Bluebell Railway General Discussion

I’ll second that, a really friendly lot.

 

An update on the Jewel in the Crown appeal (see The Bluebell Times, issue 25) was posted on Facebook - currently showing at £449,373, and an estimated additional £22,305 that can be reclaimed from Gift Aid.

If I have back-calculated correctly, it means that there is still about another £45,000 of match funding available for any donations made before 31 January next year. You can donate here: https://www.bluebell-railway.com/make-a-donation/

Tom

 

A bit more of my footage from the Bluebell Railway can be seen on YouTube if anyone's interested to have a look:



Still more in the pipeline. (Yawn!!)

TTFN,

Ron.

 

I'm sorry to say that Ray Bellingham, chairman and chief engineer of the Maunsell Locomotive Society, passed away last week. He was 90.

He had led the restoration of three ex-Barry locomotives (541, 847 and 1638) as well as concluding the restoration of 1618, the second loco out of Barry. More recently, he had overseen the overhaul of 847 for its second period in traffic, and was doing the same for No. 928 'Stowe'. 1638 had been considered something of a lost cause when it came out of Barry, missing a tender, most of its motion and with a poor condition boiler, so its return in 2006 was something of a triumph: the restoration received the HRA John Coiley award for locomotive projects in 2006.

Ray had also led the fundraising needed to purchase 'Stowe' in 2000, and under his chairmanship, the MLS had raised £400,000 in the last ten years for locomotive projects. He was awarded the National Transport Trust – Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, in recognition of his contribution to the railway preservation movement.

My condolences go out to his family and friends. There will be, I believe, a full obituary in the next issue of Bluebell News in January.

Tom

 

RIP, Ray. A huge contribution to the preservation movement, and such a desperate shame that he didn't live to see Stowe return to traffic in all its glory.

 

I am very sorry to hear about Ray Bellingham. I was in awe of his contribution towards the preservation of Maunsell locos. RIP Ray.

Sent from my SM-A105FN using Tapatalk

 

Nice piece on ITV news last night, about the Jewel in the Crown appeal and some shots of SteamLights.

See here, starting about 17 minutes in https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2021-04-19/catch-up-itv-news-meridian-east (this link may only last today).

Tom

 

It’s the last Bluebell Times of the year, but there is plenty happening around the Railway.

In this issue:

• Updates from the latest board meeting pointing the way to 2022
• Dates for next year’s volunteer workshops confirmed, and details of how to attend
• A last push needed to get the Jewel in the Crown appeal up to its target of £540,000
• ‘Remembrance’ nameplate from the LBSCR memorial locomotive goes on display in the museum
• Five minutes with new Society trustee and filming liaison officer Mike Hopps
• 500 new photos are uploaded to the museum website – including the beginnings of the John Scrace collection
• A new footbridge for East Grinstead mainline station

The Bluebell Times is published monthly on the second Friday of every month. The next issue is due out on Friday 14 January.

You can download the latest edition using the link below.
https://www.bluebell-railway.com/bluebell-times/

Tom

 

From an advert in Trackside magazine : -
29th-31st July - Terrier Gala
23rd-25th September - Beer Festival
14-16th October Giants of Steam

 

For those of you wanting to experience why No. 263 is so special - your chance to have a footplate experience on her before she goes out of ticket next year:

https://www.bluebell-railway.com/footplate-taster-experiences/

Tom

 

I'm still uploaded short bits of video from my Bluebell visit to YouTube:



Hope I'm not boring you!

TTFN,

Ron.

 

Three from last night's Steamlights service. New camera makes the first shot look like dusk, but it was completely dark by then. Queues of people to get on the engine at Horsted, and it looked like the buffet there was doing a decent trade in mulled wine.







Tom

 

I assume the "Terrier" gala is dog-based given the current locomotive fleet?

 

They could have King Charles as that is a dog. I have found out that king at WSR is not going to be able to run at there so they could bring that to the dog gala and recall it as it is a stray that needs rehome. I don’t know why they are repair it if they can’t run it at there railway it is a silly place

 

The advert in Trackside magazine says Fenchurch is expected to feature in the Gala but obviously depends on how the overhaul progresses between now and then. Then I'd guess there'd be at least one guest lined up with Stepney on display.

 

I would expect 2678 will make a visit looking like its been making the rounds recently. I suppose non-Terriers, 73082, 80151, 65 and 30541 maybe used at some point across the three days

 

They'll be an update in the next BN, but quite a lot of the mechanical work is done on the chassis, including fitting the new cylinders (so for the first time in a century or so she'll have the standard size Terrier cylinders). The boiler is progressing at Sheffield Park.

Tom

 

Thanks Tom, sounds like progress is going well. I went to the Terrier Gala in 2000 as a 9 year old and despite being on the W11/2678 double header where the fire was thrown out and had to be rescued by 473, it was quite an enjoyable event. I missed out on the one in 2006 sadly and 2662 remains an elusive Terrier for me.

 

662 Martello is operational and in Southern Green. It would like to see 662 Martello and W11 Newport hauling part of the Southern Set.

 

Martello is a loco that's always escaped me. I'd be interested in seeing 2662 and W11 together. Visits away from Bressingham are quite rare for Martello these days, although Bressingham is somewhere I'd like to go to someday.