Bluebell Railway
The Bluebell Railway is a museum railway in the English county of West Sussex . It was opened on May 17, 1960 as England's first steam-powered museum railway in standard gauge. Today it has the second largest vehicle collection in Great Britain after the National Railway Museum . Your route runs south from East Grinstead via Kingscote and Horsted Keynes to Sheffield Park. The name comes from the blue bluebells that bloom along the route.
history
Railway construction
Today's Bluebell Railway covers the northern part of the East Grinstead - Lewes line, opened in 1882 . This had a connection to the railway network at three points, namely in East Grinstead to London Victoria Station , Three Bridges and Tunbridge Wells , in Horsted Keynes via Ardingly to Haywards Heath on the Brighton Main Line and in Lewes on the East Coastway Line in the direction of Brighton or . Hastings .
Shutdown
British Railways initiated the shutdown long before the massive closures of the Beeching Ax , but faced massive opposition from the local population. Eventually the traffic was stopped on May 28, 1955. On the other hand, a citizens' initiative successfully sued, citing the obligation to operate , which was laid down in the still valid Railway Construction Act of 1877. British Rail resumed operations on August 7, 1957 and only finally ceased operations on May 17, 1958, after Parliament had confirmed the closure.
Museum train
During this time, the Lewes & East Grinstead Preservation Society , later the Bluebell Preservation Society, was formed. She managed to lease the section from Sheffield Park to a makeshift platform in front of the Horsted Keynes station, which was still operated as planned, from British Rail and to buy it later. The first museum steam train ran on May 17, 1960. This made the Bluebell Railway the first steam-powered standard - gauge museum railway in Great Britain .
For lack of money, the Bluebell Railway could not prevent the route in the south in Lewes and Sheffield Park from being built over with roads and from being used and filled in an incision near East Grinstead as a household waste dump. In 1963 the branch line to Haywards Heath was shut down, so that the Bluebell Railway no longer had a connection to the railway network.
Network expansions
Nonetheless, the Bluebell Railway worked constantly to recommission other parts of the route network. Horsted Keynes station could be entered as early as 1961, which means that it was used together with British Rail passenger trains for two years. In 1994 operations could be resumed over a newly built bridge and through the Sharpthorne tunnel to Kingscote.
The greatest difficulties had to be overcome for the last two kilometers to East Grinstead. In compliance with today's environmental protection regulations, the garbage had to be removed and relocated to other landfills. 300,000 cubic meters of 90,000 tons of garbage was removed at a cost of 2.715 million pounds (around 3.2 million euros). The total cost was around £ 3.6 million (€ 4.3 million), largely raised through fundraising. On March 23, 2013 operations to East Grinstead could be started and the connection to the railway network was restored. In addition to convenient travel for visitors, this also enables special trains to be run and vehicles to be exchanged.
The reactivation of the dismantled branch line to Ardingly, which is owned by the Bluebell Railway and has a connection in Ardingly to the route to Haywards Heath, which is still operated in freight traffic, is also conceivable for the future. However, this would require the construction of a broken bridge and the rehabilitation of a tunnel. Recommissioning of the southern section of the line to Lewes would only be possible with great effort and partial re-routing.
Route
The 17.7 kilometer route runs south from East Grinstead.
East Grinstead
The Bluebell Railway has its own platform about 300 yards from East Grinstead Station on the Southern . The only building structure is the newly built water tower for the supply of the locomotives, for the passengers a small bar with a shop and ticket sales was set up in a wagon.
After the train station, the route passes the Imberhorne Viaduct and the trash exposed section.
Kingscote
The station building from 1882 has been restored in the style of the mid-1950s. Apart from the museum train, the station can only be reached by bus, bike or on foot.
After passing the former West Hoathly station, the 668 meter long Sharpthorne Tunnel will be passed through.
Horsted Keynes
The former railway junction has five platform tracks. The station building and the covered platforms were restored in the style of the twenties. The station has been the location of numerous film productions, such as the television series Downton Abbey , where it depicts the Downton station.
Horsted Keynes is the location of the Bluebell Railway wagon workshop, where the wagons are restored and maintained. Visitors can watch the work from a gallery.
In Horsted Keynes, the route to Haywards Heath branched off on the Brighton Main Line . The railway line is owned by the Bluebell Railway up to Ardingly , the remainder is still operated by Network Rail in freight traffic . In Horsted Keynes, the track plan and the signaling technology have already been prepared for a possible reactivation of this route.
Sheffield Park
The station building has been restored as it was in the 1880s. The eponymous gardens are about two kilometers away. For visitors, Sheffield Park Station has parking facilities, a restaurant, souvenir shop and a museum.
Sheffield Park is the operating center of the heritage railway. This is where the locomotive depot and a large wagon depot, which was built as part of the Operation Undercover campaign with funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund , so that the valuable historic trains no longer have to be parked outdoors.
The route continued from here to Lewes. Today the route is built over with roads in several places, including shortly after Sheffield Park station.
vehicles
The Bluebell Railway has around thirty steam locomotives from 25 series and a large number of freight, rail service and passenger cars from the 1880s to the 1960s. It has the largest vehicle collection in Great Britain after the National Railway Museum . The focus is on the railway companies in the south of England, i.e. the Southern Region of British Rail and the Southern Railway of the interwar period with its predecessor companies.
Locomotives
Of the thirty steam locomotives, the following are particularly noteworthy:
- The first Bluebell train on May 17, 1960 consisted of the small Stepney tank locomotive with two cars. She and Bluebell , Primrose , Birch Grove and Baxter made a guest appearance in the eighteenth Railway Series book, Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine . Stepney also appeared in his TV adaptation Thomas, the Little Locomotive & His Friends , but where his role was changed and not based on the real locomotive.
- Several locomotives from before the First World War
- The Southern Railways Blackmoor Vale and Archibald Sinclair's Pacific express locomotives
- Four 1'C2 'tank locomotives of the 4MT series from 1956, the last series of locomotives built by the Brighton Locomotive Works.
dare
Interesting carriage sets:
- Wooden wagons from the 1880s and 1890s make up a complete train set, including four London Metropolitan Railway wagons .
- Numerous four-axle cars with steel car bodies from the 1920s to 1960s. Some of them are barrier-free .
- The Golden Arrow dining train with Pullman cars that ran in express trains such as the Brighton Belle London – Brighton or the Golden Arrow London – Dover.
literature
- Nick Brodrick: Preserve the Puffer for Posterity , in: 50 Years in Steam, special issue of Steam Railway magazine , 2010 (English)
Web links
- www.bluebell-railway.com , website of the Bluebell Railway with timetables and visitor information
- www.bluebell-railway.co.uk , website of the Bluebell Railway with extensive information for interested people and railway enthusiasts
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c History on www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
- ↑ a b c d e Nick Brodrick: Preserve the Puffer for Posterity , in: 50 Years in Steam, special issue of Steam Railway magazine , 2010 (English)
- ↑ a b c d Extending the Bluebell Railway at www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
- ^ East Grinstead at www.bluebell-railway.com
- ^ Kingscote at www.bluebell-railway.com
- ↑ Horsted Keynes on www.bluebell-railway.com
- ^ Sheffield Park at www.bluebell-railway.com
- ^ Operation Undercover at www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
- ↑ Locomotives on www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
- ^ Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine. Retrieved July 21, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Stepney. Retrieved July 21, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Carriages and Wagons on www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
Coordinates: 50 ° 59 ′ 42.7 ″ N , 0 ° 0 ′ 2.2 ″ W.