Bluebell Giants of Steam

The bus that brought us here (left) and the bus that took us home (right)

Bluebell's Giants of Steam usually this clashes with the ELR Autumn Steam Gala, but this year I was able to get there, hot-footing it from my Euro trip (blog to follow). It was also one of the few days that free vintage bus rides were available, So I joined Pete and Lisa at St Peter's church to flag one down, just after mid-day.

925 Cheltenham

For the record, the locos in steam were:

Visiting locomotives:

• Schools Class No. 925 Cheltenham.
• LNER A4 Class No. 4464 Bittern (from the Mid Hants Railway and going out of service after this event for overhaul!)

73082 Camelot

Bluebell locos:

• Southern Railway S15 Class No. 847
• Southern Railway Q Class No. 30541
• British Railways Standard Class 5 No. 73082 Camelot
• South Eastern & Chatham Railway H Class No. 263

4464 Bittern

We arrived just in time to catch the 13.30 to East Grinstead, hauled by Cheltenham, and we joined Tarquin and Tamsin, who had been there all day. Pete and Lisa went to explore East Grinstead and we returned to Horsted Keynes to photograph Camelot (I'd never seen in steam before) and Bittern. Then it was onto a train pulled by 847 back to Sheffield Park, a quick look round the sheds where another tank (H Class 263) was in steam,  and home on a different bus just as it was getting dark.

847

Vintage bus day at the Bluebell

Getting to the Bluebell Railway by public transport is problematic, so I look forward to the vintage bus days, when I can get a free ride from St Peter's church right to Sheffield Park. This time I was joined by Peter Chrisp, Lisa Wolfe and Susan Sainsbury. So, we waited at St Peter's and along came a cream and green Southdown single decker.



I wasn't holding out much hope for interesting locos - the roster said it would be guest Black 5 No. 45231 The Sherwood Forester plus the South Eastern & Chatham Railway No. 263 and SECR Wainwright goods No. 592, but arriving at Sheffield Park, we were delighted to see that the mighty 9F 92212 from the Watercress Line was in steam. I took a photo of Peter with 263, which was hauling the Golden Arrow dining train, and he waxed lyrically about poppet valves and compound locos, inspired by Flann O'Brien.

 

So, after a pint of Harvey's in the buffet and a look round the sheds, we crossed the footbridge and boarded the train to East Grinstead. The rolling stock on the Bluebell is always perfectly matched with lovely upholstery. The trip there and back was very pleasant, tho we saw little wildlife apart from pheasants, and we caught a glimpse of the Black 5 (which are common as muck Up North) at Horsted Keynes. Back at Sheffield Park we waited in the bus park until a rather boring and bumpy green single decker started up to take us back to Brighton - to await the great storm.

 

The boring green bus that took us home can be seen the other side of the fence in this photo of a rather splendid Eastbourne bus:



Previous trips to the Bluebell:

• 10 May 2013
• 24 March 2011
• 22 November 2010
• 16 November 2009
• 25 October 2009
• 19 October 2008
• 12 November 2007
• 25 October 2007
• 25 October 2007
• 24 October 2005

East Grinstead by bus

Over Easter, the Bluebell Railway celebrated rejoining to the main line at East Grinstead. Back in the 1960s the council had used the cuttings between there and Kingscote as landfill tips and over the past few years, at great expense, the volunteers have been digging it all out! The Bluebell is notoriously difficult to get to from Brighton by public transport - in previous years I've been making use of the free vintage bus days to travel there via Lewes. This time I thought I'd try out the Metrobus route 270, via Haywards Heath. So, armed with a shareholder's voucher for a free round trip, I caught the bus from Preston Circus at 10.29.



The bus ride would take an hour and half and was scheduled to get in to East Grinstead at 12.02. The trouble was there was only one train on and it was timetabled to leave East Grinstead at 12. Not to worry, heritage railways are always a little behind... but not this time! The bus journey was very pleasant, visiting lovely Sussex villages such as Lindfield with its picturesque pond, and Forest Row, even passing the National Cat Centre at Ashdown Forest! Indeed it passes through Horsted Keynes, a station on the Bluebell line, but only visits the way-out-of-town station on Saturdays!

Predictably I'd missed the train, so I popped into the Travel Centre to get my ticket (disappointingly, a hand-written paper one - I hadn't spotted the proper ticket office which would have the proper cardboard ones). The poor wee Edinburgh woman in the travel centre was contending with the world's most boring old man, so I went next door to the splendid Grinsteade Buffet in an old coach for a cup of tea and a sandwich (egg mayo and cress). When I heard the boring man had followed me in and was interrogating the cafe woman, it was time to leave.



The plan was to get a bus back up the hill to the olde worlde High Street and kill time until the next train at  2.15. But the buses were few and far between, so I ended up hanging round the travel centre portacabin reading tourist brochures until the alloted time when I braved the howling wind to get a place on the platform. However, the train was delayed by half an hour, due to a failed brake in a carriage (grrr), so that meant more waiting, out of the wind.



Eventually Maunsell U-class 2-6-0 No. 1638, built in 1931, rolled into the station. I took some photos - it was windy but sunny - and got on board. Theoretically the round trip would bring me back to East Grinstead for 4.11 and my last bus to Brighton was 4.15. Hmmm, ah well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. At the travel centre I'd checked that there were no buses going anywhere nearby from any of the other stations during the week. I'd chosen to come on a weekday because I thought it'd be quieter - wrong! Weekdays are taken up by coach trips wanting cream teas, so the train (minus one coach) was crowded. At Sheffield Park I should have had half an hour to look round the shed, but when we got there, the platform was crammed with millions of hungry pensioners, and with a party of 'evacuees' that got on at Horsted Keynes, it was going to be crowded going back. I did mange a whirlwind tour of the new museum, where I saw London Jack, died 1931, who used to be on Woking station (I think) collecting for the Southern Railway Orphanage.



I did get a seat on the way back, opposite a moaning life member and wife who thought they should have used more carriages, despite the waitresses frantically putting Reserved signs on every available table for the cream teas, and I got back to East Grinstead in time for the 5.15 270 bus, which only goes as far as Burgess Hill. I alighted at Haywards Heath and got the train back to Brighton (bumped into Ross Gurney-Randall), grabbing a cheese and mushroom pasty at the station and a pint of Revelation at the Evening Star, ready for Dave Suit's situationist film '50 shades of suit' in the 5 pound fringe at the Caxton Arms. Then it was back to the station and because of a potentially long wait for a London Road train, I hopped on to a 7 to North Street and then a long wait (grrr) for a no. 5 home to nod off to Question Time.

And yes, I did see some bluebells (and deer and pheasants), but they were better from the bus!

Bluebell, Clarion and The Unthanks

 P-class 0-6-0T No. 178

Yeh, I know, I haven't had a good old moan on here for a while, but we'll put that right a little later. On Sunday I visited the Bluebell Railway with the Clarion cycling club. It was a world-record turn-out of 20 riders. This usually causes problems on British Rail, but this time we also fell foul of jobsworths on the Bluebell. The uniformed man at Kingscote said only five bikes could travel in the guard's van, and also made a song and dance about our bringing the bikes through the booking office, - with the possibility of scratching the paintwork maybe? Any road up, we managed to get Nick on board (that made six) and the rest of them cycled to Sheffield Park. There was ample room in the guard's van and at £8.50 a ticket they were effectively tuning away £120 of badly needed revenue.

The 'cushy six' were hauled from Kingscote to Sheffield Park by South Eastern & Chatham Railway P-class 0-6-0T No. 178, built in 1910. The other loco on duty was Brighton-built London Brighton & South Coast Railway Class E4 0-6-2T No. 473 Birch Grove in Southern green livery. Then it was into the buffet for a pint of Harvey's and some food. I had an egg and cress sandwich and a bowl of chips, but there wasn't much for veggies (some dried up macaroni cheese) and the rest of the dishes on offer did look a bit institutional, with overcooked cabbage and carrots. Eventually, after an ardous ride over the High Weald, the rest joined us, but we were way behing schedule. I was going to Bexhill that night to see The Unthanks, and my old Guildford chum Sev was picking me up at 6pm. It was a long hard slog back to Haywards Heath and I was completely knackered.

I got home just on the dot of six and Sev arrived a minute or two later and off we set. Now here's the moan you've been waiting for! The De La Warr Pavilion is a fantastic venue, both outside and in, but... a 500ml bottle of Harvey's Blue Label (retail price about 2 quid) cost... wait for it... £4.85! Anyway, I had a front row seat, the support band The Trembling Bells, were OK, but here comes another moan: the gift shop and art gallery were closed by the time the 30-minute interval came along! The Unthanks were sublime, even though Rachel didn't do any clog dancing cos she was with child. She didn't say 'snow' either. They had a string quartet, trumpet, piano, bass and drums, with some uke and saw action along the way. The only downer was that the last train to Brighton had been cancelled so they had to rush along to get it all in. I had a lift home though and slept really well that night.

Previous visits to the Bluebell:

• 22 November 2010
• 16 November 2009
• 25 October 2009
• 19 October 2008
• 12 November 2007
• 25 October 2007
• 25 October 2007
• 24 October 2005

Vintage bus day at the Bluebell

178 at Kingscote about to leave
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

Two or three times a year, vintage bus owners give rides to the Bluebell Railway and back in their beautifully restored vehicles - for free. These events usually coincide with special events, but unfortunately the Bluebell's 'Giants of Steam' gala coincided with the East Lancs Railway's Autumn Steam event so I was unable to go to that one. Sunday however was billed as Vintage Bus Day and so after a quick whizz round the Art Junkie at the Phoenix gallery, I crossed to St Peter's and flagged down a Stratford Blue Leyland Leopard HAC 628D and sank back into the plush deep blue unholstery for a pleasant ride to Sheffield Park, via Lewes.

At the station there was a splendid array of Southdown buses in the car park (one of which I was to take back to Brighton). It was time for the 1pm train so I jumped into one of only two carriages being hauled by Wainwright P Class 0-6-0T No. 178 in the green livery of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. We had to wait for the 'Golden Arrow' dining train to come in, hauled by London, Brighton and South Coast Railway 0-6-2T No. 473 (formerly known as Birch Grove), so we left about 20 minutes late. At Horsted Keynes I spotted Standard BR Class 4 2-6-4T No. 80151 coming the other way - the only other loco in service.

So it was to the end of the line at Kingscote, and back. Because there were only two coaches it was as crowded as a rush-hour tube train, with the added delight of several hundred screeching babies brought on the pretense of perhaps seeing Thomas The Tank Engine and the Fat Controller I can only suppose! But it was a lovely journey nevertheless, with the spectacle of lots of fat pheasants struggling to fly away from the cutting verges - and I think I saw a deer. Although it was fine it was not a great day for photography, nor for hanging about on platforms. Back at Sheffield Park, it was getting dark and there was a huge queue for the buffet so I had a quick look in the sheds and home (on Southdown No.547 PUF 647, a Park Royal-bodied Guy Arab from the 1950s) in time for a second look round Art Junkie!

Previous visits to the Bluebell:

• 16 November 2009
• 25 October 2009
• 19 October 2008
• 12 November 2007
• 25 October 2007
• 24 October 2005

Bluebell vintage bus day

Air raids
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

After the storms and gales of Saturday, the weather for the Sunday vintage bus day at the Bluebell Railway was actually quite clement. I boarded a splendid but quite modern Southdown bus at St Peters again, but this time it was quite full. At Sheffield Park the nice ancient Metropolitan Railway set of carriages was about to leave, pulled by SE&CR Wainwright goods, No. 592 with its big brass dome, so I jumped aboard one of the crowded non-corridor compartments, where I took a photo of the Air Raid Warning Instruction card above the lovely art deco upholstery.

We had to wait for the Golden Arrow to pull in so we could use the single track and apparently there had been some electrical fault at Kingscote, so everything was running 20 minutes late. Eventually, in came the posh Pullman carriages full of posh diners, but the train was being pulled by a boring BR black Standard Tank, no. 80151! And I think I'd have been very disappointed had I shelled out for a luxury meal and been on that train - still it could have been worse, it could have been a diesel!

At Horsted Keynes I spotted rebuilt SR Bulleid Battle of Britain class, no. 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair on the other platform. Now that's what should have been hauling the Golden Arrow, but their loss was my gain, as I changed horses mid-stream to return to Sheffield Park pulled by the pacific. There I had time to look round the sheds, then it was off on a round trip of the entire line. Bought a bottle of BSB (Bluebell Special Bitter) in the Buffet Car, and sat back to watch the agitated bunnies, sheep and pheasants in the field by the side of the line. On the way back it was getting dark, and that's no fun for a train-spotter! I caught the last bus back (a single deck Statford Blue) and cycled home for another beer.

Previous visits to the Bluebell:

• 25 October 2009
• 19 October 2008
• 12 November 2007
• 25 October 2007
• 24 October 2005

Bluebell Giants of Steam 2009

Observation car
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

The Bluebell Railway's Giants of Steam event has the added bonus of free vintage bus rides from Brighton on the Sunday, so I cycled along to St Peter's church and soon along came a lovely green and cream Southdown bus (Leyland PD3 Queen Mary BUF 277C, doors at the front). The group of bus enthusiasts upstairs were discusing the previous evening's White Night celebrations (I'd failed to get to see Foster and Gilvan's Penny Arcade cos of the huge queues). Apparently there had been sightseeing bus rides, with entertainment provided by Count Adriano Fettucini on ukulele (I recognised him from the photo taken by one of the bus spotters), but considered inappropriate by the rather conservative crowd - 'literally, toilet humour' said one, I wish I'd been there!

At the Bluebell I jumped onto the first train out, pulled by 80151 (BR 4MT 2-6-4T, built at Brighton in 1957). As we pulled out I saw Dukedog 9017 Earl of Berkeley (GWR 4-4-0 in BR Black) arrive with a set of Metropolitan Railway coaches. The train was quite full, and there was a bit of argy-bargy as the guard came round to clip tickets, when a woman accused a young chap with family across the aisle of unscrewing and stealing a chrome ashtray! The guard said he was powerless to conduct a search, so nothing was done, except black looks for the rest of the journey.

I alighted at Horsted Keynes, where the Bluebell's oldest loco 672 Fenchurch (built in Brighton in 1872) was giving brakevan rides down a very short stretch of the Ardingly branch for an extra £3 (see video here). I had to wait a while for my turn, so looked in at the Brighton Belle Pullman car Doris and the various other exhibits and stalls around the station, including a static 2-10-0 92240 and 2-6-0 75027.

'Giants' were thin on the ground, however - the only one being 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair (Bulleid Battle of Britain Pacific) - the guest loco 30777 Sir Lamiel unable to make it due to a mechanical fault. Sir Archie pulled in from Kingscote as I was waiting to board the Fenchurch special, so had missed a chance to ride behind it. The other loco on duty was 1638 (SR U-class 2-6-0), a lovely green Maunsell loco with windshields, but no name!

As it was a busy day, the observation car on my original train was free to third-class ticket owners, so when it arrived back from Kingscote, I jumped in to the luxurious coach for a ride back to Sheffield Park and, after watching Sir Archie leaving for Kingscote (see video here), a walk round the sheds to see Stepney, Normandy, Stowe and Blackmoor Vale. By this time 80151 had changed ends and was hitched in front of the observation coach. I couldn't miss that opportunity, so travelled back to Horsted Keynes (see video here). A trip to the end of the line would have taken too long and I might have missed the last bus, so at Horsted Keynes I crossed the platform to get the 1638-hauled train back (see video here). The bus home was an older Southdown bus (Leyland PD2 RUF 186, built in 1955, door at back) beautifully upholstered. As dawn was falling over the Sussex countryside, the bus had to slow down to let a deer cross the road before it drove back into the 21st century. Next vintage bus day is 15 November. Top day out: total cost £11 for members' rover ticket + £3 for the Fenchurch brakevan ride.
Previous visits to the Bluebell:

• 19 October 2008
• 12 November 2007
• 25 October 2007
• 24 October 2005

Steam at the Bluebell and Bury

RIMG0030.JPG
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

There were two steam galas on the trot, last two weekends: first on the Bluebell, then on the East Lancs. I made use of the vintage bus to get to the Bluebell on Sunday 19 October. Star was GWR Prairie 5199. Jinty 47493 had broken down, so the only other locos in steam were Southern Railway U Class no. 1638, Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway class 7F no. 53809 and South Eastern and Chatham Railway O1 Class no. 65. I didn't take many snaps, concentrating on Flip videos, which can be seen on Vimeo. I met my friend Karen and 3 kids (and Johnny) there and we travelled back to Brighton on another vintage bus.

Up in Bury I was joined by my sister and brother-in-law on the Saturday train to Rawtenstall. It came in as 61994 The Great Marquess, but as we pulled out, there she was on another platform! Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST Austerity no. 2183 was chuffing up and down taking footplate passengers for a tenner. At Ramsbottom, we found out we'd been pulled by Jinty 47324 (I still don't know why they're called Jinties!) and they jumped ship and headed back to Bury - pulled by 71000 Duke of Gloucester, the lucky things! I carried on to Rawtenstall where I headed off to the R Lowry exhibition. After missing the Duke again on the way back I had to be content with a double header of L&YR 0-6-0 Class 27 no. 1300 and the Jinty. On Sunday I met my friend Lois, Pete and little Joe. I'd calculated that we'd get the Duke this time, and in she came from Heywood. But... again she was detached and we ended up leaving Bury with 61994 The Great Marquess! At Ramsbottom we saw pig's ears at the car boot sale, had black peas in a polystyrene cup (60p) from Ye Olde Black Peas stall and a chocolate drink in the strangest footballers' wives cafe. It was a cup of frothy milk you had to dissolve a bar of German chocolate in and whisk up (3 quid)! I can't see it catching on! We continued to Rawtenstall pulled by Black Five 45407 and back to Bury. On the way back I was filming the Duke stopped at Ramsbottom when a torrent of rain came off the roof of our train and soaked me! Took some more films back at Bury, then went for a pint of black stuff in the well stocked Trackside bar. Lois had a black pudding bap and then drove us through the rain to New Mills. Pocket rocket BR 2-6-0 Class 4MT no. 76079 (running as 76001) was also in steam but I couldn't get a decent shot of it. Next day I travelled to Liverpool to sample some Biennial art (not that impressed by the videos at FACT or the paintings at Bluecoat) and visit and photograph various houses my Grandad lived in - in Toxteth and over the water in Egremont.

Vintage bus day at the Bluebell

bluebell_11nov07_3
Originally uploaded by fred pipes.

On Sunday it was vintage bus day on the Bluebell Railway, so I stuck my hand out at St Peter's and got a free ride into the past. I was just in time to see the 'Golden Arrow' of Pullman dining cars pulled by SR U-class 2-6-0 1638 (no name) setting off. My regular train to Kingscote, pulled by O1 Class No 65 was a bit late setting off, but I was treated to the sight of dozens of pheasants, bunnies and two deer along the way. At Horsted Keynes, I copped West Country class pacific 34028 Eddystone going the other way. In the yard at Sheffield Park were SECR Wainwright C-class goods loco No 592, West Country class 34007 Wadebridge, 21C123 Blackmoor Vale and BR Standard 73082 Camelot along with all the other regulars. Bumped into Nick Sayers and family getting off the train! I just missed the 16.05 bus back to Brighton and had half an hour wait, so supped a pint of Bluebell and was driven back in the same not-so-vintage bus through the dark back to Brighton.

Bulleid weekend at the Bluebell

bluebell21oct07_11
Originally uploaded by fred pipes.

Last Sunday I cycled down to Pool Valley to jump on a vintage bus taking me to Sheffield Park and the Bluebell Railway. It was their 'Giants of steam' weekend, to celebrate 40 years since the end of Southern steam. It could have been called Bulleid weekend because there were four of his pacifics in attendance: three Spamcans and one rebuilt West Country class loco, plus assorted others. Arriving on my not-so-vintage bus, the train at the staion I jumped on was being pulled by BR tank 80151, ah well. But then a train double-headed by West Country class 34028 Eddystone and visitor streamlined West Country class 34007 Wadebridge thundered in. Whoopee! I travelled 3rd class to Horsted Keynes, where the idea was to get a pint of Harvey's and check out the trains! First was 21C123 Blackmoor Vale in Southern Railway Malachite Green and Sunshine Yellow livery heading back to Sheffield Park, followed by SR U-class 2-6-0 1638 (no name). Terrier 55 Stepney running as a Brighton Works shunter in Stroudley's famous 'Improved Engine Green' (aka baby-shit brown), was tootling up and down pulling a guard's van. The Harvey's had run out and there was a queue at the bar so I hopped aboard the double-header to Kingscote, the end of the line, saw the engines change ends and came back to Sheffield Park, where I had a wander round the sheds. The 4th Bulleid pacific, visiting Battle of Britain class 34081 92 Squadron, in British Railways Brunswick Green livery with orange and black lining, was in the yard but didn't seem to be in steam. All around were other locos, silent and at rest. I watched Wadebridge go out again, on its own this time, and saw Blackmoor Vale come in, noticing that on the other side the nameplate said O.V.S. Bulleid, then it was off home on a proper red vintage bus. Next weekend I'm off to the East Lancs Railway at Bury for their steam gala.