Good News from the Bluebell

Whilst 55 is in black, are there any plans to turn her out in the wartime southern black at some point, or to apply br livery before she goes back into the normal improoved engine green livery as she will only have a short time in traffic it might be a good way to show her in liveries she has never been seen in for many years

 

Ah, a livery debate before she is even finished!

Not speaking officially for the railway so who knows what the future holds, but I think, regardless of livery, having "Stepney" painted on the side is considered important.

Tom

(PS - I suppose you could have her in different liveries on each side, as Fenchurch ran in the late 1960s / early 1970s).

 

My guess would be that she'll remain in "Bluebell Black" (there, I've coined it!) until such a time as an overhaul begins.

 

i just think that it would attract more interest if at some stage as she is in black other livery veriations could be concidered , has stepney ever been turned out as 2655 with sunshire lettering during its preserved life how would that look on the southern stock or on a goods working?

 

Well what is it then?!

 

Go on then, I'll bite.

What is what, then?!

 

The Good News, presumably.

 

29 pages in?

 

Here's some good news.

Horsted Keynes Saturday 8th May approx 15.30 hrs, perm any 1/2/3 from 3 BBMF aircraft on a 'flypast'.

Lancs out with lump trouble at the mo.

 

BBMF engineering report on 26/4 gave it as due air tests on 27/4. Were these not successful?

 

A duff fuel cock from what I have read on their website and the FlyPast fourm. Moves are afoot to see if one can be borrowed from a gate guard Shackleton in Cornwall.

Regards,

Dan

 

Stepney was steam for the first time since going back into the works - see http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/whats_new.html for a photo.

Tom

 

Wow, what an effort by the loco works guys to get Steppers back in steam so quickly. Well done to all concerned 55 looks great.

 

The loco department ain't hanging about that's for sure.

 

The replacement cylinder block for 323 was recently re-fitted and the wheels being lined out, so rapid progress on that one too.

 

55 only got the absolute minimum done to it to get a certificate, still a great effort though. They couldn't have a 50th birthday without it in steam could they.

 

Yes, a superb effort. Next up will be Baxter followed by 323 Bluebell, plus of course the 'Birdcage' brake up at Horsted Keynes.

Regards,

Dan

 

I also noticed that they have £83K of the 100K that they want to have in hand to start work on excavating the tip by rail. Good luck to them with the ongoing fundraising.

 

Not quite. The £83k is the amount raised thus far from the sale of the 'Tenner for the Tip' certificates. The target is to raise at least £100k from these certificates.

Apart from the forthcoming 2-week trial of taking the waste out by rail, a very much larger sum of money still has to be raised (about £1m) before the clearance can begin for real.

Chris

 

Also on the http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/whats_new.html page: tracklaying from the north has now reached a point where it is visible from the tip.

Tom