Bluebell Northern Extension - so what's occurring then?

Looking at Philpots web site today. I can't believe how fast things are progressing now.

 

Yes, there has been real visible progress recently hasn't there ?

 

Oh, ye of little faith

Current DDD total is £111,488, or about 89% of the total hoped for. Remember, the DDD stays open until 6pm on Tuesday - all donations made up to then (up to a maximum of £125k) will be doubled.

The other fundraising news is that the continued heavy rain has caused another postponement of the Track Trek - this will now take place next year. When a new date in 2013 has been agreed all those who have signed up will be contacted. Where ballast has been laid, the ground is perfectly firm for walking on, but there still remains a few hundred yards in the middle where it simply wouldn't be safe to have 600 or so people walk across (twice in fact - once each way) in the current conditions. :rain:

Tom

 

Latest total for the DDD is £117,320, meaning less than £8,000 is needed by 6pm tomorrow to see the target reached. Looking tight, but fingers crossed!

Tom

 

Just a shameless "bump" and reminder that the Double Donation Dash has just four hours left. Current total is £119,420 - so not much more than £5,000 needed to meet the £125k target. Donations can be made online at Bluebell Railway is fundraising for Bluebell Railway Trust or by texting "BDDD99 £10" (or £1, £2, £3, £4, or £5) to 70070. Remember, with gift aid, every £10 donation is worth £22.50 to the railway as it aims to complete its extension to East Grinstead.

Tom

 

Just made a small donation - can't believe the total has gone up nearly £4k in the last two and a half hours since Tom's last update

 

Gonna be close. 15 mins left and its on £124,300 something.

 

Still time to donate - looks like someone forgot to put the clocks back and the deadline is actually 7pm. Call it 6pm BST (or something like that ... :smile

£135 to go ... oops, out of date, make that £125 ...going ... going ... gone!

Tom

 

Wooohooo it appears the target has been met. (£125,000 plus £6,551 in Gift Aid).

 

Indeed Dan, the target was reached a few minutes after my last post - hence the edit! The Gift Aid you quote is just that on the online donations that is tracked by JustGiving; to that you can add a much greater amount on the offline donations, but it might take a day or so for that to be announced. But after admin fees, it is likely the last two weeks has seen £275k or thereabouts raised towards the extension - so many many thanks to all who donated.

Will give a "progress on the ground" update later this evening, but right now I have children to put to bed!

Tom

 

Excellent stuff. The great day cometh closer.

 

The "on the ground" update:

Another 180 feet of track (six 30ft panels) was laid today. The sleeper spacings were adjusted, ready for the 30 foot rails to be replaced by 60 footers. It might seem a slightly odd way of proceeding, but because the 30 foot panels are already made up (from their use in the engineers' siding), then laying them first is a quicker way to pick up, move and position all the sleepers at once, rather than lay the track sleeper by sleeper. The new drainage system is working really well, and despite the recent rain the ballast is as dry as a bone, even dusty!

That leaves the railhead about 120 feet short of Hill Place Farm bridge, so the track will be in the cutting, heading south, very soon - maybe even tomorrow.

The usual John Sandys photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14142720@N00/sets/72157631944774088/with/8161582912/.

Elsewhere, the Friends of Kingscote have painted the cattle creep south of the tip and generally tidied up the vegetation under the arch. There is also an article from "This is Sussex" showing how much the extension means to the residents of east Grinstead: photos and article here: http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/ext/extprog.html#6nov12.

Tom

 

Fantastic! Considering it's only a few months since the last appeal for funds, to have raised this amount is an amazing achievement. Wish I could have given more, but still, the target was reached, which is the main thing.

Oh for some drier weather! The Met Office have been promising a drier spell for sme time, but they keep putting its arrival back. All things considered, the extension team have made great progress.
I can still remember the opening day to Kingscote. Amazong to think it was over 18 years ago. I would love to be there on the first day of operating to EG. Hopefully only a few months to go now.

 

Congratulations to the Bluebell. I am so glad I put my hand in my pocket for this project!

Foxy

 

Same here. Just a few quick questions. How many supporters pledged to match the £125,000 and will this be enough to fully complete the extension. I really hope so.

 

The day after the night before, and here is the bit of news that a lot of people I'm sure are after: To quote Roger Kelly (the Bluebell's fundraising director):

And from Roy Watts (BRPS Chairman):

So there is the answer to the funding gap. The positive is that just a couple of year's ago, we were looking at a funding gap of £4 million, and now it is down to just £150 - £200k. The negative is that that is still not a completely trivial amount of money. So some fundraising will still have to continue: the Track Trek, it is hoped, will raise £20k or so. The on-train "fiver for the finish" collections will carry on up to the start of the Santa season, and, stamina and willingness of the volunteers permitting, in the new year. But the DDD125 should be the last major push for funding of the extension.

Oh, and the track reached the entrance of the cutting today...

Edit: Dan - the identities of the person or people who put up the initial £125k (or even whether it was a person, or a trust or similar) is a closely guarded secret, naturally enough. So I don't have an answer to your question, and I suspect I might never have. But FWIW, the spring DDD apparently had six donors who put up the initial £40k - read into that as much or as little as you want.

Tom

 

Tom,

Thank you for these helpful updates. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has greatly appreciated your efforts.

 

So, what is the Bluebell going to charge for the first driver experience train(s) over the extension? They have to put a premium on that, surely?

Foxy

 

I think for about quarter of a million or so, you can not only have the first course, but can have it on your own choice of loco - if you are prepared to wait for it to be restored!

Joking aside, it's too early to say - at the moment, we don't even have a driver experience course; nor is there any detail on how the "opening day" is likely to be run, though at a guess, I'd suggest at a minimum 55, 323 will be involved on the motive power front (how could we have an opening day without them?), and it is highly likely that one of the trains will be the largest possible capacity vintage set we can get within available platform length. (Think: Mets + current Edwardian set?) But what it will cost, how tickets will be allocated etc etc is all unknown at the moment.

Incidentally, on the question of gradients. There still isn't a published gradient diagram. But rumour is that from Kingscote, the line is 1:75 until half a mile before the summit, whereupon it steepens to 1:55. there is then a level stretch at the summit (rather than a "sawtooth") followed by a 1:60 descent from the summit down to the viaduct. If true - and I believe that this is the case - that half mile of 1:55, coming after about a mile of 1:75, is rather more challenging than I had first been led to believe, and will certainly have some impact on our acceptable load limits.

Tom

 

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