 Current Infrastucture News
Archive of Infrastucture News: 2013-14 - 2015-16 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021-22
Archive Reports: Northern Extension Project -
Permanent Way and Lineside News (2007-2011) - P-Way News (2002-4)
The Bluebell Railway's Extension:
Latest Progress towards East Grinstead
Archive 8 (2009)
Extension Project archives:
2012 through to re-opening -
2011 -
2010 -
2009 -
2008 -
2006-7 -
2004-5 -
2003 -
2002 -
April - Dec 2001 -
Oct 2000 - Feb 2001 - April 2000
See also a trackbed tour from Kingscote to East Grinstead, the Interactive map of progress on the East Grinstead Extension, showing the extent of track laying, and photos showing the progress being made, and Lineside News.
Latest News page
October - December 2009
Change to use of rail to extract the Rubbish Tip
It was announced in the Winter edition of Bluebell News that we now plan to extract the rubbish from the tip 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, initally as a 1-week trial to prove the feasibility and costings.
Removal in this manner has numerous advantages. Quite apart from the obvious one of taking lorries off the roads, it requires much less infrastructure on site at Imberhorne, so enabling an operation that can economically be switched on and off as the money is available. It will also be cheaper, thus enabling us to reach East Grinstead sooner. But we still need your donations and contributions to fund the removal!
Progress to the north of the Tip
The following photos are from Michael Hopps.
1 October 2009: Laying down and levelling sand on the viaduct before the membrane is laid, and the side of the viaduct which will carry the track, ready for the membrane.
15 October 2009: Positioning the rolls of membrane, a heavy job done with the help of the digger, and a delivery of ballast being carefully levelled.
21 October 2009: The sand has been levelled on the access road and drainage and duct pipes are in position. The original crushed brick scrapings from viaduct are seen being put back on top of the membrane in the access road.
28 October 2009: Tidying up the station site ready for a load of rail to be delivered - a heavy job for the digger, but within it's load limit.
11 November 2009: Foundation trench dug ready for the relay cabinet slab. Most of the drainage pipes and ducting have now been covered - access chambers are being formed at duct junctions, for wall lighting and signalling cables.
18 November 2009: Some very expensive glue is needed to stick the two membrane sheets together! The main drainage pipe is wrapped and ready to cover with ballast. The smaller tubes are the ducting.
23 November 2009: This access chamber unfortunately now has to be moved before Network Rail come to slew their track across 9 inches. Construction of the retaining wall for the relay cabinet slab is well under way despite the atrocious weather conditions!
December 2009: Nearly there! The last few feet of ducting before the end of the viaduct are covered. The first ballast laid beyond the viaduct, with the trenching for cable ducts being dug as far as the cattle creep.
10-11 October 2009
Open Weekend at East Grinstead
The weekend was a great success, with so many people arriving on the Saturday morning that there were queues to buy admission tickets. These photos provide a flavour of what was on show. Over 1300 people attended the event.
The photos above are from David Middleton, showing the north face of the rubish tip, and the viaduct with drainage and ballast going in. Derek Hayward's photo from Hill Place Farm Bridge, shows some of the visitors walking up the trackbed between the viaduct and the tip.
As part of the event we launched our guide to East Grinstead Station, a booklet which details the history of the original station, our own progress to date and our future plans. This is available from the Sales and Information office at Sheffield Park for £2.50.
Prints of the painting (used on the cover of the booklet, right) by Matthew Cousins, showing our planned platform and water tower at East Grinstead, are available to anyone making a donation of £50 or more to the fund to build the water tower - phone the Sales and Information office on 01825 720800.
Photos are also available from Derek Hayward (including current pictures of the viaduct, Hill Place Farm cutting and bridge), and from Ken Upton, Simon Smith, Ashley Smith
The first photo below (all are from, and copyright by, Derek Hayward) shows the scrapings from the viaduct stored alongside the trackbed, for later re-use as platform in-fill. The second photo shows the progress with building the platform, with the blockwork back wall complete and awaiting capping, and the construction of the brickwork front wall. The final photo shows the point which separates Bluebell running tracks from our Network Rail connection, with the start of the track into the platform on the right. The pipes stored on the track are for use in the drainage and rainwater harvesting scheme which will supply the water tower on the station site, via a sump and storage tank beneath the tower.
September 2009
Inside the Viaduct!
Recent work has concentrated on preparing the viaduct for installation of a
new waterproof membrane. The viaduct piers contain a chamber that was part
of the original drainage system and these were accessed from ballast level
by means of a brick tower (photo 1). To enable the new drainage system to be
installed these towers have been lowered and capped. Prior to capping the
chambers have been emptied of material that has fallen down from track level
and has included ballast, pieces of the original York stone covers, sleepers
and other general rubbish. This clearance work has offered a last
opportunity to photograph the chambers before the new cap is cemented in
place.
The chambers are an interesting example of Victorian engineering. The
chamber opens out into voids running across the length of the viaduct (photo
2) until the upper surface of the arch is reached and across the width
(photo 3) to the outside walls. The original drainage system ran from the
upper surface of the viaduct (from the ballast) through clay pipes into the
chamber (photo 4) . The water then drained out of the side of the piers
through cast iron pipes (photo 5).
24 August 2009
Continued progress on East Grinstead Platform and the Viaduct
Another two photos from Patrick Plane show the state of play as of Friday 21st.
The platform back wall is well on the way to being built - the traditional brick front wall will come later. The rather tedious
job of filling the voids in the blocks with concrete and strengthening rods is in hand.
The fill on the viaduct has now been removed. Further work is required
before the waterproof membrane is installed.
17 August 2009
Progress after 1 week of work on East Grinstead Platform and the Viaduct
These photos from Patrick Plane show progress during the first week of work, with the blockwork of the platform back wall now over four coach-lengths long, and 50% of the necessary fill removed from the top of the viaduct.
Whilst we have funding in place for the work we are currently doing at East Grinstead, don't forget that we still need to raise £3.5 Million to remove the remaining 90,000 tons of waste from the tip - Donate to the 50th Anniversary Appeal and help us complete the extension.
14 August 2009
Progress at East Grinstead, and details of another Open Day there as well
On Monday 10th August 2009 two important phases of the Northern Extension
Project were started (as seen in Nigel Longdon's photos, taken that day). The back wall of the station platform is being built
in blocks. Later the front wall will be built in traditional brick.
The
remedial work on the viaduct drainage system also started. This entails
scraping off the top layer of old ballast and fill to a level profile. The west
("up") side where the track will eventually be laid is being cleared first;
the east side will follow. When these have been prepared a new waterproof
membrane and porous drainage pipe will be laid.
We will be holding another
Open Weekend at East Grinstead Station
on the weekend of Saturday 10th and Sunday
11th October.
The site will be open from 10.30am to 4pm each day and will allow the opportunity of viewing the construction of our new platform and
the completion of the work on Imberhorne viaduct.
There will be the opportunity to walk across the viaduct and conducted tours along part of the old trackbed towards the tip.
In view of the recent rain, you would be well are advised to wear appropriate shoes or boots.
We will have a special display showing what is involved in rebuilding the railway back to East Grinstead with an opportunity to
meet and talk to those involved in the line's reconstruction.
Refreshments will be available.
Car parking facilities are available in the local town car parks or travel by train from London Victoria, Clapham Junction, East
Croydon to East Grinstead.
Even better though is to travel to East Grinstead by parking at Sheffield Park or Horsted Keynes stations and taking the steam train to Kingscote and the connecting 473 bus to East Grinstead. (Discounted tickets available if purchased up to 8 days in advance).
On each of these days a special earlier train service will depart Horsted Keynes at 10.25 with connecting bus to East Grinstead.
Trade stand enquiries - please email Tracy (dot) Cowley (at) bluebell-railway (dot) co (dot) uk for details.
Admission Tickets to the Bluebell Railway East Grinstead Station site are available for £4.00 if purchased on or before 30th
September or £5.00 from 1st October. (Children will be admitted free.)
10 August 2009
Starting building the platform at East Grinstead
During the past week (commencing 3rd August) the trackbed in the cutting
immediately to the north of Hill Place bridge was tidied, as seen in this photo. Spoil has been
moved to the east side which means that the trackbed from East Grinstead
station site to the north end of the tip is now clear and level for track to
be laid.
Commencing today, the building of the East Grinstead platform
back wall will be started, as will the remedial work to the drainage system
on the viaduct. There will be a lot of progress north of the tip in the
coming months.
Last Friday the Railway launched its 50th Anniversary Appeal - a new web site specifically for the appeal explains what the aims are, and a large part is to raise the funds needed to complete the extension. Please make a donation to help us to achieve those aims!
6 July 2009
Preparations at East Grinstead
It's a while since the last update, however the project has certainly not stood
still. At Imberhorne Lane catch pits have been constructed to take the
run-off from the road in a controlled manner down to our drain.
Attention
then turned to the East Grinstead station site where pipes have been laid
for the services: water, sewage and electricity, and a permanent messing
facility installed. This has been a slow process as the ground is hard
sandstone and unfortunately the fruits of our labours cannot be seen. The
sewer is complete and whilst we do have a water supply but are waiting for a
larger supply to be provided by the water authority. An electricity supply
will follow. A start is now being made on the footings (as seen in Derek Hayward's photo) for the back wall
of the platform which will be formed of block work (the front will be of
traditional brick). Shortly work will commence to replace the drainage
system on the viaduct.
Meanwhile the Saturday Gang have continued to tidy the lineside from
Imberhorne Lane towards Kingscote. This has been completed and attention
is now turning to the section between the viaduct and tip.
Progress with fundraising continues. Approaching £35k has been raised by
Tenner for the Tip; our visitors have been very supportive in this
respect.
27 April 2009
Track laid under Imberhorne Lane Bridge
The extraction of spoil from the north side of Imberhorne Lane bridge is
almost complete. In excess of 10,000 tonnes will have been removed to the
triangle at Horsted Keynes where it is being profiled for use as a picnic
area with access to a small nature reserve. The use of the Class 73
Electro-Diesel has proved to be the right tool for the job as it can travel
at line speed without delay to scheduled passenger trains. This week the
track at Imberhorne has been re-laid to permit removal of any overspill
during loading of the grampus wagons and extended under the bridge to
facilitate removal of the last few tonnes of spoil.
This photo is provided by Nigel Longdon. Some other photos, also taken last week, by Derek Hayward, are also available as part of his Kingscote to East Grinstead album.
Behind the digger, with clay capping still protecting it until we can start digging again, is the remaining 90,000 tons of waste in the tip - if you can donate to the 50th Anniversary Appeal it will help us to complete the extension. The waste has to be taken away by road by contractors to another waste site, but we plan to deal with the capping material in much the same way as the intert spoil already removed, taking it out by rail.
6 February 2009
Spoil Extraction resumes
The excavation of the remaining spoil north of Imberhorne Lane bridge is
now in hand and spoil trains recommenced on Friday 6th February, when five
round trips ran using electro-diesel 73136 "Perseverance". It is hoped that
this work will be complete by the end of March.
Photos are also available from Ian Purvis (Friday 6th Feb) and from Chris Dadson (Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th Feb).
If you would like to help us, you can purchase "Tenner for the Tip" certificates - every £10 donated pays for the removal of a quarter of a ton of waste from the main part of the rubbish tip. You can also now buy a certificate through our on-line shop.
17 January 2009
East Grinstead Open Day
On Saturday 17th January we held a hugely successful Open Day at East Grinstead, including the arrival of 4 Vep unit 3417 "Gordon Pettitt". Tom Waghorn's photo on the right shows the hand-over ceremony for the unit, presented to the Bluebell by South West Trains. The speakers were Roy Watts (BPRS Chairman), Mac Macintosh (former Engineering Director SWT), Gordon Pettitt (former General Manager of the Southern Region of British Rail), Ginnie Waddingham (Mayor of East Grinstead), and Graham Flight (Chairman of Bluebell Railway PLC).
We had 730 visitors to the site, plus invited guests and those who arrived by the VEP, and also sold 114 "Tenner for the Tip" certificates. Don't forget the auction of the first Tenner for the Tip certificate which is still open.
More news, photos and videos from the Open Day:
Further photos from the event:
73109, South-West trains EDL named in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, hauls the Vep into East Grinstead (Derek Hayward)
Network Rail staff remove the fence across our new main-line connection (Colin Duff)
The moment that unit 3417 crosses the boundary to the Bluebell - our main-line connection is inaugurated (and 3417 becomes the first item of rolling stock to arrive on the Bluebell by rail since the Ardingly branch closed in 1963.) (Colin Duff)
The Mayor of East Grinstead, Councilor Ginnie Waddingham, was among the speakers, welcoming the Bluebell to East Grinstead. (Derek Hayward)
Gordon Pettitt, former general manager of the Southern Region of British Rail, stands next to the Vep unit named after him. (Andrew Strongitharm)
Guided tours were offered over the viaduct. This is the view of the countryside on leaving East Grinstead. (Martin Lawrence)
The view of the town which will greet our passengers travelling towards East Grinstead, also showing participants of the guided tours. (Martin Lawrence)
Guided walks also continued southwards towards Imberhorne tip. (Martin Lawrence)
Portrait of Unit 3417 at East Grinstead. (Derek Hayward)
YouTube Videos of 73109 and 3417 en route to the Bluebell:
Derek Hayward has updated his photos of the Kingscote to East Grinstead section of his trackbed tour with photos taken during the open day and trackbed tour, and re-organised and updated the gallery.
Note about the subsequent departure of the Vep, 22nd January
Although she was only delivered on Saturday, the railway now needs to honour its commitment to ensure that the 4 Vep is looked after. Following the hugely successful Open Day, the East Grinstead site has now reverted to a construction site and is therefore now inaccessible to people, thus isolating the unit.
With construction works due to start at East Grinstead and the unit in an exposed position, the Bluebell Railway has accepted the offer of short term accommodation at Eastleigh railway works.
Knights Rail have generously sponsored the move to the works where she will be under cover and back on the 3rd Rail. She will receive care and attention whilst she is in the works and she will certainly, along with LSWR B4 No.96 " Normandy" be representing the Bluebell at the forthcoming Eastleigh 100 event in May.
All this has happened very quickly (it left at 12.50 today in a special move organised at remarkably short notice) and we are grateful to everybody who has made this move possible; an excellent example of team work co-operation to ensure that the unit will be in a much safer store.
The unit remains in Bluebell ownership, and will of course return at an appropriate time later.
Roy Watts, Chairman
16 January 2009
Main-line connection is made at East Grinstead!
In overnight engineering work, Network Rail connected us to the main line at East Grinstead on Tuesday night. The Bluebell track at East Grinstead will only run as far as the viaduct for the present, and we are set to receive the 4 Vep unit on Saturday as part of our Open Day on the East Grinstead station site.
David Chappell's photo on the left (taken on Thursday 15th) shows that, except for a little work to gauge, screw-down and ballast the last bit of track today, all was set for Saturday. The photo was taken from the end of the viaduct looking northwards. The track heading off to the right, where the digger is, will run into our new station platform, and that on the left is our main-line connection.
David's second photo below (taken today), shows our boundary with the main line.
11 January 2009
Track Laying at East Grinstead Station site
Phil Jemmison's photo shows that track-laying is under way at East Grinstead in preparation for the arrival of the 4 Vep next Saturday. The track being laid is that which will form the connection to the main-line, including trap points and the main point which will form the connection between the Bluebell station and the running line over the viaduct in its normal position, and our main-line connection when reversed.
The slewing of the actual connection to the main line has yet to be made, but work has progressed significantly since the photo to the left was taken on Thursday, as seen in Phil Jemmison's photo below (from Saturday).
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