Virtual Railfan - England and Wales - Bluebell Railway
Ex-Southern Railway West Country class (Spamcan) 4-6-2 21C123 "Blackmore Vale"
at Sheffield Park. 5/30/1982.
The Bluebell Railway runs from East Grinstead via Horstead Keynes to Sheffield Park in Sussex, south of London. At one time it was difficult to get to requiring a train and bus from London. It has now been extended back to East Grinstead where there is a convenient connection with the half hourly electric trains from London Victoria. The line concentrates on locomotives from the Southern Railway but with the connection at East Grinstead large engines from all over can easily be accommodated. The locomotives and equipment have been exquisitely restored.
London, Brightion and South Coast Railway 0-4-2 "Gladstone"
Tender detail from a South Eastern and Chatham C class 0-6-0
Exquisitely restored South Eastern and Chatham Railway H class 0-4-4T (31)263 The C and the H class were regular visitors to my home town, Orpington, but by then they were in a dirty, rusty black livery.
A USA class 0-6-0T 30064 built in the USA for war service and later purchased by the Southern Railway. Again, they rarely looked this glamorous in regular service.
South Eastern and Chatham P class 0-6-0T 323. It so happened that I took a short cycling holiday in Kent and Sussex in June 1960. On Sunday 26 June "Between Pevensy and Cooden we saw a P class 0-6-0T painted in original colours and numbered 323 on the tank in large numerals." it was being delivered to the Bluebell Railway from Ashford works.
An LMS Black five 4-6-0 at East Grinstead. The larger engines are required to haul to long trains of tourists.
A U class 2-6-0 (3)1638 on a passenger train at Horstead Keynes
Great care has also ensured the excellent restoration of the station buildings. This is Sheffield Park.
Sheffield Park entrance
Sheffield Park Booking Hall
Sheffield Park operating signal box,
At Sheffield Park there is an excellent museum filled with interesting railway goodies
The name plate from King Arthur class 4-6-0 No. 30767 was a reminder of a locomotive I saw many times in regular service
The museum contains a facsimile signal box with instruments and levers as well as a wheel to open and close crossing gates. The duster is authentic but the levers need to be polished with emery cloth.
The Bluebell Line does not have turntables so trains have to be run one way with the locomotive running backwards. Here is a Southern Railway Q class 0-6-0 arriving at Sheffield Park with a train from East Grinstead
If, by chance, you become bored with this wonderful railway, or maybe your better half becomes agitated, there are other delights to find in a day out.
National Trust Sheffield Park and Gardens are a short walk across fields from the station
On the way back to town, East Grinstead is worth a visit
And finally - a Bluebell wood
This recent video contains footage of South Eastern O class 0-6-0 65 which was built in 1896, rebuilt to O1 class in 1908.It was withdrawn in 1961 but was "lost"for some 30 years until discovered in a barn, acquired by the Bluebell Railway and put back into operation.
Safety (with tongue in cheek) during the pandemic
Click below to see my pictures taken during visits to the Bluebell Railway
Addendum
These two pictures of trains on the Bluebell were subsequently supplied by Bob Moore
SE&CR class A1X 0-6-0T Terrier Stepney
GWR Dukedog 0-6-0 9017
These two pictures were supplied by Brian Ward
Sheffield Park (British Railways) 18 March 1958 80158 is a Standard class 4 2-6-4T
East Grinstead (British Railways) 18 March 1958 on a train to Lewes. This line is now electrified
Going back to London Victoria, you have, Dormen's Station Road, Lingfield, Hurst Green, Oxted, and then Woldingham.
ReplyDeleteMy great grandfather, Rowe Bicknell, lived in Oxted until he died in 1946, 3 1/2 months after I was born. My great grandmother, Mary Ann Bicknell (nee Creasy) died in 1949, 14 months before my sister was born. My great grandfather was the manager of the sewage works in Oxted for a good part of his life. They are both buried in the Church of England cemetary in Oxted. I last visited Oxted (and the Bluebell) in 2010.
My grandfather, Albert Bicknell, was born in 1895 in Oxted. My grandmother was born in 1884 in Nutfield, a "suburb" of Oxted. They lived in Woldingham, a short train ride up from Oxted from around 1924 until my grandfather died in 1959. My mother lived in Woldingham from the time she was about 10 until she came to Canada (with me) in 1946.
So, I sort of have a connection to the Bluebell as this would be the route taken to go to the seaside.