Bluebell Railway General Discussion

Given this it's amazing any lines ever run galas at all, instead of virtually all of them. After all if they're so impossible to manage and grossly unprofitable you'd think they'd just give up.

 

My previous post was tongue-in-cheek but running galas when you operate a seven day week service is not that simple. Hi-jacking the thread, the NYMR's Spring gala comes at the end of April, about a month after the start of services, which require three locos in steam each day. Thus all three locos are going to have reached their 28 day washout cycle just when you want them to be available. Juggling such things isn't an easy task, unless you have a lot of spare locos. Then there's the coaches to consider.....

 

And of course people as well. Up until this year, we have had our main galas in May and September. Its no coincidence that those are the months I struggle most to fill all the available operational turns; a lot of people will tailor their availability around those gala weekends.

 

Tom: As a matter of morbid curiosity, have the cutting sides at Imberhorne, at least the side which has the waste under the netting/sheeting stood up to all the water flowing everywhere at present, ie no slips?

46118

 

Last I heard, the work on Freshfield Bank had finished and the whole line was now open for traffic. So I can only assume that (touch wood, strokes black cat, turns over coin in hand while nodding to full moon, etc etc) that there have been no problems in that area.

tom

 

Tom - even the big boys have problems - does this look familiar

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-26191090

 

Given that this month's Railways Illustrated has a picture of the DMU working what it claims is an East Grinstead to Hayward's Heath train on the Bluebell, I was wondering why there had been no mention of the re opening on here...........

 

Shhhhhh! It's a surprise for our Summer festival...

Tom

 

Quick update - apparently the DMMU has failed, so all steam service this week, normal service 2. (Departures from Sheffield Park at 09:45, 11:00, 12:15, 13:30, 14:45 and 16:00 and departures from EG an hour later, except the first one which is at 10:40).

Currently rostered locos are 1638 on the A service and 263 on the B service.

Tom

 

Is it bad form to rejoice at this news?

 

Yes. Behave yourself Ian!

In unrelated news, I hear it has stopped raining and the sun has come out…

Tom

 

A certain irony there

 

See, even the weather gods are celebrating.

 

What happened to the S15 and the Black 5, rostered for 23rd February until a day or two ago?

John

 

What do you think the reaction would have been if persons started to rejoice when kettle X failed at railway A?

 

It was stated on the Bluebell yahoo group that 45231 hauled its last service trains on the Bluebell on Sunday.It is booked on a photo charter before it leaves the railway. It was originally due to stay on the railway to the end of March, but is hauling the Buxton Spa Express on the 15/3/14 and it might haul another mainline trip before that ( SD state Black 5 for trip on 1/3/14 although UK Steam states 44932).

The Maunsell Soceity are proposing an official launch of 847 on the 23rd March, after any snagging jobs needed have been addressed, according to the lastest Maunsell News, so it might be being held back until then.

 

As the problem is a broken spring hanger apparently

Some diehards may be rejoicing but as the problem is reported as being a broken spring hanger and spring problems have caused failures to the steam fleet on more than one occasion.
It just reinforces the message the track needs urgent attention and hundreds of thousands spent renewing the formation under it.

The Bluebells PW volunteers have never been the most supported of areas in all the years I have been a member, the same numbes now have a far longer line to keep up together. In order to help them, they need the PLC to carry on with miles more of formation renewal to get the line designed for mainline loco weights rather than the ash and clay for the light branchline locos it was built for. Then the track on top needs to be long life flat bottom on concrete sleepers welded as a minimum into 120' lengths or even better CWR. Like it or not the Bluebell is a £3 - £4M business and needs to have appropriate minimum maintenance infrastructure for the traffic that level of turnover means.

Brian

 

How many times did 92212 break a spring at the Bluebell?
The track must be really bad to have broken the DMU too, and I do agre, it felt a tad rough when I was there 2 weeks ago.

That said, everyone understands why the money went on the EG extension at the expense of the rest of the line/locos, the Bluebell didn't really have any choice if they wanted to get to EG.

It's good to see that the line is open to Sheffield Park now, and thus the kettles can get out and about again. The DMU did what was required of it, kept the line operational whilst the steam shed (and thus maintenance) wasn't available.

 

Well, they say the DMU has broken down. It's actually being fitted with vertical take-off for the Haywards Heath shuttles.

Oh! What a give away!

 

Why do the diesel supporters always have to use gratuitously offensive terms like "kettle"?