Bluebell Motive Power

Locos come and go to the WSR on quite a short term basis, and it might be it’s arrived for some work but no agreement to run it on the line as yet. So maybe not too much for them to get excited about at the moment.

 

80064 seems to have spent more than half of its entire life stored under cover at Sheffield Park, unlike some of the Bluebell's own locos that have been stored out in the open for many years up at Horsted Keynes. Here is the loco during its brief period of operation in May '86. And to put the time frame in context here is a view of West Hoathly taken on the same day.

Peter

 

Rare picture of the Obo at the north end of a train (our current rules now always require it to be marshalled at the south end).

Also interesting to see how much the lineside has been cleared of scrubby vegetation in the intervening years - see for example this picture from about the same spot by Peter Edwards, from I think the late 2010s:

https://www.bluebell-railway.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/No65_IMG_9857.jpg

Tom

 

And if you look really closely 80064 still carries it's short lived air braking kit!

 

I clocked that - any particular reason it ran dual brakes?

 

It was fitted early in its preservation career, did it run the odd mainline trip?

I was part of the gang that shunted it into place ready for the road move, I ended up riding the very short distance in the cab, whilst there I did notice that the drivers air brake valve is all still in place even if the pump is long gone. It looked very odd both as one wouldn't normally be there and because it was mounted 'wrong way round' with release towards the driver and application away from you...my brain would struggle with that!

On a personal note Bluebell was a huge part of my childhood and 80064 was one of the regulars in the 1980s, it was nice to see her off in some small way

 

It did a trip on the PDSR at some point with the VSOE in the 1980’s could it have been something to do with that? As I believe that’s Air Brake only?

 

I wonder if the air pump was fitted when it ran at the DSR (P&DSR as it was then), although I can't see why it was needed, unless it worked occasion through excursions from NR. I don't think it ever ran on the main line.

 

Would it have been fitted with a pump or would air be supplied by diesel and it had the valve to control?

 

Sorry, I've no idea, although I can't remember having seen a photo of it carrying a pump - and I think I would have noticed if it was fitted anywhere reasonably obvious as it would have been a real excrescence!

 

If you blow @torgormaig picture up, you can just make out the pump on the left of the smokebox.

Tom

 

James, what’s the cause of that particular opperational rule?

 

Theres quite a few pics of it online with the airpump fitted on the fireman's side of the smokebox.

Simlar visually to 41298 and 41313

 

I'm not altogether sure. The rule specifically states that - except by instruction of the operations manager, or unless they are the only vehicle in the train - the LNWR Obo, BY 404, Bulleid brake 2515 and LBSCR 1st 7598 mustn't be coupled next to the engine of trains going through the tunnel. I had in my mind it was something to do with protecting the roofs from cinders thrown by locos and bouncing straight back down again, but if so, I'm not sure why those four vehicles specifically, and not many others than have wooden roofs.

Tom

 

Tom I assume that is for a multi coach train as I have images of it on the north end of a loco (the E4 and the Furness loco when it did trips to the "tip wall" at Imberhorne Bridge.

 

Impressive you answered my question whilst I was typing it. Do you work for the FSB?

 

I wonder if it ran at the north end because, as seen here, the GNR Directors Saloon was at the south end of the set that day - it would have been the Witsun Bank Holiday Weekend.

Peter

 

So do they have to be in the middle of the train somewhere? Or what do they do on a return trip when the loco has run round?

 

Apologies, I should have clarified:

"the LNWR Obo, BY 404, Bulleid brake 2515 and LBSCR 1st 7598 mustn't be coupled next to the engine of northbound trains going through the tunnel."
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So by preference if there are two or more vehicles in the train, those carriages would typically be at the south end.

I think BY404 is the current SteamLights generator vehicle and that is at the north end of the train - however, that set doesn't go through the tunnel. Similarly, in @torgormaig photo that started the discussion, the Obo is at the north end - but the photo predated Bluebell trains going through the tunnel. Hence my feeling that it is something to do with being next to the engine when the engine is working hard on a 1 in 75 gradient in the tunnel.

Tom

 

Official announcement of 80064 to WSRA https://wsra.org.uk/80064-comes-to-...mdDU1f1gYlkM1Mo7_3oGdkxYGrNmmeJRkSC2MnjK605_E