Bluebell Railway General Discussion

60007 Sir Nigel Gresley is to visit the Bluebell for Giants of Steam in October, as well as hauling the Golden Arrow services the following week.

Edit: Just pipped by Tom, but will be great to see the loco visit, all 3 operational A4's of the last decade will have visited the line, 4464 in 2015 where it made it's last runs, 60009 back in 2018 and now 60007.

 

Nice, all three of the operational A4s in the UK in recent years will have visited since 2015 once this has been, plus an A3 and an A1

Now I wonder...

 

I note that it says "The Southern Region never used AC Traction". Maybe not, but the LBSCR did. And it had powers to electrify its whole network (including, therefore, the Bluebell) with overhead AC.

 

I agree as well Peter but for me it was more the fact the these days older people seem to look better (healthier?) than they did in the era this is recreating.
Still a great image though.

 

Lack of facial fuzz too, where are the mutton chop sideboards or twirly moustaches?

 

I've spent a lot of time looking at images and resolution aside, depth of field is usually what makes it seem out of place. If this was shot on a Kodak Brownie or Soviet Rangefinder on even modern B&W film, you'd probably have a easier time with the modern anorchisms.

 

Hopefully Beachy Head might be available for Giants of Steam as well.

 

FENCHURCH and 80151 at East Grinstead last year:

 

UKRailtours will have a railtour to Bluebell on 21st September. Traction provided by GBRf.

Info from https://www.ukrailtours.com/product/diary-dates-spring-early-summer-2024/

 

It's probably impossible to achieve a perfect Victorian recreation in any photo, but I don't think that's a reason not to try. The details might not be perfect, but I still think that a modern colour photograph can give a much more vivid impression of what Victorian railways looked and felt like, rather than, say, a black-and-white C19th engraving (which are not always accurate in their details, in any case). If nothing else, it shows just how magnificent the pre-grouping rolling stock and station colour schemes would have looked when viewed as an ensemble. With so few people now left alive who can remember the railways pre-1948, I think such recreations can help to give us a more rounded view of railway history, and hopefully they will serve to encourage interest in the pre-grouping scene, which might otherwise be overlooked.

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Long ago and far away, when I was a Bluebell volunteer / Trustee, I was involved as an ‘extra’ on several filming jobs, variously dressed by the film companies, but often as a porter, in uniform with appropriate boots, absence of wrist watches etc. Particularly memorable was ‘Longitude’ where I am the porter walking across the scene in the opening sequence at Horsted Keynes consulting a pocket watch. Interestingly, that was my own (GWR!) watch, which I had added to the provided uniform and was seen consulting my watch off set by the Director who then asked me to look at it as I walked through the shot. The relevance to the subject matter will be clear.

Anachronism-spotting can be a fun sport but it is the overall impression that matters.

I was also involved in the filming of ‘Dunkirk’ at the Swanage in which there is a clear anachronism in that the troops returning from the south coast are seem in a late-build Mk1 with a white melamine interior - nearly 30 years ‘wrong’. The scene was first tried in a Bulleid interior - correct for period but the brown uniforms against a brown interior resulted in the actors just being ‘heads and hands’.

It’s not always about pin-point accuracy.

 

I remember that scene and how jarring it was in the cinema. It’s interesting and reassuring to hear what went on in the background and led to that specific choice


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A short clip taken from a train as it departed from Sheffield Park during last year's Branch Line Weekend:

 

Pure luck that I took a break from typing up my timing logs for 1965 to check the Bluebell Railway's webcams and find 73082 just about to leave Kingscote for East Grinstead. Two very well placed webcams IMHO as I saw the restart and then dropped down to the image below and saw it heading away from the station.

And then, in a real concidence the next log I typed up was of 73082 on 11 cars on the 11.30 ex Waterloo in August 1965. The second of only two times I had a run behind Camelot in the 1960s. I was only on the train Basingstoke to Winchester City, and it had arrived at Basingstoke over 30 late. With 11 cars for over 380 tons gross the 4-6-0 struggled a bit to the top of Roundwood bank (the easier side), passed at 50 mph, and then ran nicely down hill to reach 73 mph before a temporary speed restriction near Wallers Ash tunnel.

That was just after another epic from Bournemouth driver Varney and fireman Condon on the Pines Express. 34044 on 13 cars for not much under 500 tons gross (heavy LMR coaches) that, on wet rails on a rainy day, took that load over the top of the main slog of Roundwood bank at 56.5 mph from the Winchester start.

Sadly 34044 is no longer with us but thankfully Camelot is most certainly alive and well, and in service today!

Right enough of this, back to typing up timing logs - McClaggan of Nine Elms with 34108, picking me up on the 12.45 Bournemouth West to Waterloo at Winchester not long after 73082 had left.

Bryan B

 

A little wagon update - the Goods Division have just outshopped LMS 3 plank wagon No. 474558. The intention was that that would be a quick intermediate overhaul, but it turned into a bigger job with repairs to the steel under frame being needed once the floor had been removed. Their attention has now turned to the SE&CR 2 plank ballast wagon No. 567, which apart from a general tidy up and repainting will be getting a new floor.

I think the next opportunity to see teh wagons in action will be Branch Line Gala on May 10-12 and the Road Meets Rail event on May 18/19.

Car No. 54 was in use yesterday and doing what it was designed for (I was fireman on the Golden Arrow); was nice to see the set back to three Pullmans. The second service train meanwhile was one of those eclectic jobs that we seem to be running at the moment, with seven carriages from 5 different pre-grouping companies: LCDR, LSWR, LBSCR, SE&CR and LNWR!

Tom

 

I know the purists must be in uproar about a non matching train- but what a fantastic thing to be able to turn out.

Feels like the Bluebell has got it's mojo back since covid- exciting projects, different stock turned out regularly etc.

Looking forward to a visit later this year

Chris

 

It definitely feels that way. There will be a little "gosh, I didn't even know we owned that" restoration update in Friday's issue of Bluebell Times! Nothing major before hares start running, just a bit unexpected - to me at least.

Tom

 

It was a better solution than the Director’s first suggestion which was to whitewash the inside of the Bulleid coach..

 

A couple more short videos from last year's Branch Line Weekend:





Hope they're of interest.

Ron.

 

• Watts Occurring – the “what, why, when and how” of what we do
• Details of the forthcoming BRPS Annual General Meeting
• Work continues on the Q class tender
• Restoration on multiple fronts in the C&W with work on the Maunsell Restaurant Car, SE&CR 100 seater, Bulleid 3rd and our historic wagons
• Not just trains: the Railway’s Fordson van is also being restored
• What it takes to become a passenger guard
• The Carriage Shop moves into its new home ready for the main season

The Bluebell Times is published monthly on the second Friday of every month. The next issue is due out on Friday, 12 April 2024.

You can download the latest edition by clicking the link below.

https://www.bluebell-railway.com/bluebell-times/

Tom