Bluebell Railway web site:
Site Update Archive 2012

Please be aware that due to the historical nature of this page, some of the links on it may be out of date.

Also see the 2011, the 2010, the 2009, the 2008, the 2007, the 2006, the 2005, the 2004, the 2003, the 2002, the 2001, the 2000, the 1999 and the 1997-8 "What was new" archive pages.

Web-site Update Archive 2012

• David Haggar takes us back to 1999 in the photo on the right, with the visit of J36 No.65243 "Maude" at the 1999 Giants of Steam. The loco had been brought down from Scotland for the filming of The Railway Children. It is part of a new web album of scans from slides taken during Giants of Steam galas between 1996-2007.

• Double Donations Dash - Many thanks to everyone who has donated!
  "Funding for the Finish" is off to a fantastic start, thanks to so many generous supporters of the Extension project. By the time all the loose ends have been wrapped up it looks as though we'll hit £200,000 in donations, match funding and Gift Aid reclaims as a result of the last 7 days. This has reduced our funding gap for the extension to £600,000 (which is still a lot of money!) - if anyone had intended to contribute to the Double Donations Dash, but hasn't managed to, then why not sponsor Bluebell volunteer Lorna Webb on her London Marathon Run, or simply donate to the Funding for the Finish appeal? With your help we can do it!

• Our Chairman, Roy Watts, spoke on BBC Radio Sussex this morning about the success of the Double Donations Dash. You can hear him on iPlayer at 1hr 27 into the programme, and there's also a report on the BBC web site.

• We have another of David Haggar's newly scanned slides below, showing 5690 "Leander" departing Horsted Keynes during the 2004 Giants of Steam.

• The other photos below were taken yesterday by Tony Sullivan. No.92212 already looks at home on shed at Sheffield Park, and inside the works there's progress with No.73082 "Camelot", which has its new rear dragbox in place ready for riveting. The upside-down boiler in the background is that of S15 No.847.

• Derek Hayward's photo on the right shows No.B473 preparing to take over the Pullman train, last Sunday at Kingscote.

• Double Donations Dash - donations continue to pour in!
  Donate online or download the appeal leaflet
  The fantastic response to the first initiative in our "Funding for the Finish" appeal continues, as we received a further £11,928 in donations in the post this morning, with still more being donated online. We will need to continue to push fund raising throughout the rest of the year, though, since there's still a lot of money to spend before we can complete the extension.

• Our Chairman, Roy Watts, should be on Radio Sussex on Friday morning after the 7:30am news speaking about the success of the Double Donations Dash.

• Robert Philpot took some photos of the C-class shunting at Horsted Keynes today. The photos are at the bottom of this album.

• John Sandys has a series of photos taken at Sheffield Park this afternoon, showing the C-class returning from its shunting, the newly arrived 9F and also work on the canopy, the running in board, and the first-floor window frames.

• Update to the Loco Roster showing expected loco usage to the end of May.

• Updates to the Operational Locos and Loco stock list pages, to add No.92212, with a link also to its comprehensive web page on their web site.
  Updates to the Carriage stock list and the page for Bulleid carriage No.1456, because of the latter's departure for a 25-year period on loan to the Mid Hants Railway.

• Another series of updates from Derek on the HLF projects at Sheffield Park:
  • Sheffield Park Carriage Shed
    "The facility is virtually complete with just some very minor works in progress. To avoid the obvious question, the shed is empty because the S&T were working on the signals, The current gallery features their work in more detail. It is impossible to appreciate the amount of wiring and other work that is required for these projects, and because so much of the work is hidden in trunking and cabinets it often appears that "nothing is happening". The reverse is actually the case, with many people very busy indeed. My thanks to the S&T team for facilitating access to the signals and apparatus cases."
    Derek's first photo below shows the shunt signal giving access to the shed from the Pump House siding. The route indicator can show A, B or C for the shed, D for the Milk Dock, and 2 for the exit to platform 2.
  • Wash Out Pit
    "The area is virtually complete, and looks very smart indeed (congratulations to anyone involved in the "finishing touches")." In addition to that below, there are more photos available in this gallery.
  • New Loco Lobby (above Workshops)
    The concrete has been poured in the foundations, as seen below and here.

• The photo on the right is from a gallery of photos taken yesterday evening by Michelle Barton, showing that on-hire 9F No.92212 has arrived at Sheffield Park. It also shows Southern Railway Bulleid open third No.1456, which is the return load, going on 25-year loan to the Mid Hants Railway to enable them to run a 3-coach Bulleid set once restored.

• New web page created to host the first of what should be roughly quarterly Bluebell Safety Newsletters, intended for staff and volunteers. The Newsletters are principally distributed on paper via departments on the Railway, but are also being made available on the web site to ensure the widest possible coverage.

• The first two photos below, from Derek Hayward, show more of Sunday's trains, with the U-class arriving at Kingscote, and the Standard 4 tank at the north end of the station awaiting the arrival of the next train, which it will then haul. This photo also shows the engineering work taking place beyond.
  The news from Kingscote yesterday is that the first renewed point has now been connected up.

• The final photo below, also from Derek, shows progress with the H-class in the loco works, with the side tanks and boiler cladding now in place.

• Double Donations Dash - We are truly overwhelmed by the response!
  Donate online or download the appeal leaflet
  As reported yesterday, we have surged way past our increased target of £50,000. And then this morning's post brought another 223 donations, taking the total received in the appeal so far, online and through cheques, to a staggering £82,000, to which will be added the match funding and the Gift Aid reclaim. Clearly money will continue to come in for the rest of the week, and indeed, that's all to the good, since we still need to raise many hundreds of thousands more this year to complete the extension.
  Once we've counted it all, we'll report the final outcome next week, and how much still remains to be raised.

• Derek Hayward's photo on the right shows No.80151 approaching Leamland Bridge, last Sunday, unusually with the Maunsell set because of the change of locos at Kingscote.

• On Sunday 8 and Monday 9 April we have Easter Specials running in addition to our normal public service.
  Little Bo Peep will be travelling on the 11am, 1pm & 3pm services from Sheffield Park with Easter gifts for the children and a Hot Cross Bun for the adults - must be booked in advance by calling 01825 720800. Generous discounts are available if booked before 31 March.

• Martin Lawrence just put up a few photos from Sunday 25th March.

• This video compilation from the Foundry Film Service reflects the great progress made on our Northern Extension in the last decade (and indeed starts with material shot at East Grinstead in 1987), which helps put the coming year into perspective - we really are nearly there - but please don't let up on the fund raising!

• The first two photos below, from Derek Hayward, show more of Sunday's trains, with the U-class at Leamland bridge, and the E4 passing the advanced starter on departure from Kingscote with the lunchtime Golden Arrow. The full gallery of images of Sunday's service trains is here.

• The final photo below, also from Derek, shows the track work under way to prepare for the opening of the extension next year, which necessitated the engine changes at Kingscote over the weekend. Pictures of the works at the north end of Kingscote (taken with permission from positions of safety) are temporarily on page 1 of the Kingscote Station gallery.

• Double Donations Dash - Target exceeded already - but we're not stopping there!
  Donate online or download the appeal leaflet

  Due to the fantastic generosity of our donors we already have passed our revised target of £50,000 for matching funding for this week. Further donations are still very welcome, and although they will therefore not be matched, are still needed as we endeavour to raise the full total of £800,000 we need to complete the Northern Extension Project.

  We have approached another sponsor to see if donations already made over the target can be matched and will hear on Friday. Further unmatched donations may be made via the various means described on the main appeal web site, or you may wish to support Lorna Webb, one of our volunteers who is running the London Marathon to raise funds for the Northern Extension Project.

• The Double Donations Dash is off to a great start. Over the weekend, over £14,000 had been donated, but today that total has soared above £34,000.
  Stop Press: As a result of the generosity of our sponsors a further sum of match funding has become available and the target revised to £50,000. This is excellent news and shows the belief that we will complete the project early next year.
  You can Donate online or download the appeal leaflet.

• Sunday saw the dedication of the Porch at Horsted Keynes in memory of Simon Baker, by the Chaplain. Derek Hayward's photos on the left and below show the dedication itself and the guests, (L to R) Ian Fribbens, Tom Bradbury, Barry Morgan, The Chaplain, Andrew Baker (Simon's brother and also a volunteer) and our volunteer carpenters, Roy Wright and John Copeland. Derek has also added five pictures to the start of his Horsted Keynes Station collection.

• Tim Baker passes on his congratulations and thanks to all Bluebell volunteers and staff who were involved in running the railway on Saturday, which was a very busy day, with plenty of visitors drawn by the fantastic spring sunshine! With work on the extension taking the run-round at Kingscote out of service, we had 5 locos in steam to operate the four trains running, with a change of locos each time at Kinsgcote. In addition to the two timetabled passenger trains we ran a sold-out Wealden Rambler afternoon Tea train, hosted a Wedding at Horsted Keynes, with the subsequent reception on our Golden Arrow Pullman train, plus a large Children's tea party in Birch Grove Room, and a private charter on the GNR Directors' Saloon. Meanwhile the S&T were busy at Sheffield Park completing the signalling to the new shed which is about to be commissioned, and the track gangs were of course at work re-laying track at the north end of Kingscote station. Quite appart from the Double Donations Dash, two Tenner for the Tip / Funding for the Finish collectors raised over £540.00 on the trains. The day did not stop there for the Bluebell. The Catering and Customer Service Teams then went on to Highbrook where the Bluebell also provided the evening catering for the happy couple and their guests.

• Our web site also had a tough day on Saturday, with the server used for the .co.uk site suffering a major failure, for which we apologise. Following a 13-hour stint on the railway one of our volunteers then went in to London to fix the server! The Double Donations Dash was hosted on two other servers, and was therefore largely unaffected.

• Double Donations Dash - Help us complete the Bluebell's Northern Extension
  Donate online or download the appeal leaflet

  Between now and 30th March 2012 donations made for the Northern Extension Project will be matched pound for pound by major supporters of the Railway.

  If you are eligible for Gift Aid as well, this will turn a £10 donation into £22.50 for the Extension Project.

  The target is to raise £40,000 through online donations and donations made by cheque - to release the £40,000 offered as match funding. Any money raised beyond the £40,000 will be used for the Extension project, but will not attract match funding.

  To download a Double Donations Dash form to be sent with your cheque, to arrive on or before 30th March click here. This is a PDF form, which you can then open using a free viewer such as Acrobat Reader.
  Alternatively you can donate online via justgiving.com/Bluebell-DDD.

• News update on the East Grinstead Extension featuring both current work in progress and the Double Donations Dash.

• Jon Horrocks' photo of 92212 on the Mid Hants Railway on 13 September 2009 serves to illustrate the imminent arrival (later this week) of the loco, which will be on hire to the Bluebell until 5th August. The 9F is planned to enter service on Good Friday. Jon has more photos of the engine here.

• Our next lineside photographers PTS course dates are Wednesday 18th April and Friday 15th June 2012.

• At the annual trade model and hobby show last week Bachmann had Pre-Production Samples of the SECR C-class loco due for release later this year. A report and photos are available on Graham Muspratt's web site.

• Martin Lawrence's photo on the right shows the March volunteer recruitment Find Out More Day group in the booking office at Kingscote. The next such day is Sunday 1st April, so if you fancy seeing behind the scenes accross the whole Railway, with a view to joining us a volunteer, do get in touch via the details on the Find Out More Days page. Martin now has a full gallery from the Behind the scenes day on 4th March and also some photos of the new point motor and route indicator for the new Carriage Shed at Sheffield Park, taken on Sunday 18th.

• Double Donations Dash - Starts this Saturday
  As part of The Bluebell Railway's Funding for the Finish campaign to complete its Northern Extension Project in early 2013, donations made in the week 24-30 March will be matched pound for pound by major supporters of the Railway, who have pledged up to £40,000. If you are eligible for Gift Aid as well, this will turn a £10 donation into £22.50 for the Extension Project.
  You can download a Double Donations Dash form to be sent with your cheque, to arrive on or before 30th March. This is a PDF form, which you can then open using a free viewer such as Acrobat Reader. The JustGiving page will be available from 24 March.

• Two videos from Gary and Philip Bull, showing E4-class No.B473 in action, and P-class No.178 with the Vintage Goods Trains on Saturday 10 March.

• Keith Duke has some pictures from a rather damp visit to the Bluebell last Saturday.

• Work has started at Kingscote to change the points and realign the track at the north end of the station. Meanwhile the Friends of Kingscote are continuing with various tasks. The activity at Kingscote on Tuesday is on pages 1 and 2 in Derek Hayward's Kingscote gallery. Please note that these picture were taken from a position of safety away from the work site. The use of a very long lens shortens the distances in the pictures.
  The work on the track at Kingscote will result in trains this weekend changing engines at Kingscote, resulting in an impromptu "mini-gala" featuring 4 or 5 locos.

• The first photo below, from Derek Hayward, shows the installation of new memorial tablets in the garden at Horsted Keynes on Tuesday. Families have the option of being present when the tablet is installed, or having it installed as soon as it is available. Further pictures can be found half way down page 3 in his gallery featuring the Memorial Garden. The garden is becoming increasing popular and some individuals are now reserving spaces for their slabs! Unfortunately there are also footprints on the planted beds showing that some visitors are not too fussy where they stand to view or photograph trains. There are other suitable locations for this, so we'd like to politely suggest that people use these vantage points instead.

• Derek's next two photos below show the foundations for the new loco facilities above the workshop, with reinforcing rods installed on Tuesday prior to further concrete pouring later in the week - more photos here.

• Another update to Derek's Sheffield Park Station collection shows progress on Platform 1 (at the bottom of page 1 and extend onto page 2). The scaffolding has been extended to allow access to other parts of the building (as seen in the final photo below), and the running-in board is also being refurbished.

• Derek Hayward's photo on the right shows No.80151 approaching Leamland Bridge, last Saturday.

• Sam Brown has now edited the video he took at the Vintage Trains Gala last November - well worth a look!

• Four of Mike Hopps' "old-style" posters are now hanging in the Bessemer Arms and arrangements have been made for the shop at Sheffield Park to order copies of these and others from the series, for interested customers. The range is already available in smaller sizes, and should prove as iconic as the series of 6 posters the Bluebell produced back in the 1980s.

• The first two photos below, from Derek Hayward, show work in progress last Saturday with the concreting of the walkway down the side of the new Carriage Shed, and the way the cables are ducted beneath the concrete. A further 18 new photos showing the work being done to complete the Carriage Shed are included in this gallery.

• The final photo, also from Derek, shows the washout pit, also as of last Saturday at an advanced state. The blue container is the old grit-blasting container, which has been refurbished, for use as storage. Again, further photos of the Washout Pit are available.

• LBSCR E4 No.B473 is seen on the right at New Coombe Bridge in Derek Hayward's photo taken on Saturday.

• Ben Gray has some photos from a visit to the Bluebell on Sunday.

• Martin Lawrence captured this video (on his mobile phone) of yesterday's shunt at Sheffield Park which at one point involved the C-class moving 11 carriages.

• As part of our "Funding for the Finish" campaign to complete the Northern Extension we are currently building up to the Double Donations Dash. Half a dozen individual sponsors have promised up to £40,000 if that amount can be matched by online, cash, and cheque donations made between 24 and 30 March. Full details will be published in Bluebell News, in a special edition of our online eNewsletter, and of course on this web site, from 24 March. Why not sign up to the eNewsletter - it's free, and the next regular fortnightly edition is due this weekend.

• The first photo below (from Derek Hayward) shows there's real progress in the holes alongside the loco works, with piling in place and a trench prepared, ready for the foundations for the "Above Workshop Facilities" (new loco lobby) - more photos here. Derek's next photo shows S&T work in progress inside (and in the cramped conditions under the floor of) Sheffield Park Signal Box, to complete the signalling alterations required for the operational use of the new Carriage Shed. The third photo from Derek shows work continuing on Platform 1 at Sheffield Park, with progress evident on the canopy staunchions and their foundations, on the external cladding of the signal box, and on the first-floor window frame, amongst other things. The work on Platform 1 is featured in more detail in this photo gallery.

• With buffer stops now costing in excess of £3,000 each, and as we have run out of old ones, the Infrastructure Department have been experimenting with creating new rail built buffers for the new dock road and the washout pit headshunt. Although it is not exactly a new idea, we don't have the capability for large scale hot bending which is usually required and so alternative designs have been drawn up which just require gusset plates and drilling. In both these locations lack of space precluded a rear support, though plans are in hand to include this in future installations. Now that drawings, accurate measuring and drilling have been proven, it is possible to make these in the yard for later installation 'Meccano' style. Old LBSC 'P' chairs are cut in half to hold the timber and softwood sacrificial pads are nailed to the front. Traditional lamps have been restored and supplied by the S & T Department. Mike Hopps' photos below show these newly made buffer stops at Sheffield Park.

• Tony Sullivan's photo shows Dame Vera Lynn helping Bernard cut his birthday cake at this afternoon's party. Bernard was in fine form and a short item appeared at the end of the 6.00pm ITV Meridian News, in which he mentioned amongst other things travelling to East Grinstead next year! Available on ITV-player - 25 minutes into the programme.

• Derek Hayward's photo on the right shows No.178 hauling the first of this year's Vintage Goods Trains, on Saturday.

• We wish our President, Bernard Holden MBE, many congratulations his 104th Birthday today.

• The updated version of our 2012 timetable leaflet is now available.

• In the early morning on Saturday, Jon Bowers organised a photo charter using the P-class with the vintage goods train - David Haggar has a photo gallery and video clip.

• Dan Green has a video of the goods train to YouTube.

• The first photo below shows No.178 with Saturday's vintage goods train, and is from Kieran Hardy.

• The next photo, from Derek Hayward, shows the H-class coming together in the loco works at Sheffield Park. Derek has a gallery of photos from Saturday, and caught (on camera) the cause of some late running - a sheep, which decided it would like to train as a signalman, later recovered by the farmer (more photos of which are in Derek's gallery).

• The final photo, courtesy of the West London Line Group, shows our 4Vep unit No.3417 "Gordon Pettitt" on the move. The photo was taken from the passenger footbridge at West Brompton on Monday as the unit was moved from Clapham Yard to Wimbledon Park (taking a roundabout route to turn it). There are three photos on the 423417_Gordon_Pettit twitter feed showing it on arrival at Wimbledon Depot, where it should now be actively "looked after" in a way it has not been since leaving Eastleigh. The most recent photos show that "Gordon" has already been having fun at Wimbledon, being used "on the juice" to shunt "Tornado" which is there for tyre-turning.

• Patrick Plane's photo, taken yesterday, shows No.178 shunting inside the new carriage shed at Sheffield Park, and below, removing some of the engineering wagons from the shed. With the final concreting within the shed now being done, the shed is expected to be handed over for full operational use next Wednesday.

• BRPS Chairman Roy Watts reminds us that our President, Bernard Holden MBE, will celebrate his 104th Birthday on 15 March. Bernard is in good health, being well cared for and enjoying himself in St Clares Care Home, Ditchling which is not far from the family home. The care home will be celebrating the occasion by laying on a party for Bernard and a number of Bluebell people past and present are expected to be in attendance.
  If anyone wishes to send a card or greeting to Bernard to mark this very special occasion, the address is:
            St Clares Care Home
            St Georges Park, Ditchling Road
            Ditchling Common, RH15 0GU

  Without doubt the main topic of conversation at his party will be the latest progress being made on the extension to East Grinstead - as we know, the firm favourite of Bernard's!

• Update to the Football Competition page, with the latest positions in this competition raising funds for the overhaul of our Southern Railway Maunsell Dining Saloon No.7864.

• Another great video from Gary and Philip Bull, from 26th February.

• Chris Jennings has added some 1970's Bluebell shots (and more on page 2) to his website.

• Fred Bailey and David Jones have provided an update to the Brighton Atlantic Project News page, including the photo here, showing the second of the cylinder liners being fitted to the cylinder, and the two photos below show a wire-erosion cut axlebox crown, and our version of the "Hulburd's continuous metallic seal", four of which are used to make a steam-tight seal between the cylinders and the valve chest, creating the steam passages through the frames.

• The Bluebell was used as a location in the big new film John Carter from Disney, and features in this trailer.

• We will be staging a Model Railway Weekend on 7th and 8th July. It will be held on the platforms and in the waiting rooms at both Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes, and there will also be special events in the Loco and Carriage and Wagon Workshops together with Model Railway Layouts and Trade Stands. We will also be operating our normal train service as per the timetable.
  If you are interested in having a stand, please contact Nikki Favell via our Shop.

• Dave Bowles has published his on-line book of "Steam Action 2010" which, needless to say, features the Bluebell to a significant extent.

• John Sandys paid a flying visit to Sheffield Park today, and provides photos including 178 shunting, work in the Loco Yard, and finishing off the concreting of the Carriage Shed, plus a video showing No.178 shunting the service set.

• Tony Hayllar's photo on the right shows the wet and misty conditions at Horsted Keynes on Sunday, as 80151 departs southwards from Horsted Keynes. His photo below shows 592 at Three Arch Bridge the same day.

• Update to the 50th Anniversary Appeal web site, to include the latest information on the Northern Extension Project and Funding for the Finish.

• As part of the agreement for the joint Metrobus / Bluebell promotion of Bus Route 270, improvements have been made to the timetable on the route, which will take effect from 14th April. This provides an improved service from Horsted Keynes station back to East Grinstead each Saturday this year, while we await completion of our Northern Extension, which should be completed next Easter.

  

• Next Saturday, 10 March, is our first Goods Train day for the year. There will be a vintage goods train running, hauled by SECR P-class No.178, in addition to the normal hourly 2-train service of passenger trains. The timetable for the additional goods trains is shown here.

• A snippet of loco news - the H-class boiler was craned into its frames yesterday, and it's now all hands on deck to re-assemble the loco, so that the painting can be completed. No re-launch date for No.263 has yet been decided.

• John Sandys visited Sheffield Park yesterday and took a few photos of ongoing work on the canopy, and around the station.

• Martin Lawrence's photo below shows the excellent turn-out on Sunday for this month's volunteer recruitment Find Out More Day. The group is being shown the LBSCR Bogie First No.7598, which is currently being lettered and lined by Tony Funnell in the paint shop at Horsted Keynes.

• New recruit to our brigade of lineside photographers, Jan Kool provides this photo of C-class No.592 as it approaches Rock Cutting on Saturday, with the three SR Maunsell coaches in tow.

• Paul Pettitt has just put some of his older Bluebell photos and videos on YouTube: firstly a video from 2002, and the second a slide show which he made in 2007, including some Bluebell photographs from 2004 until the early summer of 2007 - worth view as a record of that period.

• Joseph Wright's photo shows the 4.17pm departure from Horsted Keynes on Saturday, as it passes over New Road Bridge.

• Metrobus are promoting our joint marketing campaign for the 270 bus route. You get £2.50 off your Bluebell train fare when you visit the Railway using route 270 from Haywards Heath or East Grinstead. Just show your bus ticket or key card at Horsted Keynes Station booking office. More details.

• Sussex Living magazine are carrying details of Lorna Webb's London Marathon run to raise money for our Northern Extension Project on the 22nd April, as part of our Funding for the Finish campaign. You can sponsor Lorna via JustGiving.

• Today's photo is a reminder of happier days for 21C123 'Blackmoor Vale' as it makes its departure from Horsted Keynes on 23 October 2007. The Bulleid Society are however making progress in purchasing the components for a new firebox for this loco, with new thermic syphons now in stock, as reported at the beginning of the year.

• The special "Extension Update" edition (27 February) of our free eNewsletter is now available on the eNewsletter archive. If you don't already receive it, why not sign up here to get the eNewsletter regularly by e-mail as soon as it is published.

• The Bluebell Railway Trust has just received £454.55 from eBay for Charity, as a result of items sold on eBay by individuals who have agreed to part of the sale price coming to the Trust, to help complete our Extension. We have also just received some very useful GiftAid payments from MissionFish as a result of these sales/donations.
  You can buy or sell items to benefit the extension project though this link.

• Dave Braley has uploaded a couple of galleries to Flickr of the Bluebell during the snow in February: one from Horsted Keynes and a second of photos taken around Sheffield Park.

• Reporting the start of the last phase of work on our Northern extension, and pushing our "Funding for the Finish" appeal, our Chairman, Roy Watts, was interviewed on Sussex Breakfast this morning. UK residents can hear the interview at 1hr 43min, and also with an interview with Nicholas Owen at 2hr 23min via the BBC iPlayer for the next few days. There's also an article on the BBC web site.

• During February 2012 there were 82,062 total hits on this page, from 47,957 unique visitors.

• Derek Hayward's photo shows S&T work in progress at Kingscote in preparation for the opening of the extension.

• Extension News: The final year - Funding for the Finish.
  Details of:
  • A New Phase: News from the Northern Extension Project - We have effectively met our 1 April deadline for waste clearance. Further waste trains are unlikely, and even if a relatively small amount of waste still needs to be moved, we have plans in place. Both undertaking this work and also raising the funding required by the deadline has been a magnificent effort by staff, volunteers, and other donors. However, we cannot let up, as there is much more to be done...
  • Northern Extension Project Funding Update - In order to finish the Northern Extension Project (NEP), we need to cover the remaining funding gap of approximately £800,000 and see the NEP paid for by the time scheduled services to East Grinstead start in the spring of 2013. To raise this money, the Railway is launching the "Funding for the Finish" campaign...
  • Double Donations Dash details finalised - 24 to 30 March - help us to release £40,000 in match funding...
  • Marathoner to Go the Distance for NEP - BRPS member Lorna Webb is taking part in the London Marathon on 22 April, to raise funds for the Northern Extension Project (NEP)...
  • Goodbye Tenner for the Tip - towards the end of March a new scheme called "Fiver for the Finish" will be launched as part of the Funding for the Finish Campaign. "Tenner for the Tip" has raised in excess of £230,000, primarily by a stalwart team of on-train promoters...
  See all this news in detail on the Extension News page.

• Derek Hayward provides the photo below showing Q-class No.541 in Sheffield Park shed, ready for its boiler lift. He has further photos available - scroll down page 1.

  To tie in with yesterday's news of progress towards steam running for the Underground 150 celebrations next year, here's another of Derek's photos, from his gallery from the visit of Met Loco No.1 for the relaunch of the Bluebell's Met coaches in 2007.

• Derek Hayward again provides today's photo, with Sunday 19th February's sunshine offering this shot of 80151 passing the advance starter at Kingscote.

• Keith Duke has several pictures of "Fenchurch" in his gallery from the weekend's Brighton Modelworld.

• Leon Daniels's blog has a report and video about Saturday night's test of steam at Baker Street, which hopefully paves the way for the planned celebration of 150 years of Underground Railways next year, which could involve our four Metropolitan Railway carriages being used alongside Met "Jubiliee" coach No.353, behind the currently-under-overhaul Met Loco No.1.

• Derek has a photo update on the Wash Out Pit project. Tests of the facilities have generally been most encouraging, although possible improvements to the drainage of the bottom of the pit are under investigation. The pit can accommodate two locomotives at once, and the foul water is being adequately treated in the new settlement tanks provided for the purpose under the staff car park. The first photo below shows that the remaining concreting is in progress.

• Work to refurbish the canopy on Platform 1 at Sheffield Park has enabled scaffolding to be erected so as to enable work on the first-floor window by the Friends of Sheffield Park. Again Derek provides a photo update, and that below. As can be seen, the repairs to the foundations must be complete, since the scaffolding no longer supports the canopy woodwork, which also no-longer droops.

• Brighton Modelworld opened yesterday and continues this weekend. The Bluebell provides a focal point with LBSCR No.72 "Fenchurch" carrying the lettering "Loco Dept. Brighton Works", as seen here in Modelworld's own publicity photo. Contrary to reports in the local press, this is an original Brighton-built loco of 1872, the first of the famous Stroudley Terriers to enter service, and is not a replica of the Terrier in the National Railway Museum! The Bluebell is also home to a second Terrier, No.55 "Stepney".

  The Bluebell is well represented at the exhibition, with stands for the Bluebell itself, the Brighton Atlantic Group, The Fenchurch Fund, and the 73082 Camelot Locomotive Society. Barry Jones is also there with his sales stand, as are the Pullman Society.

• With continued publicity for the Bluebell as a result of our use as a location in "The Woman in Black", such as last Saturday's great plug for us in the Daily Mail (it was better in the printed paper than on-line), our next major film appearance follows in early March. We feature in the trailer for Disney's John Carter; the filming on the railway involved our Dukedog locomotive, and the Metropolitan and Great Northern carriages.

• Two photos below from David Haggar illustrating his new album of scans of photos from Branch Line Weekends between 1996 and 2007. 75027 is seen hauling the 3-coach Maunsell set (then consisting of Nos.6686, 1309 and 6575) at the 1998 event, and Stroudley Terrier No.672 "Fenchurch" with the three Metropolitan coaches that had been overhauled by the time of the 2003 Branch Line weekend.

• Southern perfection - Maunsell U-class No.1638 passes the Sheffield Park advance starter with three matching Maunsell carriages in tow in Derek Hayward's photo from Sunday.

• Northern Extension:
  • As per the December report, the Imberhorne tip site currently remains closed down for the winter.
  • A new phase of fund-raising is being prepared to provide the funding to finish the project. The preparations for this renewed appeal are well advanced, and there will be an update on the Northern Extension and fundraising in a newsletter to be published on Monday. You can sign up to receive our regular free e-mail newsletters here.
  • Just 9 days remain in which to purchase Tenner for the Tip certificates. "TfT" has been a hugely important part of enabling many of our visitors, as well as regular supporters, to contribute collectively a very significant sum to the construction of our extension and the clearing of the tip. The final push to complete the extension will build on this important contribution.

• News update from the Maunsell Locomotive Society on S15 No.847, U No.1618 and Q No.541.

• The Bulleid Society have a news update on their carriage No.5768.

• Confirmation in The Independent that our Railway is in a nice part of the country!

• Another superb video, capturing the essence of the Bluebell from Saturday from Gary and Philip Bull.

• Dave Bowles took these magnificent photos whilst out with the P-way gang on Sunday - he claims they spent their time drinking tea and drilling for oil.

• Keith Duke provides a few pictures from Saturday morning - mainly featuring No.80151.

• Photo gallery from Ben Gray from 13th February.
  
  
• As seen in Michael Hopps' photo on the right and Derek Hayward's below, the steam crane was roused from a long slumber in the siding at Kingscote on Tuesday, and moved down to Horsted Keynes, where it is planned to initially carry out a cosmetic and running-gear overhaul, about which more in the coming weeks.
  • Martin Lawrence provides photos and a video of the movement.
  • John Harwood provides coverage of the steam crane as it passes West Hoathly on its way to Horsted Keynes, including the stop made to check the axleboxes.

• Derek Hayward's next photo shows work in hand to complete the trackwork in the new carriage shed at Sheffield Park. Derek also has an update to the gallery for this project with more photos.

• For those members keen to look into every hole, here's the piling progressing for the foundations for the new loco lobby (above the workshops) at Sheffield Park. Again there is an updated photo gallery for this.

• Derek also has new photos in his galleries for Locos 75027 and 92240, which are being re-painted at Horsted Keynes and the newly extended frames for 84030 in Sheffield Park shed (never an easy place to take photos).

• David Chappell was out with the Sunday P-way gang when he took this late afternoon photo of B473 heading the Golden Arrow luncheon train at Caseford Bridge yesterday.

• The first of this year's Goods Train Days is planned for Saturday 10 March, with loco No.178 appropriately rostered, given the good number of SECR wagons we currently have serviceable. More details when available.

• The Bluebell is currently looking in particular for new volunteers to assist in the following areas:
  • Catering staff for Fish and Chips Specials
  • Catering staff in the Bessemer Arms, Horsted Keynes buffet, and Kingscote Station food emporium
  • On-train catering staff
  • Locomotive workshop engineers, skilled and unskilled
  • Museum stewards for the Bluebell Railway Museum
  • Permanent Way staff
  • Friends of Sheffield Park, maintenance works
  • Carriage and Wagon workshop personnel - all skill levels from novices with basic DIY skills through to skilled carpenters, electricians and welders etc.
  Find out more about all these opportunities by e-mailing Clive Soper, or attending the next Find Out More Days event, 4 March, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sheffield Park Training Centre.

• The Loco Works Working Group were busy yesterday. Firstly the frames of 84030 were lifted by the overhead crane and lowered temporarily onto two of the locos main wheelsets to make the unit mobile. As seen in Tony Sullivan's photo below this enabled the loco to be shunted out of the works, making space for the well wagon holding the Q-class tender to enter, to be lifted onto floor (unfortunately not yet onto the wheelsets which had returned from turning last week). This freed up the well wagon to carry the H-class boiler which, having passed its hydraulic test last week needed to be on the trolley for its out-of-frames steam test.

• 50 years ago today the GWR 4-4-0 locomotive No.9017 'Earl of Berkeley' arrived on the Bluebell. Known as the Dukedog, it was a 1930s' hybrid of two Victorian and Edwardian designs, the Dukes and the Bulldogs. Led by the late Tom Gomm, the trustees of the fund which purchased the loco from British Railways placed the loco on loan to the Bluebell simply because there was, at that time, little other alternative for a location to base their engine. The loco has now been donated to the Railway, on the basis that it should always remain based here, the trustees having held for many years the very strong opinion that the Bluebell should be its only home.

  Michael Taylor's photo (right) from June 1973 shows 3217 (as 9017 was then numbered) doubleheading a northbound train with a Terrier on the 1-in-75 climb of Freshfield bank. At this time the loco was running temporarily with the tender from the SECR C-class.

  Richard Salmon's photo below shows it on its second day back in service after its most recent overhaul (2nd November 2003). In April 2009 the engine was re-painted in BR black as seen in Andrew Strongitharm's photo below, taken on 12 September that year. It came out of service in early June 2011 with a number of boiler and mechanical faults, and now awaits its next major overhaul.

  Details of the very major overhaul of the loco a decade ago can be found here. Derek Hayward has two photo galleries for the loco, one covering it in GWR Green and a second in BR Black, and Martin Lawrence has photos of what turned out to be some of the last days on which the Dukedog ran before withdrawal, in late May 2011.

• John Sandys has a few photos from a very busy Sheffield Park, yesterday; the "Kids for a Quid" offer seems to be going well! He also has this video of a departure of 80151 on one of the service trains.

• From first dates to proposals, from weddings to celebrations of milestone anniversaries, we share the love every day! We're running a special Valentine's Golden Arrow this evening, but if you fancy treating your beloved to fine food in beautiful surroundings at any time, remember that the Golden Arrow Pullman Dining Train runs most weekends.

  And for a truly memorable wedding or civil partnership, think Bluebell! We have a choice of two venues licensed for civil ceremonies, and can offer a variety of packages, tailored individually to suit your requirements.

• Whilst the first photo below shows the sumptuous interior of Pullman Car 'Fingall', which is currently being refurbished in our workshops having served 19 years as our flagship Pullman vehicle, the second is strikingly dramatic - taken on Sunday by Jon Bowers, it shows the extent of the ice in the tunnel, which he and the other P-way volunteers then set-about in the hope of restoring services over the full length of the line as soon as possible. For future years it is hoped that we shall return our snowplough to operational use, with suitable attachments for breaking off the icicles.

• Sheila Beaumont's photo shows 80151 with the lunchtime 'Golden Arrow' Pullman dining train, entering the newly relaid Platform 1 at Sheffield Park yesterday.

• Our volunteer fund-raising team are starting to build up to the Double Donations Dash, which will run from 24th to 30th March. This is the first major fund-raising push for the Northern Extension project this year, since we still need to raise about £800,000 to complete the extension to East Grinstead. We currently have pledges of £40,000 as match funding if we can raise another £40,000 during the Double Donations Dash week. We are hoping that we'll emulate the incredible success of the "Big Give Christmas Challenge" in December, where we had £30,000 available in matched funding. With Gift Aid added in as well, we hope we might thus be able to knock the best part of £100,000 off the target in a week.

  Unlike the Big Give, it will be possible to donate by cheque as well as on-line. Forms for this, and more details, will be available here around the end of the month. For larger sums, the donations are more cost effective if sent by cheque, by post, since there's no percentage admin charge in the way there is for the on-line donations.

• Dave Bowles has a photo of B473 returning from Saturday's tunnel inspection with the Queen Mary Brake van, and some further photos taken that day.

• Sheila Beaumont's second photo below, illustrates why train services are not running through to Kingscote yesterday, with icicles at least 6ft long hanging above the track, and a build-up of ice on the rails. The P-way team spent the day clearing some of it, in the hope that we could re-open the tunnel sooner rather than later.

• Chris Beaumont's two photos below show the two service trains on Sunday; B473 is seen leaving Horsted Keynes with the SR Maunsell carriages, and No.1638 is waiting to depart from Horsted Keynes.

• David Haggar's photo shows No.80151 leading a Horsted Keynes to Sheffield Park service at Tremains yesterday. David has a few other photos here. The service trains were topped and tailed by 80151 and 1638, which would have run a two-train hourly service, had we been able to run trains through the tunnel. Topping and tailing thus has two advantages; it avoids the potential problem of frozen points, and enables a fast turn-round at Horsted Keynes, so roughly maintaining the published departure times from Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes.

• Don't forget that over half-term week, daily until 19 February, we have our Kids for a Quid Special Offer, and are running an hourly steam-hauled and steam-heated train service.

• Our U-class loco, 1638, starts the UK trailer for The Woman in Black. This loco also features in Robert Else's photo below.

• Simon Smith dropped by the railway briefly yesterday, and provides these photos.

• The LBSCR E4, B473 was used for some shunting at Horsted Keynes yesterday, as seen in Nick Burgess' photo below, of it with the Queen Mary brake van. Nick also has a photo gallery from yesterday.

• Ashley Smith also visited, providing the photo below of B473 on the 'Wealden Rambler' afternoon tea train. Ashley also has a photo gallery and a great video compilation from yesterday.

• A 1950s' educational film showing the process involved in the periodic washout of a steam loco boiler, very topical thanks to the commissioning of our new washout pit at Sheffield Park. The loco in the film is a BR standard class 5, like our own No.73082 "Camelot".

• Everyone can easily help the Bluebell's fundraising to complete our extension into East Grinstead. If you use EasySearch for your Internet searches, then each search results in a donation, averaging 0.5p, being sent to the Bluebell. Since we launched this initiative, it has raised £1785.86 for the extension project, and costs you nothing!

• Friday 20 April: Please note that there will not now be an open evening at East Grinstead on this date. The previously announced Open Weekend, 21-22 April, will instead be the focus for our last East Grinstead-based event prior to the hoped-for full opening of the extension in March 2013.

• The extremely cold weather at present means that the tunnel is closed, due to the danger from rather large icicles, and we have, today, only operated trains between Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes.

• The late Gerry Butler's photo (right) shows P-class No.27 outside the Bluebell's original, small, loco shed at Sheffield Park on 27 March 1971. The restoration began when the loco was dismantled in 1983 for a "quick" overhaul, but, as was so often the case at the time, this was found to be beyond the skills of the basic workshop capability we had back then, so the restoration stalled.

  The restoration of No.27 to working condition has recently restarted following a delay of nearly 30 years. The work on the locomotive is being undertaken by the Villas Gang and other volunteers, supported by the fund raising efforts of the 'Fenchurch Fund'. Major work is required on the boiler and frames of the locomotive, as well as some significant mechanical renewal and replacement of plate work, including the tanks. As a result the loco's web page is newly updated, as is the Loco's under overhaul page. The dramatic photo showing just how bad the corrosion on the main frames is, can be seen on a new web page for the loco's overhaul.

  As you can imagine, this work is going to cost a bit! Fund raising is being coordinated by Clive Emsley, Millfield, Manor Road, Upper Beeding, Steyning, West Sussex BN44 3TJ. New fund raising forms are being launched at the forthcoming Modelworld Exhibition, where the Fenchurch Fund has a display and fundraising stand in conjunction with the appearance of Fenchurch outside the Brighton Centre. These will include Standing order forms and Gift Aid forms. These can also be supplied by post or Email if required.

• Details now available for the Victorian Picnic evenings on 30 June and 1 July.

• There's a very nicely produced video from last Sunday showing the railway in the snow from Gary and Philip Bull.

• Video from last Saturday from Keith Duke.

• Dave Rowland's photos showing the pair of LSWR locos, No.96, "Normandy" in the company of Beattie Well Tank No.30587, in the build-up to Eastleigh 100 in May 2009, and "Normandy" on the main line!

• Photos from John Sandys, taken yesterday, showing track laid right through the platform at Sheffield Park, including the two below.

• Mike Hopps' photo shows B473 and 80151, the first locos onto the new washout pit, yesterday.

• Over the coming week, 11-19 February we have our Kids for a Quid Special Half Term Offer, and are running an hourly, two-train steam-hauled service.

• Another mention for the Bluebell, this time in the Yorkshire Post: The Woman in Black returns to life once again to haunt cinema screens.

• Update to the Football Competition page, with the latest positions in this competition raising funds for the overhaul of our Southern Railway Maunsell Dining Saloon No.7864.

• A couple of Dave Rowland's photos from Easteigh Centernary (25 May 2009) open days - featuring our own 4 Vep unit No.3417, and LSWR No.96 "Normandy".

• Tony Sullivan's two photos below show that by yesterday afternoon track had been laid most of the way through Platform 1 at Sheffield Park, and the northern part of the canopy stripped for refurbishment.

• Andy Prime's photo shows No.3 "Captain Baxter" arriving at Horsted Keynes on Sunday, on the back of what was shortly to become its first passenger train following the fitting of vacuum brake gear by volunteers in the Loco Department last year.

• A video from Sunday in the Snow from Martin Lawrence.

• It has been confirmed that a turning triangle off the Ardingly spur is feasible, and will be constructed using the tens of thousands of tons of inert capping available from the Imberhorne Tip. The curvature for a spur between the Ardingly and Sheffield Park lines has been shown to be too tightly curved, and would also have involved a challenging vertical alignment as well, hence the alternative plan with both curves to form the triangle coming off the Ardingly spur. This does not prevent the installation of a turntable in the longer term, but is a much easier and cheaper option, given the availability of the spoil. A revised planning application is also shortly to be made for the bridge to replace the missing viaduct on the line towards Ardingly, the immediate reason for starting work on this being that preparatory works will also require some of the inert spoil. The timetable for completion of the extension envisages a start being made on moving this capping material from September.

• Five potential new volunteers braved the wintry weather on Sunday to join us on our Find Out More Day. In David Chappell's photo below we see them standing beside Maunsell S15 No. 847 (currently under overhaul) before being shown round the Locomotive Works at Sheffield Park by Clive Soper (middle right), our Volunteer Recruitment Officer. Later in the day a train trip took them to Horsted Keynes for a behind the scenes tour of the Carriage and Wagon Works and an explanation of the various volunteering opportunities in the Infrastructure Department. If you would like to join us then your next chance will be on the 4th March.

• Martin Lawrence's photos below show Horsted Keynes in the snow, in a pair of photos which also highlight the array of signals at the south end, where 4 bi-directionally signalled platform roads offer 5 routes (two towards Ardingly), and at the north, where again there are 5 routes from the platforms, with the bracket on Platform 3 enabling trains to leave either over the main (straight on) or the loop (over the crossover towards the left) as far as Leamland Bridge, where another pair of signals can be seen, controlling the exit from these two bi-directional lines onto the single line beyond the bridge. The platform starter for 4-road is out of sight to the right, and that for 1-road is on the left-hand end of the bracket at the edge of the photo. The elevated shunt signal allowing access from the up sidings onto the loop line is also seen.

• Another photo from today, from Martin Lawrence, showing "Captain Baxter" leading the train back southwards. Because of frozen points at Horsted Keynes in addition to the engineering work at Sheffield Park, the service train and Wealden Rambler trains were combined, in view of the low number of visitors, so just a single set of coaches was used, topped and tailed as seen in these photos.

• Further photos from Roger Carpenter, at Sheffield Park, and Martin Lawrence, at Horsted Keynes, show the train service running in the snow today.

• We are getting some useful publicity from the launch of 'The Woman in Black', such as this article in today's "Observer".

• The first photo below shows Terrier "Fenchurch" in the Loco Shed at Sheffield Park. It was taken by Nathan Gibson on 29 January.

• Mike Hopps' "Retro Images" (such as one quite appropriate for today, seen below) are for sale, with profits to the Northern Extension Project. Mike's full range of retro cards, posters, and fridge magnets, most of which can be found at the Bluebell Railway shop, can be viewed here.

• Keith Duke has a set of photos taken on the Railway yesterday before the snow fell!

• Roger Carpenter's photo below shows "Captain Baxter" approaching Sheffield Park earlier today. This illustrates just how useful it was fitting vacuum braking to this 1877-built Fletcher Jennings loco.

• Because of the freezing temperatures, and consequent ice hazard in our tunnel, the service on the line this weekend has been restricted to run only between Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes. Andy Prime's photo shows 178 leading the lounge-car set today as it approaches Horsted Keynes, with "Captain Baxter" trailing.

• Further to the earlier report on the restored porch at Horsted Keynes, its dedication in memory of Simon Baker, former Horsted Keynes station master and Society Trustee, will take place later in the spring.

• The first photo below from Martin Lawrence shows P-class No.178 being used for the Engineering Works on Friday, due to the unavailability of the 08. Martin's video also shows the use of No.178 for P-way work and shunting.

• Martin's other photos below show more of the engineering work in platform 1 at Sheffield Park - by the end of Friday ballast had been laid through the platform, and track laying was progressing well. The canopy work is also progressing, and the photo from Thursday shows the hole for the new foundation below one of the canopy supports, which on Friday had the first pour of concrete completed. The gap beneath the second column (which as well as supporting the canopy was part of the original footbridge) visible in the background shows just how much the foundations have sunk. More of Martin's photos of the P-way work are available here.

• Dave Rowland has a new gallery of photos he took on visits to the Bluebell in 1991/2.

• Ray Wills' photo illustrates yesterday's completion of the installation of the new stained-glass in the restored porch at Horsted Keynes, which is to act as a lasting memorial to the late Simon Baker. Ian Fribbens two photos below show more detail of the superb craftsmanship, both on the new timberwork and the stained glass.

• This Sunday is the next occasion when you can join a behind-the-scenes tour to find out what's involved in helping in various areas of the Railway's operation: Book up for the Find Out More Day.

• Further to yesterday's update about EasyFundraising, there is now a donation of 3% from national train tickets bought through southernrailway.com, who also have the advantage of having no booking fee.

• More progress today with engineering work in platform 1 at Sheffield Park - ballast and track laying is now well under way. The repairs to the station canopy are also progressing, with the canopy lifted by several inches to correct the subsidence to the foundations under some of the pillars, and excavations made to enable a permanent solution to this long-standing problem.

• Update to the Loco Roster showing expected loco usage to the end of March. No.178 is being used for the Engineering Works tomorrow, and over the weekend "Captain Baxter" will be acting as pull-off engine at Sheffield Park, awaiting re-connection of the run-round facility.

• Murray Tremellen has re-loaded some photos of the Bluebell's 2010 Branch Line Weekend to Flickr. Murray is in the process of uploading further photos to Flickr which had previously been available via Fotopic, so more of his Bluebell photos, mostly from Branch Line Weekends, will follow in due course.

• Nathan Gibson's photo taken on Sunday shows No.178 in platform 2 at Sheffield Park with the top-and-tailed service train on Sunday. Because of the engineering work, No.178 was trapped at the north end of the platform. Since it could not run to the loco yard for coaling during the day, Nathan Gibson, Matthew Price and Reuben Smith provided a wheel-barrow coaling service.

• Bus services to the Bluebell:
  473 Service between East Grinstead and Kingscote Station:
  This service will run on special event and school holidays only during 2012: 31 March - 15 April, 21, 22, 28 April, 12, 13 May, 2 - 10 June, daily 21 July - Sunday 2 September, 20, 21 October, 27 October - 4 November.
     East Grinstead Station  (10.10)  11.10  12.10  1.10  2.10  3.10  4.10
     East Grinstead High St  (10.15)  11.15  12.15  1.15  2.15  3.15  4.15
     Kingscote Station       (10.30)  11.30  12.30  1.30  2.30  3.30  4.30
     ---------------------------------------------------------------------
     Kingscote Station                11.42  12.42  1.42  2.42  3.42  4.41
     East Grinstead High St           11.57  12.57  1.57  2.57  3.57   -
     East Grinstead Station           12.02   1.02  2.02  3.02  4.02  4.49
  Early morning services shown in brackets to run 28 April (Collectors Fair), 21 and 22 July (Collectors Weekend) only.

  270 Service East Grinstead - Horsted Keynes - Haywards Heath:
  This service currently operates every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year and provides a link to the railway from East Grinstead and Haywards Heath. This service is still subject to review by West Sussex County Council on Sundays, however, we should encourage customers visiting the railway on days the 473 is not operating to travel via this route.
  To help promote this service, as from 5th March until further notice, we have agreed with Metrobus to offer discount all-line 3rd-class train tickets for passengers arriving at Horsted Keynes who present a Metrobus 270 ticket (or credit card size passes) at the Bluebell Bonus rate of £11.00 per adult and £6.50 per child.

• The most recent edition (22 January) of our e-mail newsletter is available via the eNewsletter archive. Sign up to receive future free e-mail Newsletters directly.

• Over £6,000 raised:
  Great news - EasyFundraising are about to send Bluebell Railway a cheque for £770.22, representing the funds raised by our supporters shopping and searching (using EasySearch) between October and December. If you don't use them, please join the effort. All money goes towards completing our extension to East Grinstead.

  Two new useful facilities:

  • Find & Remind - when you shop online, Find & Remind automatically alerts you if a donation is available from the retailer and reminds you to login to EasyFundraising. It's the perfect way to make sure the Bluebell Railway never misses out on a valuable donation. Get easyreminder now.
  • Compare - get the best deal on your shopping with EasyFundraising's new price comparison. Just tell them what product you're looking for and they'll compare prices for you - saving you time, and money! Compare prices now.

• Progress so far this week on the engineering work in platform 1 road at Sheffield Park has included the digging on the new drainage trench, laying geotextiles across the trackbed, installing the new drainage pipe, and a start on re-ballasting. Scaffolding has also been erected to enable work to be done on the platform 1 canopy, as seen in John Sandys' photo below taken yesterday.

  As part of the refurbishment at Sheffield Park, we are making a new running-in board for Platform 1, and our suppliers are keen to publicise their link with us!

• During January 2012 there were 88,232 total hits on this page, from 51,329 unique visitors.

• John Sandys' photo on the right, taken this morning, shows that the work at Sheffield Park is going well with the platform nearly clear of ballast, with the removed sleepers now being cleaned up with a view to re-use, and talk of replacement of the drainage being started imminently.

• Martin Lawrence's video shows the 08 taking a train of spent ballast up to Horsted Keynes yesterday.

• Matt Allen has a fine set of photos of the recent photo charter with 32655 and the Birdcage Brake.

• Richard Salmon's photo below shows the progress which has recently been made, fixing the new plywood panels on the brake end of Stroudley No.949.

• Another of Derek Hayward's photos from Saturday, showing No.323 leading No.178, passing the down advance starter at Kingscote, and that below illustrates that the Memorial Garden at Horsted Keynes has been much enhanced, thanks to the efforts of a small team of volunteers. The lawn has recovered from the drought, the soil has been improved, fencing has been provided to keep the rabbits out, and the beds have been planted.

• Derek Hayward has completed his revised and updated Locomotive Photo Galleries, covering virtually every Bluebell loco in some detail.

• Martin Lawrence's photo below shows the digging out of the spent ballast in platform 1 at Sheffield Park yesterday, part of the current track maintenance work there.

• Dave Clarke's photo shows that overhaul of Bulleid Composite coach No.5768 has reached the stage at the First-class end where the corridor partition has been reinstated. This is from Dave's gallery of photos covering the overhaul.

• Peter Edwards' photo shows the P-class locos Nos.178 and 323 on the service train on Sunday 22 January.

• Martin Lawrence has a new gallery for his photos taken between 12 and 22 January.

• Dave Clarke has an update to his pages of photos covering the overhaul of LCDR carriage No.3188, SR Bulleid Composite No.5768, and a photo in the carriage electrics gallery showing a newly overhauled armature and pulley being aligned on a jig.

• John Sandys' photo below, taken yesterday, shows the start of 2 weeks of engineering work at Sheffield Park, which will see the track through platform 1 lifted, ballast dug out and drainage repaired as necessary. The next photo, from Martin Lawrence, shows progress by the late afternoon when the light was fading, but all the track had been removed through the platform. Trains will still operate next weekend as normal, using platform 2.

• The third photo below shows that a new path has been laid to the signal box at Kingscote, following on from the winter's signalling works. Photos of this are temporarily in Derek Haywards' Kingscote gallery.

• Derek Hayward's photo from Saturday shows Nos.178 and 323 in charge of the service train at Leamland Bridge.

• More than half the seats have already been sold for "The Broadsman Tour", the BRPS Social Sub-committee's coach trip to the Bure Valley Railway on Saturday 28th April 2012. Book now!.

• Ashley Smith made his first visit of 2012 yesterday, and took a few photos and a video compilation showing the service train hauled by the pair of Ps.

• Derek Hayward provides further photographic updates, with photos taken on Saturday, showing progress on various parts of the HLF-funded 'Operation Undercover' project at Sheffield Park:
  • The final element of the project is the construction of the shell for the "Above Workshop Facilities", which as the name suggests are above (but also in front of) the single-storey section of the Loco Workshop. These will provide the Locomotive department with permanent toilet, shower, messing, locker-room and office facilities, and replace the temporary classroom in the car park. The photo below, and this new gallery covers the early stage of the groundworks for the building.
  • A photo below, and an updated gallery, for Sheffield Park Carriage Shed, showing that stock is now being stored inside it, although it is not yet in full use as a running shed, with the final work still in the process of being completed, including the buffer stops being painted by the 'Friends of Sheffield Park', and signalling work.
  • The third element of the HLF-funded project still being completed is the Locomotive Wash Out Pit, where work to connect up the water supplies continues, as seen in the photo below, and this gallery update.

• We are running a public Service Two timetable this weekend (as it is on weekends through January), with the pair of SECR P-class locos due to be hauling the train.

• The Locomotive Working Group will be at Sheffield Park this Sunday, working on the overhaul of the SR Q-class - do say "Hi" if you're passing.

• Three days of special events at East Grinstead - probably the last before the full opening of the Northern Extension a year later, due to the work required to complete the extension taking precedence:
  • Friday 20 April: Shareholders' & Local Residents' Evening at East Grinstead.
  • Saturday 21 April: Fish & Chip Evening at East Grinstead including diesel-hauled train rides over the viaduct. Please note - this date was previously incorrectly shown.
  • Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 April: East Grinstead Open Days - Shuttle trains over the Hill Place Viaduct to Imberhorne North with our 4VEP unit number 3417 "Gordon Pettitt" hauled by a Class 73 electro diesel locomotive.

• Update to the web page for our unrestored Southern Railway Bulleid Open Third No.1456, which may go on loan to the Mid Hants Railway for 25 years.

• A slightly "different" photo today - part of Ben Gray's set of photos from 8th January, showing B473 about to enter the tunnel.

• Update on the Brighton Atlantic project based on photos and captions from Fred Bailey. The valve liners are being fitted, the crosshead castings received, and the pattern for the regulator valve is with the foundry.

• Photo below from Dave Bowles, from his set of photos of Saturday's photo charter with 'Stepney' and the birdcage brake.

• Dave Braley's photo on the right is another from the photo charter at dawn on Saturday. Dave has a complete gallery from the charter, and another following the P-way work, around Sheffield Park Station on the previous Sunday.

• Peter Richards has posted an update, with thanks also due to Chris Majer, to the Horsted Keynes Re-signalling news page; approximately half of the levers are now in use with much of the preparation work track-side ready for the next batch of conversions, including for the Up Second Advance Starter, a distance of about half a mile from the box.

• Update on the overhaul of SR Q-class No.541 from the Loco Works Working Group, who now also have a Twitter feed. The photo below from Rob Faulkner, shows the loco before Christmas, with its cladding stripped in preparation for its forthcoming boiler lift.

• For just £25 per month over 10 months you could become a shareholder in the Bluebell Railway plc, through the BRPS Deferred Payment share scheme. You would be helping us achieve our objective of opening the extension to East Grinstead, and would join the share register in time to recieve the 2013 Shareholder benefits. More details here.

• Yesterday morning Jon Bowers organised a photo charter using 55 "Stepney" (transformed into its BR guise as No.32655 by Roger Cruse), hauling the recently restored Birdcage Brake coach. It was a crisp cold morning, and the sun shone! David Haggar provides the photo below, and has this photo album from the charter, and a stunning video.

• Tim Gray's photo below, showing the stand-pipe outside the loco running shed, shows just how cold it was on Saturday morning. Remember that 32655's footplate crew had signed on at 5am that morning to light the engine up for the charter! It also explains why we have braziers beneath the water columns.

• Patrick Plane's photo shows No.323 with a special charter train at Kingscote on Wednesday.

• Martin Lawrence visited Sheffield Park on Wednesday and got these photos and a video of the loco yard shunt involving Bluebell, Baxter and Stepney. Martin's photo of Stepney at Sheffield Park is shown below. He also caught on video the shunt at Horsted Keynes on Thursday, where 323 was rearranging the order of the Metropolitan set, provided an hour's entertainment. The order of the set was being changed because the new order better suits the arrangement of the brake pipe at the south end of carriage No.412.

• Update to the web page for the overhaul of the SECR H-class loco No.263; due to mechanical maintenance work on the SECR C-class being given priority, the H's return to service is now expected to be during March.

• Reports on the Bulleid Society web site (from 1st January 2012) showing the arrival of the new thermic syphons and foundation ring channels for No.21C123 Blackmoor Vale's new firebox, and a photo of the new corner pillar on their Bulleid Composite coach No.5768.

• Update to the Loco Roster showing expected loco usage to the end of March. When the points at the north end of Kingscote are being renewed, in preparation for the completion of the trackwork for the Northern Extension, a turn-over engine may have to be provided there, and details of some of the extra turns which may be needed then have not yet been included.

• A rather good video compilation from Saturday 7th January from Gary Bull and his father Philip.

• John Sandys dropped in at Sheffield Park yesterday afternoon, and was fortunate enough to get some photos and a video of Bluebell shunting the Birdcage (as seen in the photo below) and various other coaches. He also took some other photos around Sheffield Park.

• Update to the web page for Birdcage Brake No.3363, covering its return to traffic in October 2011.

• Dave Clarke has some photos, just uploaded, showing recent restoration work in progress on Stroudley brake carriage No.949.

• Update to the C&W News pages with a major news update on LBSCR Milk/Fruit Van No.270, and updated links to Dave Clarke's photos, with a "Carriage maintenance" section added, covering work on Pullman 'Fingall', LBSCR Bogie First No.7598 and on carriage electrical components.

• Last week Pullman Car 'Doris', in the company of LNWR Semi-Royal Saloon No.806, Birdcage Brake No.3363 and our Queen Mary goods brake formed an unlikely train for use behind the U-class loco No.1638, during filming work on the line for a major new BBC Two drama series, "Dancing on the Edge".

• Update to web page for our LSWR Venilated Van No.5498, adding a link to the web page for the identical vehicle at Quainton Road.

• Update to the Football Competition page, with the latest positions in this competition raising funds for the overhaul of our Southern Railway Maunsell Dining Saloon No.7864.

• David Warwick has started to migrate his old Bluebell Galleries from the defunct fotopic onto smugmug.

• Bluebell Railway mentioned in Parliament: The following is an extract from Hansard for yesterday 12 January:

  Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con): As chairman of the all-party group on heritage rail, may I say that this matter affects heritage railways up and down the country? They often rely on volunteers and charitable donations and I add my voice to those urging quick action on the problem.

  Norman Baker: My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the impact on heritage rail. With the Bluebell railway partly in my constituency, I am very well aware of the impact on individual bodies such as that, which are sometimes less able to respond financially than the public sector. I am afraid that all sections of society are being affected by selfish metal theft and it is important that we take action to deal with it.

  If you've not yet done so, please help add to the pressure for reform of the scrap metal industry by signing this e-petition.

• David Chappell's photo shows No.1638 with the first train of the day on Monday 2nd January. Bringing up the rear of the train was No.B473, to ensure its arrival in good time to steam heat the Victorian Special set at Horsted Keynes.

• New web page for Pullman Car "Carina" which arrived for storage on behalf of its owners, the 5BEL Trust, yesterday. Consequent update to the Carriage Stock List.

• Two more of Monday's photos from David Chappell, below. In the first, No.B473 has just crossed Monteswood Lane Bridge with the New Year Victorian Special. David was part of the volunteer track maintenance gang on what was a glorious winter morning for being out in the Sussex countryside. The last photograph shows Phil, Jon, Paul and Mark changing a sleeper in Rock Cutting with the replacement sleeper lying on the edge of the ballast. Jon then took the trolley down to the Sheffield Park to clear the line for the first train of the day. If you would like to join David and the rest of gang out in the countryside on a Sunday or help out in other areas of the Railway's operation then come and join us on our first Find Out More Day of the year, this Sunday.

• Peter Austin's photo on the right shows the U-class with the 11am service train from Sheffield Park, at West Hoathly on Monday, and those below show the C-class at the same location later that day.

• Robert Else provides this photo gallery from Monday 2nd January.

• Golden Arrow Pullman Car 'Carina' has arrived at Sheffield Park. It continues, for the present, to belong to the 5BEL Trust, but will in the fullness of time be swapped for the Bluebell-owned 5BEL electric Pullman Car 'Doris', once repairs to 'Carina' have been made to bring it up to comparable condition for the "swap". As set out in the February 2011 press release this will enable the 5BEL Trust to achieve its objective of re-creating a complete 5-coach train of Brighton Belle Pullmans, and gives the Bluebell a more appropriate carriage for its own version of the Golden Arrow.

• The Loco Works working group have added some photos to their facebook album showing the removal, in December, of the cladding and cab roof from the SR Q-class. Their next working day is this coming Sunday - see details here.

• Andrew Strongitharm's photo shows LBSCR E4 No.B473 with the Victorian New Year special train on Monday 2 January.

• The Press Association have an article highlighting some shortly to be released films with English locations, which are set to boost UK tourism, including "The Woman in Black", featuring Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe - the locations used include the Bluebell - and which is due for release on 12th February. The PA report has been picked up by several media outlets already.

• The coming Sunday is the next Find Out More Day, your opportunity to find out what volunteering on the Bluebell actually involves. So why not come and join us - more information here.

• Roger Carpenter has some photos of the trains running on Monday - a busy and interesting day with 3 trains running, with some good sunshine too!

• Dan Green has videos of the trains running on New Year's Eve.

• December photos from Martin Lawrence, and a couple of pics from November showing P-way work, ballast packing at the old washout pit.

• A couple of job vacancies in the catering department are advertised here.

• John Sandys was at the Railway yesterday, a very rough day today with torrential rain and very strong winds, making the day's heavy schedule of shunting even more difficult than usual. Later, when the sun decided to make an appearance, bathing the whole scene at Sheffield Park in a quite magical luminescent light, John was able to take these photos of the 08 shunting the Maunsell stock into the new carriage shed, and also a short video.

• During December 2011 there were 90,454 total hits on this page, from 51,234 unique visitors, giving a total of 961,602 visits to this page during 2011.

• Paul Pettitt's photos from Monday show the U-class with the Bulleid/Mk.1 service set, and the C-class leaving Sheffield Park with the 3-coach Maunsell set.

The Current What's New page contains all the recent update information.

Also see the 2011, the 2010, the 2009, the 2008, the 2007, the 2006, the 2005, the 2004, the 2003, the 2002, the 2001, the 2000, the 1999 and the 1997-8 "What was new" archive pages.

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