Bluebell Motive Power

Perhaps he's going to fund a repaint.

 

You may be devastated to learn that the passengers, myself included, couldn't give a damn.

 

No I haven't been drinking, no I'm not hysterical and I don't give a damn passengers don't give a damn. I spent enough years carriage bashing and with an empty wallet to not take up the offer of funding a repaint thanks. For decades blood and custard was banned but all of a sudden it's become like an outbreak of acne on a teenagers face. Forgot to add the social housing and Asda at Kingscote

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I love blood and custard – aside from the LNER teaks it's probably my favourite livery. The Bluebell have such a lovely collection of carriages, but it's nice to have a bit of variety. In comparison, the muddy maroon, or dull green and downright fusty chocolate and cream that a number of other lines rely on are a bit banal.

Simon

 

You remind me of a beer.
http://harviestoun.com/our-beers/bitter-and-twisted

 

Blood and custard is all part of the rich tapestry that is railway preservation and like you, I'm rather fond of it. During transition periods, rakes of carriages could be a real "mix and match" so having a mixed rake in preservation is only reflecting what happened in the "good old days." But Mr. Maunsell Man is entitled to his opinion even if his childish epithets do make him sound a bit silly.

 

Its interesting "socially" as you might say.

It seems to me, to grossly over simplify, the original preservation generation basically hated BR and all its works, and so tended to pre Nationalisation liveries when remotely possible, even if it meant a loss of "authenticity", which at the time tended to be less regarded than "originality". Hence, for instance, BR built GWR designs in GWR green with "Dart Valley" on the tanks and the like. While no fan of either pseudo originality or pseudo authenticity I have to admit to being largely of this view, and I greatly valued a diesel free Bluebell Railway and a largely green and BR badge free Didcot.

We now have a generation with a nostalgia for the BR era, and the results are plain to see. [ye gods I had to redact that sentence!]

 

Pots and kettles there after some of your outbursts on here... Painting vehicles in colours they never were and then painting more to match isn't preservation. Its circus world. Plenty of other lines can play circus world but it was always tradition that the particular part of West Sussex in question was Southern green or earlier colours.

Right, I'm off to stand my toy soldiers up

 

Meh – I think criticising the Bluebell for that particular 'crime' seems a bit daft. Most preserved lines are treading a tightrope between 'authentic preservation' and 'family entertainment', and I'm struggling to think of many that do that better than the Bluebell.

Simon

 

Maybe. When I was an every weekender there even mentioning blood & custard was a hanging offence! Just wasn't Bluebell

Way back in the very early 90s the BGZ had had a lot of the structural work on it completed (as it was completely rotten on the bottom) and had been completely reclad before work was stopped through low-flying handbags. It sat there for several years before a C&W member asked around and got a very small band together who were willing to finish it off (think there was two of us... and a low flying deviant). Once word of salvation for the BGZ was known the then Catering Manager decided to claim it for the Pubman train and declared we WOULD paint it in full Pubman colours. We were told. We started the Mets... The BGZ was later eventually finished and looked magnificent in authentic lined maroon. Many years later it got claimed by the catering dept and painted in micky mouse pubman colours...

 

Given that I can remember travelling on the Bluebell behind the Adams Radial - painted in LSWR light green - while riding in a rail blue BR Mk.1 suburban coach, the current Bluebell scene is a much closer representation of the past than the example I've quoted. The second rake in use on the Sunday comprised of the LNWR Obo, three SECR(?) vehicles in SR olive and the "salmon and brown" LSWR brake, all hauled by a BR black Q Class, I'm surprised Maunsell Man has chosen to denigrate a single red and cream Mk.1. Not that there was anything wrong with the second set.

 

For me, the odd Mk1 painted in blood and custard (my second favourite livery after LNER post war teak variations) doesn't make the blindest bit of difference and the rake itself looks entirely authentic because of it.

However I have to echo the comments regarding the BGZ. It's never sat well with me that it was painted like that to fit that train and I think you will find it's an interesting shade of faded umber (looking olive green) with Pullman lining out on one side (or at least was when I saw it last a few years ago). The repaint did not weather very well.

The Mets on the other hand are some of the most exquisite coaches, as restored, in preservation. They were very comfortable on the underground in 2015

 

Its an age thing in my opinion. The early preservationists, as has been said, didn't like BR and wanted pre nationalisation liveries, I remember BR and like the BR liveries (although I do also like pre nationalisation ones too) whereas I am anti the privatised modern railway, which does not interest me at all. I don't actually remember the blood and custard coach livery, but I can remember maroon. I actually think that the crimson and cream looks great and mixed rakes were very common, so authentic

 

Maroon with black ends or maroon with maroon ends? How about a rake of each?

 

Combined? I can't help feeling there'll be some paperwork associated with that...

 

Keeping it on topic (at least as "on topic" as a long thread about carriages in a "motive power" thread can be) I quite like B&C when formed in a uniform rake, but I'm not convinced about "floating" vehicles in other rakes. But hey, that's just me, as long as they don't paint it GWR colours then I'm not fussed. Hopefully nobody gets any ideas from the "teak effect" TC coming down for diesel weekend...

 

*shudder*

 

Diesel weekend on the Bluebell
Why, the old preservationists would be spinning in their graves DIESELS ON THE Bluebell splutter splutter whats Maunselmans take on those smelly tin cans i wonder will we se a " Disgusted of Folkestone " letter in Bluebell News ?

 

Folkestone? That's a fightin' talk!

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I did come down for the Deltic weekend...

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