Bluebell Railway General Discussion

Had an excellent day at the railway yesterday, could someone tell me, is 73082 wasn't carrying nameplates yesterday, is a re-naming likely in the future?

Also, are there likely to be some of the older loco's working the passenger service for the August Vintage Transport Weekend?

TIA

 

73082 has not carried nameplates since it returned from overhaul, just like when it was built I believe.

 

Glad you enjoyed yourself.

As 73082 was last outshopped round about the 60th anniversary of when built, the owners wanted to run it for a time as first constructed, which means unnamed (the names came round about 1958/59 as I recall; can't remember exactly when). The plan is that she will carry the names again in due course.

As for the vintage weekend; not sure what will be running but hopefully some of the older stuff.

Tom

 

I was at the railway on Saturday, I heard someone say there would be a renaming ceremony on August 20th.

Talking of older stuff, what's up with the Mets? I haven't seen any photos of them in use for quite a while.

If anyone is interested, I've uploaded some photos from Saturday which featured a goods train hauled by 263 https://www.flickr.com/photos/spinner673/albums/72157671404176416

 

The Mets have been sidelined due to a couple of coaches having defective vacuum braking cylinders, and more importantly the state of the door locks on all 4 coaches - which are so worn that there is a real fear of them coming undone of their own accord while the coach is moving along.

Last I heard there was a tentative plan to try and get two of the coaches back by cannibalising the others for spares (braking bits and still serviceable door locks) - but this is a time consuming business, not helped by the fact the entire set is close coupled so it would require both the brake 3rd plus the full 3rd to be bought up to scratch - doing only one of the pair (or one of the composites) won't be of any use.

Its why some of the planned Steam on the Met journeys have had to be cancelled recently - the 4TC set the LT museum own and which will have to substitute for the Mets is too big for some of the routes they planned to operate specials over.

In the meantime if someone has some cash to donate towards the purchase of a large quantity of new door locks and replace the defective brake components I'm sure the Bluebell would love to hear from them.

 

Thanks for your very informative reply, Phil. In light of these problems, I'm surprised there isn't an appeal in the latest Bluebell News or on the website to fund these repairs.

 

As a general point when it comes to fundraising - it is important not to oversaturate the target market and end up with 'donor fatigue'. With the 'ASH' and 'Operation Undercover' campaigns still going plus the numerous appeals for various locomotive projects it may be that having yet another fundraising drive going on is not the wisest idea at present. Equally factors like workshop time and the human resources therein also come into play as ideally you want to be in a position to be able to have a realistic plan as to actually being able to do something with the money being raised.

With regards to the Mets, I believe the Bluebell is still considering its options - simple stuff like just how many new locks are needed and whether they need to be exactly the same design as the old ones (i.e. can the same result be achieved for less without compromising the goals of 'preservation') etc, can workshop space / time be found to fit them (or indeed recover the ones still with life left in them) - and there is the current programme of work to consider as well.

Ultimately I'm sure the Bluebell would like to have the Mets back in service quickly - being relatively high capacity but short and light helps with some of our smaller engines, plus they are well liked by many enthusiasts and of course there is the LU income from when they hire them. However as with most things in preservation what people and organisations want is not necessarily immediately achievable and as such we must wait until the Bluebell have decided the most appropriate strategy is for them to enable the Mets to return to frontline service.

 

Does anybody know what trains (locos/carriages) the Bluebell is running for the collectors fair days, this weekend?

Their usually excellent "trains for the coming week" page in the detailed part of their website has not been updated - presumably its author is on holiday.

Any info gratefully received ...

 

Looks like the four four-wheelers and three Maunsells on Set A; and mixed Bulleid / Mark 1 set on set B.

Don't know about motive power, but I'd take a punt on 847 on set A; 73082 on set B and 263 on the Sunday lunchtime Arrow.

Edit: forget I said that, 847 is due a washout I believe. Probably as Matt suggests on the service trains.

Tom

 

The loco roster http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/loco_roster.html says 263 on Set A, 73082 on Set B, with 592 on the dining trains and 323 on pilot duties on Sunday. However there are pictures of 30541 out today on a wedding charter, so there is a possibility of her being used instead of one of the above. I've no insider knowledge on this, just educated guesswork.

 

Many thanks for the very helpful - and super-prompt - replies.

Should be worth a visit. As it usually is!

 

And indeed - I went along - and got a ride on the newly restored SECR 4-wheeled carriage No. 3188. A great experience (though not sure if it would be equally so on a 2 hour trip to the coast on the original SECR!). Rode another 4- wheeler and in a Maunsell bogie coach on the way back. 263 impressed in hauling this quite long train, too.

 

Shambles today with trains running over an hour late and staff at East Grinstead telling people they could not say what time they would get back. I had to have a refund as they could not say if I would get back in time to make my connection.

 

I'm wondering if someone could help me: I'm sure there has been mention of 'through tickets' from mainline stations in the south east on here and the Bluebell website makes a vague reference here: http://www.bluebell-railway.com/directions/by-train/
Having searched 20 odd pages of this thread, I've conceded defeat and asking if anyone knows more about them (vaguely planning a visit with a friend who lives in south london). I can't find any mention on Southern wesbsite.

 

There's some info here:

http://www.southernrailway.com/destinations/destinations/trains-to-east-grinstead/

Assuming that is correct, it looks like there is a £1 discount on a full-line third class rover buying that way; however, if you can pin down the date you want to travel sufficiently far in advance (8 days I think) then buying a discounted Bluebell Bonus ticket separately from the mainline fare may work out cheaper.

Tom

 

Quite likely, unfortunately the plan is a little vague at the moment.

 

Anyone know what's running Sunday please as the website hasn't been updated?

 

Set A is the 4 wheelers and Maunsells; set B is the Bulleid / Mark 1 set. Not sure about motive power I'm afraid, but I'll try to update when I find out on Saturday. I'd assume Camelot on set B and probably the Q or the H on set A, but I don't know for certain.

Also looks like the goods set will be out on Saturday.

Tom

 

OK, the loco roster has now been updated, so:

Set A: (10:00am / 12:15pm / 2:45pm / 5:15pm SO ex-SP): H class 263 and the four-wheelers and Maunsells both days
Set B: (11:00am / 1:30pm / 4:00pm ex-SP): Std 5 73082 "Camelot"; mixed Bulleid / Mark 1 set both days
Goods train (Saturday only): C class 592
Golden Arrow evening (Saturday only): 73082
Golden Arrow lunchtime (Sunday only): C class 592
Pilot engine (Sunday only): P class 323

Goods train on Saturday does two round trips to Kingscote - times on the Bluebell facebook page.

Looking further ahead (seeing as we are in the period of two train running mid week), the H class will continue every day with Set A until Sunday 14 August, after which the Q class takes over for a period. 73082 will continue with set B until Friday 19 August, after which 847 takes over.

Tom

 

Peter,
In its life on the "big railway" SECR was a six wheeled coach with a spring length of about 7'', however it has been restored upon a four wheel ex-Southern Railway van underframe with 5'6" springs. As a result, the ride quality won't be as good as it was for our forebears prior to the coach's withdrawal in December 1935.

Dave
3188 restoration team