Bluebell Railway



The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East Sussex and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between Sheffield Park and Kingscote, with an intermediate station at Horsted Keynes.

In the television series, the Bluebell Railway is a branchline on Sodor, close to the Skarloey Railway.

The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers. It has the largest collection of steam locomotives in the UK after the National Railway Museum (NRM) (though the Midland Railway, Butterley owns more locomotives after the collection overall), and a collection of almost 150 carriages and wagons (most of them from before or between the world wars), unrivaled in the south of England. In addition to the 30+ locomotives resident on the line, one is on loan from the NRM (another has recently returned there), and a project is well under way to recreate a long-lost type of locomotive (a London, Brighton and South Coast Railway H2 Class Atlantic) from a few surviving parts.

The Bluebell Railway was the first preserved standard gauge steam-operated passenger railway in the world: it opened on 7 August 1960, shortly after the line from East Grinstead to Lewes had been closed by British Railways. It also preserved a number of steam locomotives even before the cessation of steam service on British mainline railways in 1968.

History
In 1877 an Act of Parliament was passed to authorise the construction of the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway (L&EGR). The line was sponsored by a number of local landowners, including the Earl of Sheffield. A year later an Act of 1878 enabled the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company (LB&SCR) to acquire and operate the new line.

The line had six stations, but only the station at Barcombe was within walking distance of an existing village: the remaining five were in thinly populated areas. Chailey parish had two stations, one at Sheffield Park and the other at Newick and Chailey. It was customary at that time for a rural railway line that was supported by a private company or notable individuals to have stations sited in close proximity to the residences of its sponsors. Thus Sheffield Park station was built for the Earl of Sheffield, and Newick and Chailey for Newick Park and Reedens, the residences of two other sponsors. The other stations on the line were at Kingscote, West Hoathly and Horsted Keynes. A branch line ran from a junction at Horsted Keynes to Ardingly and Haywards Heath on the LB&SCR main line.

Significantly, the 1877 and 1878 Acts included a clause stating that:

Four passenger trains each way daily to run on this line, with through connections at East Grinstead to London, and to stop at Sheffield Bridges, Newick, and West Hoathly.

This imposed a legal requirement on the railway owner to provide a service, and it emerged much later that the only way to remove this obligation was to pass another Act of Parliament to rescind it.

After the passage of the 1878 Act, the new line opened in 1882, with the usual pomp and ceremony and a great deal of celebration. The whole line from East Grinstead was built to take double track, which was actually laid between East Grinstead and Horsted Keynes; however, south of the junction at Horsted Keynes the line was only single track with passing loops at the stations. Like a number of rural branch lines of that era, as well as conveying passengers a substantial quantity of local produce was transported: milk, farm products and coal, and timber to and from Albert Turner & Son, a local sawmill. Curiously, the only time Sheffield Park station received a substantial number of passengers was when Lord Sheffield entertained the Australian Cricket Team, with the inevitable match between them and Lord Sheffield's own team.

As early as 1954, and certainly long before Dr Richard Beeching (whose programme of railway closures and service cuts became known as the Beeching Axe) became Chairman of the British Railways Board, the Branchline Committee of British Railways had submitted a proposal to close the section of line from East Grinstead to Culver Junction near Lewes. This was challenged by local residents, but eventually the closure was sanctioned in February 1955, and a closure date fixed for 15 June 1955 although the line actually closed prematurely on 29th May due to a rail staff strike. The ensuing battle fought between British Railways and the users of the "Bluebell Line" (as it was known) became infamous, as a result of four years of acrimonious argument which the transport users conducted in opposition to the Transport Authorities.

Shortly after the closure a local resident of Chailey, Miss Margery Bessemer, discovered in the wording of the 1877 and 1878 Acts the clause (mentioned above) relating to the "Statutory Line", and demanded that British Railways honour this legal obligation and reinstate the services required by the Acts. On 7 August 1956 British Railways was forced to re-open the line, and so began the "Sulky Service", with the trains only stopping at the stations mentioned in the Acts. Meanwhile, in 1957 British Railways took the case to the House of Commons, resulting in a Public Inquiry.

Spring 1959 saw the formation of the Lewes & East Grinstead Railway Preservation Society, the forerunner of today’s Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. Its initial aim was to re-open the whole line from East Grinstead to Culver Junction, and to run it as a commercial service. This was envisaged as using a diesel railcar, a two-car DMU, as soon as funds allowed. These plans came to nothing, for two reasons: firstly, the Society failed to purchase the whole line; and secondly, most local residents were not that interested. So in the interim, the re-opening of the section of line from Sheffield Park to Bluebell Halt just south of Horsted Keynes (which was at first leased and eventually purchased from British Railways) as both a steam railway and museum was planned and approved.

Present and future
The Bluebell Railway Preservation Society completed an initial extension from Horsted Keynes to Kingscote in 1994, which included re-laying track through Sharpthorne Tunnel (731yd, the longest on a UK heritage railway), and is now working to reinstate the remaining two miles of line from Kingscote to East Grinstead.

Work has now started on the final northwards push towards East Grinstead, where the line will once again connect with the National Rail network. A major problem to be overcome is the former landfill site that fills a 30ft deep cutting for part of the route. Some of the excavated clay has being taken south by rail to help fill the site of a removed viaduct and embankment on the old Ardingly spur. In January 2008 agreement was given to start the clearance of foliage on the section of the tip between Imberhorne Lane and Hill Place bridges. Work on removing some of the 300000 cubic meters of rubbish by convoys of lorries was started on 25th November 2008. In Autumn 2008 work also started on site clearance work at East Grinstead in preparation for construction of the new Bluebell Railway station about 100yd south of the National Rail station.

The Bluebell Railway has also purchased the trackbed of the abandoned line between Horsted Keynes and Ardingly. In the long-term future it is planned to rebuild this line to reconnect with National Rail, and thus gain access to the London to Brighton main line at Copyhold Junction. This will restore a bypass of the London–Brighton line which proved very useful in the past (during the Second World War the signal box at Horsted Keynes was manned night and day to provide an alternative route for troop trains). There is also occasional speculation about long-term plans to extend south towards Lewes; but the removal of the road bridge just south of Sheffield Park station, the in-filling of the cutting and route under the A272 road, and the housing development that was built on the site of Newick & Chailey station makes this idea an unlikely prospect. Nevertheless the remaining undeveloped section of the line from Lewes to Sheffield Park has been safeguarded from development prejudicial to its use as a bridleway and footpath.

The stations have been restored to show different periods of the railway's life. Sheffield Park has been restored to a generally Victorian ambiance, as it would have appeared during the time of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (up to 1922); Horsted Keynes tries to emulate the style of the Southern Railway (1922–1948); and Kingscote echoes the early British Railways period of the 1950s.

Between Horsted Keynes and Kingscote the line passes through the site of West Hoathly station, at the north end of Sharpthorne Tunnel. The West Hoathly station buildings and footbridge were demolished piecemeal between 1964 and 1967, and the site is now in the middle of a modern housing development, so remains closed in deference to the wishes of the local residents. The remains of the platforms and goods dock are still visible at the lineside.


 * 2007 marked the railway's 125th anniversary.
 * 2009 marked the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society's 50th anniversary.
 * 2010 marked the Bluebell's 50th anniversary of running services and Furness Railway No.20 visited the line for the first two weeks of August 2010 to celebrate the anniversary.

Heritage railway

 * Sheffield Park
 * Horsted Keynes
 * West Hoathly (closed)
 * Kingscote
 * East Grinstead (extension under construction)

Original stations

 * Lewes to East Grinstead Low Level
 * East Grinstead Low Level
 * Kingscote
 * West Hoathly
 * Horsted Keynes
 * Sheffield Park
 * Newick and Chailey
 * Barcombe
 * Lewes

Claims to fame
The Bluebell Railway has been used as the location for several films and television programmes.
 * The last ever scenes of the It Ain't Half Hot Mum episode The Last Roll Call was filmed at Horsted Keynes station.
 * October 1999: the dramatisation The Railway Children based on the book by E Nesbit.
 * Sequences for the film Miss Potter starring Ewan McGregor and Renée Zellweger were filmed at Horsted Keynes station.
 * Sequences for the adaptation of the Philip Pullman book The Ruby in the Smoke starring Billie Piper as Sally Lockhart and Julie Walters as Mrs Holland were also filmed at Horsted Keynes station
 * The train chase scene in the film version of The Wind in the Willows, starring Terry Jones and Eric Idle, was also filmed on the line.
 * Scenes for Einstein and Eddington were filmed on the line with David Tennant playing Eddington and Jim Broadbent as a father, with Horsted Keynes disguised as Cambridge.
 * The 1977 TV miniseries Love for Lydia had brief scenes filmed at the Horsted Keynes station. It starred Jeremy Irons, Peter Davison, Mel Martin, and Christopher Blake.
 * The 1967 film "I'll Never Forget What's His Name" starring Oliver Reed filmed on the line using the Met' Stock and NLR Tank Loco painted all over in white as well as a suitably "dressed" Freshfield Halt.
 * At least two Ken Russell Films were made here in the early 1970s, notably Lisztomania starring Roger Daltrey. Sequence in that particular film showed loco Fenchurch smashing through a Grand Piano at speed. Another Russell film, Savage Messiah was also filmed at Horsted Keynes station which was dressed to look like Portland in Dorset.
 * Dirty Dozen sequel in 1984 used Horsted Keynes station for several scenes which included Q Class Loco 541 and two of the then full time PWay Gang as French Platelayers. Starred Lee Marvin.
 * Pop videos include: Tracey Ullman, The Pet Shop Boys, Sheena Easton, Runrig, Robson & Jerome. Also Elton John's 'Tumbleweed Connection' album cover picture was shot at Sheffield Park Station.
 * Night Train To Murder (1984), the very last TV/Feature Film Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise made before Eric's death. Sequences at Sheffield Park station were shot at night with Eric pushing Ernie through the ticket barrier on a Porters trolley and of Loco 75027 in steam. Screened on LWT over the 1984 Christmas TV schedule.
 * The 1973 Documentary Metroland by Sir John Betjeman contains an opening scene in Horsted Keynes buffet, and numerous shots inside one of the Metropolitan carriages.
 * In 1980 the videoclip of the famous song "Morning train (9 to 5)" from Sheena Easton was filmed here. Bluebell railway and locomotive 488 is seen in the whole clip.

The Bluebell Railway is also featured in The Railway Series written by the Rev. W. Awdry. The book was called Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine, with Stepney as the main character, visiting the fictional Island of Sodor.

Line to Lewes
The line originally extended beyond Sheffield Park to Culver Junction (at Culver Farm just south of Barcombe Mills), with intermediate stations at Newick and Chailey and Barcombe. At Culver Junction it joined the 1858 Lewes to Uckfield line (part of which is now restored as the Lavender Line), thereby gaining access to Lewes. The section from East Grinstead to Culver Junction was closed in 1958, and the Lewes to Uckfield line in 1969.

Locomotives
The Bluebell Railway owns a very large collection of heritage rolling stock.


 * Stepney (No.55)
 * Bluebell and Primrose (Nos. 27 and 323)
 * Adams (No. 488)
 * Cromford (No. 58850)
 * Captain Baxter (No.3)

Class members of Murdoch, Rosie, Diesel, and Belle also help to run the line.

External Link

 * Official Site