Bluebell Railway General Discussion

Sir Lamiel has run a couple of times on the Bluebell I think, most recently five or six years ago. I don't think Lord Nelson has ever visited: I'm away from my notes to check.

Stepney was built in 1875, so the 150th birthday is about eight years away. However, the significant one is Fenchurch, which will be 150 in five years time, since Fenchurch is not only the oldest surviving Rooter, but was also the first one into traffic back in 1872.

Tom

 

Poplar/Bodiam entered traffic the same year. I always remember the headboard she carried at the 100th birthday event for Sutton on the KESR... "Sutton's a youngster, I'm 104!". Having seen that, her impending-ish 150th birthday will make me feel incredibly old!

I remember in those times my dad reminding me that We Don't Like The Bluebell Because They Run Their Engines Into The Ground I have no idea where he got that opinion from, but Dad always was a bit partisan!

 

I think we all need to work together to have some ten terriers events in 2022.

 

There's occasional talk that Stepney requires a replace-everything-but-the-whistle overhaul next time round, whereas there doesn't seem to be any such concern with Fenchurch. Is it just that Fenchurch has already had similar levels of component replacement, or the relative amounts of use they've had?

 

There was a big difference in pre-preservation mileage: Stepney was somewhere close to 1.4 million; Fenchurch was noticeably lower at about 1.1 million. Since preservation, the mileages are broadly similar: Stepney has run just over 50,000 at the Bluebell and Fenchurch just under. So there is well over 1/4million miles difference in usage between the two. I think the difference was largely on account of low daily mileages run by Fenchurch at Newhaven Harbour.

(Of the preserved Terriers that I have mileages for, I think "Martello" had the highest pre-preservation total at 1,505,955. "Knowle" (now on the KESR) 1,411,436; "Stepney" had done 1,396,027; "Whitechapel" (on the Spa Valley) 1,271,019; "Brighton" (now IoWSR W11) had run 1,164,724; Fenchurch 1,109,513. I suspect Martello still leads the pack but Knowle and Stepney will be catching up!

In preservation, Fenchurch has had one new wheel set (but the other two are original); it also had a new steel inner firebox in the 1970s. The cylinders are thought to be from the rebuilding into A1x form in 1913. The frames were said to be in good condition at the last major overhaul. There is evidence elsewhere of various odd survivors that are probably the original (1872) material, including the tanks (which contain the blanking plates for the cab front steam balance pipe, so must be original to one of the original six Terriers, and presumably from Fenchurch herself) and the upper cab sides, which have a blanking plate for the LBSCR passenger communication device, so must date from that era. It also retains the original rear sandbox, which was superseded when rebuilt as an A1x, so again must be an early survival.

I don't think Stepney has had the same level of post-preservation attention, so the condition is probably a bit more unknown. The general feeling is that the next overhaul will be major, but I guess it will take disassembly to reveal the full extent, though new cylinders are I think a given, and the condition of the frames is I believe worse than on Fenchurch. It's also worth considering that when the Bluebell bought Stepney in 1960, BR quite possibly got rid of their worst condition example (the other Terriers still being gainfully employed at that time) so no doubt the condition left a lot be desired even in 1960.

Tom

 

Does anyone know the timings for the demonstration goods train running on Saturday morning? Thanks

 

Haven't seen the weekly traffic notice yet, but given that 847 on the goods will later be running a Wealden Rambler, I assume the goods will be in the morning.

This page may well give you the answer quicker than me when the traffic notice comes out ... http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pti/index.html

Incidentally, for any regular Bluebell visitors, note that there has been a tweak to this year's Service 2 timetable (the normal weekend timetable); most notably that the second departure from SP is retimed to 11:10am, which produces a better crossing time with the down train at HK.

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pti/2.html

Tom

 

There is also a one day Toy and Rail Collectors Fair on the platforms at Horsted Keynes this Saturday.

Incidentally, the Q Class 30541 was on the service trains yesterday in place of Camelot, looking and sounding great as it passed us on the lineside gang near the tunnel.

323 also on the Bluebell Specials.

 

The little blue one has been turned round as well when it came back from the Churnet Valley.

Tom

 

Is this the first time she's ever faced north?

 

See here: http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pti/GDS.html

Note that there is only one brake van, so there will be a degree of shunting at Kingscote and Sheffield Park to swap ends with the brake.

Becomes Wealden Rambler engine, departs SP at 3.22. After arrival back at SP, engine becomes evening Golden Arrow engine ... The PTI page is now saying it will be 592, with 263 on the A service and 541 on the B service.

Tom

 

Don't know for certain, but can't think of having seen a photo of Bluebell facing north until now.

Tom

 

Thanks for that, nice to see the Q class running and the C on the freight should look good!

 

Phoned and bought tickets for the Branch Line Weekend, hoping for more info' soon ...

 

If anyone's interested, here is one of my videos from 29/4/2017, which shows the shunting at Sheffield Park between 17:20 and 19:30. I also attach a photo of the C class on the freight that morning. Hope you enjoy, I certainly did! My other videos from the day, again if anyone's interested, can be found in the description of this video.

 

Thanks for that! I was the fireman on 541; you've caught me in full-on grumpy face, it seems

323 had been on the pit during the day receiving some minor attention, so we (on 541) had to move it before the pit was clear to get the engines on shed. Apart from that move, what you captured was fairly normal for a Saturday evening when a Wealden Rambler has run in the day and a Golden Arrow is due to run at night, but not many people hang around to watch - so it was good to see it captured.

Quite a long loco duty on the C class, but with three different crew. The morning goods train was a training turn both for goods guards and the loco crew; it would have then come into the yard and had the fire cleaned, ashpan and smokebox emptied, and a new crew for the Wealden Rambler (who stayed on to do the shunt); then on shed for coal and a third crew for the evening Arrow.

Tom

 

Glad you enjoyed it, when I was at SP earlier in the day I noticed Bluebell being moved over the pit by the C class. Unfortunately I didn't see much of the Q during the day - concentrating too much on getting some shots of 592 before the end of her ticket, but seeing the two propelling moves pass each other in the platform in the evening is a novelty that I won't forget in a hurry, though I guess it happens more often than one might expect! Thank you for your comments and insights into what I had actually managed to record!

 

Not that frequently - the two moves have to happen, but a couple of minutes either way and they don't occur simultaneously, so it was good to capture.

I was once firing the pilot engine when we had three simultaneous moves: as I recall, the Wealden Rambler set was being propelled north from the loco headshunt into the Wealden Dock; the stock from the last down service train was being propelled south from platform 1 into the Newick siding; and we were propelling the Golden Arrow set north from the Pumphouse siding into Platform 2. Has only happened to me once!

Tom

 

'Resting bitch face' is, I understand, the modern colloquialism…

Simon