Bluebell Motive Power

I must say I'm not surprised to hear that the 9F will be coming back for another 12 months after the Mid-Hants Gala. I guess the S15 and Q won't be ready for the Santa Specials so that would put tremendous strain on just the U and I'd guess double-heading the H & C to do the bulk of the Santa Specials. So having the 9F will help during the busy Xmas/New Year period and well into next Summer's work load.

 

I know the 9F's loan has been extended by a further 43 steaming days...Whether that means it will go back to the MHR and then return to the Bluebell or the 43 days take it up to the MHR Sept Gala i do not know. As said previously the Bluebell is short of big engines. It was said earlier in the year 847 would be ready in July and in reality 263 is only just going to make it's return in July (28th-29th) so it will be touch and go whether 847 will be ready for Santas.
What doesn't really help the situation is that over the weekend of 7th-8th July the Loco works at Sheffield Park will be open to the public and full of Model Railways as part of the Model Railway Weekend. Meaning work on everything in the works will effectively stop, further pushing the re-entry into traffic of the loco's. It's not just the weekend where work will be affected, in the lead up to the event work has had to stop on the engines and various parts moved or stored and the loco's removed from the works which in reality means you've lost the best part of a full working week either side of the event. In all a lot of effort for one weekend!

 

Yes it does seem odd when the guys working their butts off in the loco works are made to stop what their doing so a model railway exhibition can be put in there. When you consider the H was originally pencilled in to return to steam last November for what would've been the SECR gala, its now hoped to be ready at the end if July which effectively means its 8 months behind schedule. This in turn shows just how far behind the overall loco overhaul schedule is it surely doesn't help when the guys are told to stop working.

 

MHR want it for Thomas and the Gala, so it is coming to Ropley, before returning to SP later in the year. So in the 6 weeks off don't look for it in Sussex because it will be in Hampshire.

 

Photos (not mine) of the H class 263 newly outshopped in its gorgeous SECR livery.

H-Class 263 just out of the Paintshop,22/07/12 - a set on Flickr

Formal relaunch into service is next weekend, 28 - 29 July, when there will be a mini SECR gala with 4 SECR engines in service and the SECR birdcage brake, 100 seater and 4 wheeled brake 3rd wheelchair conversion amongst the carriages in service. See H Class 263 returns to service. - Special Events

Tom

 

Beautiful a great compliment to 178 and 592. Bring on 65 once again when the Q's finished. Going down Saturday to ride behind 263. First visit to the Bluebell this year strangely even though its my local line.

 

Gorgeous!

H class and C class head the birdcage brake and rest of the 1920s set out of Horsted Keynes

Tom (not my photo)

 

It's a cracking photo just a shame both locos aren't in SR livery to authentically match with the olive green SECR Birdcage Brake and the other non-corridor carriages or vice-versa.

 

Mind you the Q will look great on that set when she returns presuming she'll be outshopped in Southern Railway Black with the Maunsell style lettering thats applied to B473, 1638 and soon 847.

Also fingers crossed for Archie having seen Tom's post in the Bulleid thread and the Bluebell email update. Such a shame to see her out of steam the dock next to platform 2 at Sheffield Park.

 

Yes definitely agree, the prospect of the Q class and even the U boat & S15 double-heading hauling the 3 Maunsells together with the olive green non-corridor carriages will look brilliant. The H paired with the Four Wheelers and the Chatham wagons will look superb but that's the only rolling stock that 263 along with 592 and 178 will look authentic on at the moment. I really do hope that whenever the O1 is overhauled she's outshopped in Southern livery so we can finally have an authentic combination of Chatham loco paired with our olive green Birdcage Brake and 100 Seater carriages.

 

The O1 is privately owned by an individual (the only such loco on the Bluebell) and I think in the past he has always expressed a desire to see her in SECR livery.

So never say never, but...

Tom

 

Looks really great. Sorry to hear the news on 178, I hope this isn't as serious as it reads and the loco can be repaired and back in service soon.

Mark

 

Just announced on the Bluebell e-mail group today that Didcot's Pannier Tank no.3650 currently on the SVR might be visiting us to help cover the loco shortage of mid/large sized engines. 3650 had been planned to visit earlier this month but couldn't make it as work was needed to be done but the loco may still come once fully repaired. Also the 9F isn't due back at the Bluebell until mid-December.

 

Hmmm interesting especially as I thought 92212 was due to help with the Santa Specials. Any idea when she could turn up if it goes through. Maybe for the Sussex Branch Line Weekend.

 

Not sure, I guess maybe within the next month as soon as the Pannier is repaired. Not so sure this would be the headline visiting loco for the Sussex Branch Line gala as a Pannier wouldn't really be appropriate for the theme. Rather hoping 30120 would be hired in for this event but sadly can't see that happening :-(

 

With the Bluebell now having to hire in larger locos does this now show the Bluebell had the wrong policy with running smaller locos. I don't understand why they didn't overhaul 75027 or 92240 after they came out of service? Now with the extension not to far way from opening. The need for larger locos will be paramount. Surely a preserved line with around ten miles needs larger locos to cover this amount of distances over a working day.

 

I am not able to comment upon the particular circumstances of the Bluebell Railway but it is time we nailed this "we need big locos" business once and for all. Most tourist railways cannot handle trains of more than five or six vehicles because of platform lengths. The 25mph speed limit also reduces the horsepower requirement.

The shortage is of medium and small machines. These cost less to keep in fuel and lubricants. In decent condition they can do all that is required and, because of their size, cost less to keep in such condition.

P.H.

 

I've no idea why you think that a 10 mile line needs larger locos. The so-called small locos that the Bluebell (and othe railways) have are eminently able to cover such mileages several times a day. What did the KESR use in BR days and that line was considerably longer and had speeds greater than 25 mph? What does count is the load that the locos have to haul. This is the prime factor in determining what is suitable. The other main factor will be the availability of water, which was more readily obtainable in BR days but generally less so today.

Small locos cost a lot less to maintain and overhaul than big ones. You could probably build a new Terrier for what some large locos are costing to overhaul these days. Now there's a thought..............

 

The BR4 4-6-0 is a medium sized loco. The 9F is probably too large but, on the other hand, the BB continues to have its '9F Club' so I have always assumed that the railway would want to keep the engine in steam to keep up interest in the club. Apparently no so, but perhaps the needs of the extension came first, reasonably enough, and this may change later.

Personally I have always accepted the 'small to medium' policy but I'm at a loss to understand where the Class 0 and Class 1 engines - not to mention 'Captain Baxter' - came into this. These engines really cannot pull a decent sized train on their own, and the small Wainright P Class tank engines, which were intended by the SECR to pull two coach push-pull trains, were demoted before WW1 because they couldn't even do that and yet the BB has two of them in steamable condition.

The 'small to medium' policy was always supposed to encompass Power Classes 2 to 4 and as such made sense in the belt tightening era of the extension works. Now the railway has very few engines of these power classifications but a surfeit of Classes 0 and 1 which need to be double headed during the high season. This double heading adds to lubrication, coal and water costs not to mention the fact that it also requires two footplate crews for each service and aesthetically it just looks awful; utterly unrealistic.

Notwithstanding the virtues of the 'small to medium' policy, and there are many, the issue here is not the policy but the fact that it hasn't been adhered to, hence the need to hire in an engine.

Regards

 

Actually, for a line in "loco crisis", yesterday wasn't a bad day, with four engines in service: 1638 on set A; 323 on set B; B473 on a wedding charter and 592 on the Wealden Rambler. How many other lines around the country had four engines in steam yesterday?

And here is pause for thought: on set B, we had the birdcage brake, a hundred seater and LBSC 4 wheel first. That makes 72.5 tons for a seating capacity of brake compartment, 24 first class and 156 third class, or 180 seats in all. The same weight of Mk1s would have been two coaches - an SO plus BCK would be brake, 12 first and 88 third, or little more than half the seating capacity. Alternatively, to have run with a seating capacity of 180 seats would have taken 4 Mk1s and weighed about 150 tons...

We used one bunker of coal all day - say half a ton, to do 54 miles. That equates to less than 2oz coal per seat-mile. I suspect we wouldn't be getting such economy from more modern (*cough* BR Mk1 *cough*) rolling stock. So actually the answer to any perceived motive power shortage is more vintage carriages, not more large engines :smile:

Tom