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Bluebell Railway Branch Line Weekend, 13 / 14 May 2017

Discussion in 'Galas and Events' started by Jamessquared, May 8, 2017.

  1. 6960 Raveningham Hall

    6960 Raveningham Hall Member Friend

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    We had a long weekend in London as Di was taking part in the Moonwalk charity event on Saturday night.

    As we had no plans for Sunday we took the train to East Grinstead and spent a thoroughly enjoyable day at the Bluebell Railway.

    The selection of engines and rolling stock on display were very impressive and the stations along the line are simply wonderful.

    I was sorry not to get to say hello to Tom @Jamessquared; I asked one of the crew of 'Camelot' but he didn't know anybody named Tom James.

    A big thank you to everybody involved in staging the event.

    Stef.
     
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  2. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

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    I always use a pseudonym round the railway ;)

    It was a fun event; I'd dearly love to have 1054 back again. Still a chance to ride behind her this coming weekend, for anyone that missed out.

    Tom
     
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  3. Dan Hamblin

    Dan Hamblin Part of the furniture

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    Travelled on Saturday and got more time behind 1054 as a result of 592's retirement. A lovely engine and a credit to the BLS; managed to get the last copy they had (at the time) of the 'Bashers, Gadgets and Mourners' book about the class and 1054.

    I think the timetable worked pretty well - lots going on at Horsted Keynes and I enjoyed the multitude of movements that took place. Had a go on the brake van ride for the first time, which is a nice additional feature. We even ran parallel with 'Baxter' at one point for a very short distance.

    Regards,

    Dan
     
  4. Paul42

    Paul42 Part of the furniture

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  5. Paul42

    Paul42 Part of the furniture

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    The crews on Mondays the photo charter seem to enjoy themselves on the loco, although the afternoon crew took a little longer getting use to it. A very well turned out loco, which appeared to run very well, a credit to the Bahamas loco Society. I hope the owners representative(s) enjoyed their visit. Can 45596 visit once its finished ?
     
  6. Paul42

    Paul42 Part of the furniture

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    It looks ok with the Maunsells see Andrew Shaplands photo from Saturday https://www.flickr.com/photos/articdriver/33804680834/
    ,but looks best with just the Obo, see below from Mondays photo charter, which despite the forecast we had some sun.
    IMG_0852 (1024x683).jpg
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2017
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  7. 73082

    73082 Member

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    My video covering both days of the event...for me, Sunday was largely more successful in terms of videoing than Saturday because of the wind, though, as can be heard on the video, this stuck around for Sunday as well :( Even so, it was a great couple of days and my thanks go to all those involved.

     
  8. RASDV

    RASDV Member

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    First time to a Bluebell branch line gala - and what a lovely event! I really enjoyed myself on Sunday (even after a long day on the RHDR on Saturday!) It was great to see the smaller engines getting a chance to stretch their legs - I enjoyed seeing 'Bluebell' herself running for the first time though her chime whistle surprised me the first time I heard it! I suppose I was expecting a whistle that seemed more appropriate to a little 0-6-0!
    It was also great to get a ride behind 'Captain Baxter' and it laid a great smokescreen at Horsted Keynes!
    It was a shame the 'C' failed - I partly made the trip to see it, but these things can't be helped.
    And the 'Coal Tank' was lovely - it was my first time seeing it properly - I saw it briefly once when it visited the SVR for their Autumn gala a few years ago so it was good to see it at close quarters, especially because it wasn't too busy. It was nice because the event felt well attended without being overcrowded - a tricky balance to find!
    If it's on again next year I will certainly be back for it!

    My video:
    I did go out to film the triple header at the end of the day, but stupidly I forgot to press record! I did get some still photos though:
    https://goo.gl/photos/yYVzL9u6sRRrwG7u9
    A short review for my website: http://www.totally-transport.co.uk/bluebell-branchline-weekend-140517.html
     
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