Bluebell Railway General Discussion

I'm on Perrymount Road and you can rarely hear anything above 16 year olds on scooters and electric trains buzzing through!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I used to live on Perrymount Road and the flat I was in had single glazing. I hated the Gatwick Express 442's before I moved there but they were pretty much the only things I could hear at night from the station. You can hear the Bluebell quite often from my Nan's garden in Danehill.

 

Hello Jamessquared, how are you today? Just a quick question, wondering if you knew when the Adams radial tank is scheduled to run or in its case, will it ever run again?.

 

It's not in the stated overhaul queue, so there is no start date for any overhaul. Will it run again - I'd like to think so, but it is likely to be an expensive job when it does get overhauled.

Tom

 

Roy Watts ( who is standing down as society Chairman in May ) stated in the last Bluebell News " Maybe - no promises here - I will look at how we can restore ( or perphaps maybe ' new build ') the Adams Radial. There, that will get people thinking or ticking."

 

Oh ok, because when i went there last august they were polishing/cleaning it guess that was so i looks presentable in the sheds.

 

More Steelwork on the new shed

Three shots of the view down the inside of the shed, a view showing the mudbath conditions on the site and finally a view of the rear of the site.

The Maintenance bay is being built first so that the maintenance road can come back into use, then the contractors will have unhindered access to the rest of the site to put up the rest of the steelwork.

David R

 

Now to the Elephant Van, four of us working on it today preparing more parts and roof panels.

First some roof panels being prepared (these are now the last panels to be made ready to go up on the roof), then a picture of some of the kit of parts, and finally a shot of the first of Chris's new West Side doors - now ready to fit

Hopefully, the next month or so should see some of these bits going back on and then it will really look like we're making serious progress.

David R

 

The kids usually get given the task of polishing up the out of traffic engines for presentation purposes.

 

A very infrastructure-focused e-Newsletter this week:

RAILWAY COMMISSIONS NEW KINGSCOTE SIGNAL BOX

On 3 March, 2016, the Railway held the official opening of its new signal box at Kingscote. Representing more than 9,000 hours work over a span of nearly four years, this facility is a remarkable achievement for the Railway's Signals and Telecommunications (S&T) team.

When the Railway extended north towards East Grinstead, a temporary Signal Box entered service at Kingscote on 27 April, 1996. Essentially built around a ground frame, this box was expected to be in service for just 10 years!

The long-term plan was to bring into service the box located at the north end of the down platform, the upper wooden structure of which had been rescued from Brighton Upper Goods. This structure housed a Saxby and Farmer lever frame, but it was soon found that size constraints were going to make its operational use impractical.

Attention turned to the alternative use of a Westinghouse "L" style lever frame, and the hunt was on for the component parts and the knowledge required to put them together. Initial sourcing included donations from the Dartmouth Steam Railway (of parts ex-Churston), a private collection from J. Francis, and the National Railway Museum.

The result is a 55-lever frame that will serve the Railway's current needs and provide scope for other developments in the future. Although two "L" frames remain in use on the main network at Liverpool Lime Street and Maidstone East, our Railway's new mechanism is the only "L" frame in use on a standard gauge heritage railway.

The formal opening ceremony was performed by Francis How, Fellow and Chief Executive, Institute of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE), and John Francis, IRSE Fellow.

By Roger Garman, Communications Director

(Photos: Mike Hopps - http://www.heritagerailposters.co.uk/KC_SB/album/index.html)

 

More from the e-Newsletter:

INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT: SIGNAL BOX OPENS, OP4 UPDATE, & MORE

Despite some appalling weather and muddy site conditions, the Horsted Keynes new carriage shed building outline is now taking shape, and the sheer size of the shed is becoming apparent.

The current construction phase is due for completion at the end of April, and groundwork and track will follow at a date yet to be agreed. While the current build only has budget for the shell and its roof, the potential benefit to C&W when completed is now emerging more strongly than ever.

The much needed renewal of No. 5 points north of Leamland Bridge at Horsted Keynes has now been authorised. The value of this work--made up of materials and plant--is £117,000. It's an amount the PLC budget would have been hard pushed to find without considerable impact on other departments, so we must send a really grateful thank to the Trust for underwriting the cost. A November date is likely for this job.

We also have been successful in getting Trust approval for a further £40,000 to make good platform 2 and 3 roads at Horsted Keynes. These two sections of Permanent Way have been in a declining condition for some years now. The situation is now such that we can no longer keep them in traffic without some serious repairs. No firm date is fixed for this as yet, but early 2017 is most likely.

The new Kingscote Signal Box was formally opened by Francis How, Chief Executive of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers and John Francis--the "L" frame donor and Independent Competent Person (ICP) for the project--on 3 March, 2016.

It has to be said that the extremely high standard of workmanship attained by the S&T team is quite outstanding, and it received numerous compliments from the assembled visitors. More details on these items will be in the next edition of Bluebell News.

By Chris White, Infrastructure Director

 

One more:

INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE #2: STEPPING OUT AT SHEFFIELD PARK

In what is a quiet period before the main operating season begins, steps are being taken--or rather steps are being removed--to effect repairs to the footbridge at Sheffield Park on the Platform 2 side. There has been concern about some of the fittings which are beginning to get rather rusty, so the whole staircase on that side has been stripped out for refurbishment.

The company that grit blasted the elephant van has been brought in to de-rust and prepare those hard to get at bits before treating and repainting. All the brackets supporting the steps are being replaced as well as the steps themselves. It has been reported that the footbridge was installed in 1978, so it has lasted well and with suitable treatment it will go on for many more years.

Other recent work has included casting concrete aprons in front of the new infrastructure mess room and workshop at Horsted Keynes, which also has been freshly painted in Southern Green. The new entrance to the lower Salt Yard further along Station Approach is also nearing completion, with only the kerbing, road access, and hard standing left to finish. The new gates--which are set back to allow lorries to enter so that they don't block the road--were installed some time ago.

Work has started on the foundations for the new platform starter signals at Sheffield Park. These have been re-sited further north in anticipation of the eventual lengthening of the platforms to accommodate seven coach trains. Slightly further along at River Bridge, larger new abutments are being cast to reinforce the formation on the upstream side, which will also support the ends of the new handrails that have been fitted recently.

There has been a complete transformation at the top end of the Salt Yard and the view from the train has altered considerably now that the steelwork for OP4 is going up. The western bay supports that cover the maintenance road are nearing completion. This improvement will allow five coaches to be worked on under cover and will offer room at the side for easy access and much-needed workshop space.

By Mike Hopps

 

The mud bath conditions extend to the south of the site. A view from this end can be seen in the following link.

Dave C

 

Attached this time!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/extension3363/25742830116/in/album-72157659146847649/

The south end 0f the shed will extend to roughly where the to cones are in the following photo:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/extension3363/25672713541/in/album-72157659146847649/

Dave

 

The following has appeared on the Bluebell chat group, I cannot vouch for anything contained within;

Hello all.Hoping to avoid any accusations of 'secrecy39; which arose with my retirementtrain to the Bluebell, just a note to say that it is planned to run the Hastingsunit 1001 as a Railtour, the 'Hastings Blue Belle' on Saturday 7th May.Train will run from Hastings (08.04), Warrior Square (08.08), Battle (08.23)Robertsbridge (08.31), Etchingham (08.36), Tunbridge Wells (08.57),Tonbridge (09.08), Edenbridge (09.25), Redhill (09.42), it will then reverse in theTurnback Siding at Norwood and arrive East Grinstead at 11.01 and SheffieldPark at 12.01.Return trip leaves Sheffield Park at 16.35 and reverses at Hurst Green to rundown to Uckfield and back, hoping to arrange a 'meet' with the Spa ValleyRailway39;s DEMU 1317 at Eridge but this is not confirmed yet..Bookings will open on the Hastings Diesels Limited website in next few daysif anyone is interested.Timings quoted here may be subject to slight alteration by Network Rail butshould not be anything significant.Hopjng it will be a good day out !.John AtkinsonTonbridge

 

A few shots of the Elephant Van (Play Carriage) from today. The roof is now having it's final fixing as are the side planks

David R

 

A few pictures of the new shed continuing to go up over the maintenance road from earlier today

David R

 

Seen on the A27 today...



Its not awfully clear, what with limitations of dashboard cam, but if you can't make it out we have (inter alia) "Bluebell is home" written in grime on the Network Rail Van. I was puzzled...

 

Well, last time she went away was April 2014 to the Northampton and Lamport - so that might give you a cleaning frequency for Network Rail vehicles

Otherwise - pass!

Tom

 

The mid week gang have completed the temporary fit of the roof the four sheets above and to the left of the doorway in the following photo have been moved down the van so that the cant rail blocks can be fitted.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/extension3363/25375170883/in/album-72157654777610931/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/extension3363/25703362220/in/album-72157654777610931/

Dave