engines: Fairburn Tank No.42085 (for which we are indebted to Stephen Maher and the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway) and BR standard class 2 2-6-0 No.78019 from the Great Central Railway.

The Fairburn 2-6-4 tanks were a common sight on Southern Region branch lines until they were replaced by the BR Standard tanks. Although an LMS design, this loco was built at Brighton Works.

The event will also feature the special-event debut of LBSCR E4 No.B473 freshly outshopped in Southern Railway lined green and, providing its restoration is completed in time, the first public appearance in steam since it was preserved of SECR P-class No.178.

Stop Press, 10.40am Friday: 42085 should be in steam for the weekend, so it should be a great event, with hopefully 7 locos running. The P-class passed its in-steam test on Monday, but there remained a lot to do. If for any reason 42085 does not appear, 9017 will be steamed in its place.

Update: 4.36pm Friday: Back down to six locos, since 178 has a couple of minor problems: The reverser does not go full-stroke, thus the valves cannot be set, and in addition the trailing axlebox wedges are too tight. So the plan is to leave it in the works and allow visitors inside to see it. We are confident it can all be sorted out in a few days, so will run the following weekend as part of our 1963 timetable.
42085 appears to be OK to run.

The photo on the right shows SECR P-class No.753 (visiting from the KESR) with our Victorian 4-wheelers and pre-grouping goods vehicles on a mixed train at the Branch-line event last year (Brian Easter).

Details of fares available here. Basic timetable details and 473 Bus Timetable available below.

The photos below, taken by Jon Horrocks on 16 August 2009 at the Great Central Railway, show the two engines which are visiting us for this event.

42085 at the Great Central Railway - Jon Horrocks - 16 August 2009

78019 at the Great Central Railway - Jon Horrocks - 16 August 2009

Up to Seven locomotives will be in steam each day.

The locomotive line-up is:

178 - SECR P-class 0-6-0T, built 1910 at Ashford
592 - SECR C-class 0-6-0, built in 1902, at the SECR's Longhedge Works
672 "Fenchurch" - LBSCR A1 'Terrier', built in 1872 at Brighton
B473 - LBSCR E4 0-6-2T "Birch Grove" built in 1898 at Brighton
42085 - LMS-design Fairburn 4-6-2T built in 1951 at Brighton
If 42085 is unable to run, 9017 (GWR 4-4-0) will substitute
78019 - BR 2MT 2-6-0 built in 1954 at Darlington
80151 - BR 'Class 4' 2-6-4T, built in 1957 at Brighton

Four carriage sets will be in use, covering the following periods: Victorian and Pre-First World War; Southern Railway inter-war; Southern Railway (and early BR) post-war and British Railways.

The photo of 42085 below (by Duncan Harris, used under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License) shows 42085 in July 2009 at the Great Central Railway, its first ever visit away from its preservation home at Lakeside.

Additional Attractions

At Sheffield Park
- Locomotive shed
- Restaurant and Bar
- Visits to Atlantic House to view construction of Atlantic Locomotive, No. 32424, Beachy Head, and their fund-raising sales stand will be in attendance.
At Horsted Keynes
- Brake Van shuttles
- Sales stall in the Museum room on Platform 1-2, raising funds for the Museum and the overhaul of LSWR B4 loco "Normandy".
- Carriage Works viewing gallery and display
- Conducted tours of the Carriage works at 12.35, 1.10, 1.50 and 2.25
We regret Pullman car 'Doris' will not now be open.
At Kingscote
- Special bus service 473 linking to East Grinstead town and East Grinstead Station for National Rail Services

Photos below from last year's event show 80151 (David Haggar), the C and the O1 together with the Metropolitan Railway carriages (Derek Hayward)

Train Timetable outline:

Trains depart from Sheffield Park at:
      9.15 (Goods), 9.50, 10.25 and then roughly every 35 min thereafter.
The first trains from Horsted Keynes depart towards Kingscote at:
      9.32 (Goods) and 10.07
The first trains from Horsted Keynes depart towards Sheffield Park at:
      9.33 and 11.18
The first trains depart from Kingscote at:
      10.23 (Goods) and 10.58
Last train to Kingscote departs from Sheffield Park at 4.00 (4.17 ex HK) for 473 bus connection to East Grinstead.
There is a later train at 5.10 ex SP to Kingscote but with no onward bus connection. This arrives back at Sheffield Park at 6.28.

Bus 473 Timetable: 20 & 21 February 2010

East Grinstead Stn (dep)   10:10  11:10  12:10  1:10  2:10  3:10  4:10
East Grinstead High St     10:15  11:15  12:15  1:15  2:15  3:15  4:15
Kingscote  Station (arr)   10:30  11:30  12:30  1:30  2:30  3:30  4:30
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kingscote Station (dep)           11:42  12:42  1:42  2:42  3:42  4:41
East Grinstead High St            11:57  12:57  1:57  2:57  3:57   -
East Grinstead Stn (arr)          12:02   1:02  2:02  3:02  4:02  4:49

The 270 Bus from Haywards Heath to Horsted Keynes is a useful means of reaching the railway by public transport.

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Updated 19 February 2010 by Richard Salmon.
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