Bluebell Railway General Discussion

The Elephant Van is now complete externally (apart from painting - it is due to enter the paint shop over Christmas to finish this) and now attention will turn to the interior fit out. Meanwhile some of us have moved on to giving SR brake van 55993 a light overhaul and re-paint

David R

 

A few shots of the Public Viewing Gallery and the view from the viewing gallery this afternoon

David R

 

Evening everybody, I headed down to the railway yesterday to see the goods train running again. This time it was hauled by 592, doing exactly what she was built for. Our very own @Jamessquared was on the footplate of 73082 Camelot. I've uploaded an album to Flickr for those interested https://www.flickr.com/photos/spinner673/albums/72157671221050982

 

Your camera survived the ordeal then

Seemed like a pretty busy weekend, and Camelot was fun - though I largely missed seeing the Goods train running, concentrating elsewhere at crucial times!

Tom

 

You don't mean 7" do you...!

 

It's the five inch gauge model ... I assume an extra ' has crept in!

Tom

 

I noticed that you were driving for one trip so wouldn't have time for gawping at goods trains! It certainly was busy, lots of families gathering round the locos whenever they came to a stop. Made me smile when a little boy asked his Dad "Can we come here again soon? This is brilliant!"

 

Good old 55993, a bit of attention before it passed the point of no-return again. This was the first project I worked on in the C&W back in the late 80s when it was originally restored to traffic. It was brought to the Bluebell a good few years before and lay mouldering until young Andy Cruttenden (who was actually a couple of years older than me) took it on and made good progress with it. Tragically he was killed in a road accident whilst in his very early 20s and never saw it finished. A few more people came and went and did bits until it was eventually finished-off around 1990. As it was out in the yard on a set of dollies whilst the horn guides were replaced and the brake gear overhauled restoring a stove to it was invaluable both as means to keep warm during the harsh winter of 89/90 and for extending the social circle! It was thought that we had the third highest coal consumption of any vehicle or motive power on the railway in that period.

Once 55993 was back in traffic and the concrete walkway project was finished somebody suggested taking a panel of the Mets. The C&W Director said no but nobody was listening...

 

THe 4 wheel brake van will make a great addition to the goods train. I know its still SR, but looks a bit odd with a pre-grouping loco on a freight with a Queen Mary on the back.

 

What's happening with the SECR dancehall? It seems to be being renovated at HK, but is AFAIK not currently operational. That or the LSWR road van would look the bee's knees on the freight train!

Tom

 

The secret is to not get the Queen Mary in the photograph!

South Eastern Summer Steam by Arle Images, on Flickr

 

You should have come and said hello - would be nice to put a face to a name!

We had a lot of footplate visitors, young and old, (particularly at EG and HK, where the timings and access make such things easier) - it was one of those nice weekends to be around with quite a buzz.

Tom

 

I don't know about the Dancehall, but sadly I understand that the road van would require a very major structural rebuid so is unlikely to be a candidate any time soon.

David R

 

Although I expect the Guards will prefer the Queen Mary for it's superior riding qualities and space.

David R

 

Does show the importance of undercover storage though. And on that note, a reminder that registration is now open for this year's track trek, covering either the whole line from EG to SP or the half line HK to SP (return transport provided). Details of how to sign up here: http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/funding/fftf/ Money raised will be split between OU4 (the HK carriage shed) and ASH (the loco storage and display development).

Tom

 

Talking of Camelot...

From the e-Newsletter:

"EVER WANTED TO DRIVE A TRAIN? THE RAILWAY IS GOING "FULL STEAM AHEAD"

The Bluebell Railway has created an exciting new event for anyone who has dreamed of driving a steam train!

Full Steam Ahead Day on 30 Sept., 2016, aims to be the first in a series of days for customers to enjoy the experience of firing and driving a loco and train. If successful, more Full Steam Ahead days will be planned for 2017.

For the first Full Steam Ahead Day, up to six participants will be able to experience firing and driving No. 73082 "Camelot" over the full Bluebell line. "Camelot's" train will comprise four carriages for the exclusive use of participants, who can invite up to six guests each.

Full Steam Ahead will be a full day, starting at Sheffield Park at 8:30 a.m. and finishing at the same station just after 5 p.m.

Do you know someone who has a special birthday or retirement coming up? Are you organising a corporate team building exercise? Would firing and driving a train be a dream come true for you? If so, call the Railway's Sales Office at 01825 720800 for more information and to book.

More details can be found here. "

I can certainly recommend Camelot as a driving experience

Tom

 

That's a cracking photo!

Tom

 

The Road Van. Poor old thing. First item of goods rolling stock that came to the Bluebell and is still vegetating over half a century later. I was keen to have a bash at it after 55993 but the consensus of opinion was to repair it properly would require a complete dismantling of the vehicle and rebuild from the underframe up. The underframe itself is wood and would in all likeliness needed splitting, repairing and refixing on a jig to ensure it was square and straight. Both the bottom rails were severely rotten and would require replacing as would most of the vertical and diagonal structural members in the body. The roof was rotten as was most of the side boarding, side doors and gates to the veranda. I seem to remember the floor was fairly sound as was the bulkhead to between the veranda and guards compartment. The running gear, i.e. drawgear, wheels, axleboxes and brake gear were all very tired. The stove was ok though and no doubt would have been able to burn huge quantities of coal in the winter whilst keeping the tea drinkers warm...

I did give it a bit of TLC when I was still a teenager back in the mid eighties and covered the roof in roofing felt, made some window frames for the guards compartment end and glazed them with greenhouse glass, repaired the gates to the veranda so they could be used and gave it a coat of LSWR brown with red ends. It was then watertight and used as a workshop for many years. Playing about with the Road Van got me interested in the C&W and I ended up gravitating to it permanently after that. I joined in helping get 55993 finally finished before starting on the Mets. After I left the Bluebell in 1998 somebody repainted the Road Van again but did a pretty puka job on the platform side and even lettered it up with LSWR and its running number. It was used as a workshop for the 1520 project which had substantial work done on it whilst parked in 0 road at HK station.

It was and no doubt still is a mobile collection of patterns, handrails and door fittings but it would be lovely to see somebody do it.

 

Taken on one of Jon Bowers excellent photo charters. He is a great ambassador for the Bluebell. I do have a Photographer's PTS, but not managed to get down yet. Have enjoyed seeing the extensive footage of the Bluebell on the BBC recently.

 

For those who like to collect rare track, a heads-up that on Sunday 18 September, Hastings Diesels will be running a series of shuttles (turn up and go; £5 per trip) from Haywards Heath to Ardingly, as part of the Haywards Heath Station 175th anniversary celebrations. (Stepney will be in attendance....) Rare chance to travel over the Ardingly line, which is normally freight only - anyone know when the last passenger journey on that line was?

There is also an associated rail tour from Hastings to Haywards Heath via London Victoria.

See http://www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk/railtours/ and http://www.haywardsheathlive.org.uk/175th-anniversary-of-haywards-heath-station/

Tom