Bluebell Santa Specials in the snow

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alts1985/

six photos there and a few more here...

http://ashleysmith355.fotopic.net/c1738691_80.html

Would of got a few more shots but Bluebell was running late today and the light was going, probably more due to people struggling to get to the line today than anything else. I stuck to the more major roads and just went for shots around the tunnel, some of the other roads around Horsted Keynes were almost just sheet ice. I think it was worth the cold feet though.

 

Thanks for sharing these. So roads to West Hoathly were manageable but HK itself is a bit of a no go area then. Will head south and see where we get to before we abandon the car in favour of sleds and teams of huskies.

 

Hehe, I live just north of Brighton so I went on the road through Lindfield up the hill then turn right onto the road that takes you under the line at Hollywell Water Works (would of parked there for a shot or two but 4 cars already in the little space by the road) and then turn left in Horsted Keynes for the road to Sharpthorne. That was quite clear. The road to avoide are the two into Horsted Keynes themselves, steep and icy hills!

 

I like your B&W shot coming out of the tunnel, well worth getting cold for.

Years ago I persuaded my dad to drive me to HK in the snow to Photo 33001 and 30064, he was not very amused when he saw the state of the roads, but fortunately we were the only ones foolish enough to use them, so escaped in one piece!

 

Always a problem in icy weather is the road between Danehill and HK. The E/W Sx boundary is right in the dip at the bottom of the hill and while each county's gritters will do their own bit neither will grit the other county's hill and will turn round at the bottom and return up their own side.

Naturaly this is so well organised that there can be a whole day or more between each hill being gritted so you can get to the bottom but not up the other side.

Briliant!!!!

 

You've just made up my mind to get up at stupid o'clock and travel down there! Hopefully the roads won't be too dodgy. I'm thinking of going to Sheffield Park and walking up the line from there.

 

love the shot of the maunsells covered in snow.

West hoathly can be pretty bad in the snow, i know from being stranded on Hamsey Road with my grandparents in the 1990's. Locos couldnt get through because of the ice.

Roads are gritted there because of the brick works lorries.

 

There is a great photo on the BB web site of 34059 by A Smith.

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/whats_new.html

 

That A Smith is me! Very kind of you to say its great! My Dad decided to brave the weather today as he has never been to the Bluebell in the snow before, he got cold after one shot though! A video of the U class at the tunnel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGzQ6QlNTtM

 

A couple of photos from Sunday's heavily delayed Santa specials.

Rest up at http://5944.fotopic.net/c1794324.html

 

Great set of photos! Hope you found the journey worth while!

 

Cheers. Yeah, definitely worth it, despite stepping in cow pats and ending the day with frozen trousers! Thanks for posting the photos on Saturday night. I had thought about going down anyway, but wasn't sure how much snow was down that way. Even along parts of the M25 there was virtually nothing.