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Latest Updates     -     Earlier updates     -     Latest Project News
Weekly train running information     -     Recent photo reports     -     Archive News

• The Bluebell Railway Museum's web site has a new 50th Anniversary gallery of photos of important Bluebell events, and other interesting shots from the last 50 years. The photo on the right (from the Bluebell Archives) shows the opening day, 7th August 1960.

• A poster is now available for The Bluebell Singers' September Serenade on Saturday 18th September in East Grinstead. Featuring semi-professional singers from all over the county, the programme will comprise songs from the shows, operetta and the classics of popular songs. All proceeds to the Bluebell Railway 50th Anniversary Appeal. Book now - it would be good to have a sell-out!

• John Kortland enjoyed a day at Horsted Keynes yesterday, and his gallery of photos reflects that and the preparations in hand for the 50th Anniversary Gala.

• The web page for the Gala now carries a special 50th Anniversary edition of Bluebell news Extra, available as a pdf download.

• With preparations for our 50th Anniversary Gala on August 6-8 at full swing, and ticket bookings continuing to pour in, please do vote for us in the HRA/Steam Railway readers' awards.

• As part of the preparations, yesterday unrestored BR Standard 4 Tank No. 80100 is seen here in David Chappell's photo being shunted by Sir Archibald Sinclair into the loco shed, where it will be displayed alongside 80064, to show "before and after" ex-Barry scrapyard locos.

• Beer, Brass & Steam! is an additional event, on Friday 10 September: A late Summer's Evening on the Bluebell Railway with the Petworth Town Band. More details.

• Minor update to the web page for SECR Birdcage brake No.1061.

• Tony Sullivan's photo below from yesterday shows how the contractors are getting on with the Woodpax shed. Note also the foundations for the new toilets and rebuilt waiting room on the platform.

• Yesterday, as seen in David Chappell's photo below, the FoK team completed the installation and painting of the first ten panels of wooden railings behind the platform at East Grinstead. These needed to be in place, along with some platform fittings, for a forthcoming inspection of the works.

• Derek Hayward's photo below from the loco works on Sunday shows that no time is being wasted in tackling the extra repairs required to 323's boiler, with the faulty sections cut out already.

The Trains for the coming week page is updated weekly, with detailed information for visiting enthusiasts - but please note that notification of a train or service on that page does not necessarily imply that it is available to the public - all public services are listed in the Timetable.

Note: Throughout this site many of the photos are presented as small versions which can be clicked on to access the full-size image.

Latest Project News

• Loco Works News: Newsletters from the Standard Class 2 project, the overhaul of SECR P-class No.323 Bluebell, the Brighton Atlantic project, the completion of No.55 Stepney's overhaul, the return to service of SECR P-class loco No.178, a report on the work on No.73082 'Camelot', an update from the Maunsell Locomotive Society, progress with "Baxter", the return to service of LBSCR E4 No.B473, and of SECR H-class No.263 - 26, 13 July, 28 June, 17 May, 1 May, 6 April, 28 &15 March, 30 January 2010
• East Grinstead Extension: Report and photos of recent work on the extension - 4 July 2010
• Operation Undercover - Site clearance and appointment of main contractor - updated 21 November and 5 October 2009. Photos from Derek Hayward - 18 July 2010
• Press Release - BRPS granted The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service - 2 June 2010
• The latest news of the Horsted Keynes Re-signalling. Last update 19 April 2010
• Report of the relaying of the track through the tunnel in February and March 2010.
• Carriage & Wagon Works News - Updates on the overhaul of the LSWR Brake 1520, SECR Birdcage coach, rebuilding the LBSCR Milk/Fruit Van, restoration of GWR 5-plank open wagon No.87782 and the overhaul of LMS 3-plank wagon No.474558 - 5 March, 19 February 2010, 31 and 20 December 2009
• Progress report on work on the LCDR carriage project being funded through The People's Millions - 7 February 2010
• Archive news from the Bluebell

Take a tour of this web site

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Latest photographic and video reports:

• Photos of the public launch of the "Waste by Rail" trains, from Ashley Smith, Robert Philpot, and Chris Dadson, plus a video from Matthew Nightingale - 6 July 2010
• Derek Hayward's loco works photos for "Baxter", 323 "Bluebell" and H-class No.263 - 24 June 2010
• Our contractors starting work on erecting the steelwork of the HLF-funded Woodpax-site carriage running shed at Sheffield Park, from Derek Hayward - 24 June 2010
• Photos from Chris Dadson, showing the hand-pump trolley, East Grinstead and Woodpax - 22-24 June 2010
• More moquette samples from Dave Clarke - 22 June 2010
• Stephen Hunt's photos of the first Family Fun weekend - 20 June 2010
• Open Days at East Grinstead - 5-6 June 2010:
  Chris Dadson, Robert Philpot, also including a couple of the tamper which arrived on 7 June to fettle the newly laid track, and Simon Smith
• Martin Lawrence's four new photo galleries, from 15th May (includes photos taken while working on the Northern extension, and of our centenarian GWR wagon under restoration), 22nd May (includes some on the footplate of the C-class), 23rd May (includes the p-way team at work) and 29-30 May.
• Chris Dadson has four photos taken at East Grinstead to his photo gallery - 29 May 2010
• Derek Hayward's updates to his web pages for loco overhauls, and other projects: Baxter, SECR P-class 323 'Bluebell', SECR H-class No.263, SR S15 No.847, the replica of 32424 'Beachy Head', Operation Undercover Carriage shed and Museum project, and a few more pictures in his 2010 album - 23 May 2010
• Stepney's return to service and launch of 50th Anniversary Celebrations - 17 May 2010
  • Derek Hayward's photos from the day
  • Roy Watts' radio interview is available on the BBC web site
  • Video - small video with text - larger sized version of video - from BBC South East News.
• Dave Bowles has a fine photo of the lineside bluebells (with the C-class passing) - 10 May 2010
• John Sandys has some photos taken at East Grinstead showing progress with construction of the platform.
• Wouter Adriaanse has a gallery of photos showing the Dutch / SHM PW visit to work on the track laying.
• Southern at War weekend photos from Derek Hayward, from Paul Pettitt, from Linda Chen, and from Martin Lawrence are Colour and Black & White sets of photos - 8-9 May 2010
• Photos of our 4 Vep unit running at Swanage, from Ian Dixon - 8 May 2010
• Sequence of photos taken on Monday by Ken Upton, showing the current state of overhauls of Baxter, Stepney and Bluebell - 3 May 2010
• Derek Hayward's photos of the relaunch of 178.
  Derek has now created a separate album recording the overhaul of 178, and also updated pages for the overhaul of Stepney (lining out in progress, and due to return to steam in the next couple of weeks), the overhaul of 323 "Bluebell", where the replacement cylinders have now been fitted, on the overhaul of the H-class, (the wheels are being painted and cylinders prepared for re-fitting) and more pictures of the trains running over the weekend 1-3 May 2010
• Photos on Flickr from Saturday 1st May (including the launch of the P-class 178, and some photos from the Behind the scenes tour) and Monday 3rd May, from Martin Lawrence. Martin also has a gallery from 17-18 April (including the Toy and Collectors' Fair), and two videos (Part 1 and Part 2) showing 1638 shunting the Pullman Train.
• Photos from the relaunch of 178 on Rob Faulkner's web page for the loco's restoration - 1 May 2010
• Andrew Strongitharm has updated his Spring 2010 photo page to include the relaunch of P-class 178 - 1 May 2010
• Update from Paul Pettitt to his galleries with photos of P-class 178, Fenchurch and U-class 1638 - 1 May 2010

What's been updated on the Bluebell Web Site?

Most recent updates: See top of this page

• The photo from Martin Lawrence on the right shows 34059 hauling the lunchtime Golden Arrow yesterday. Other photos of its return to action are available from the Bulleid Society, Dave Bowles, and Derek Hayward (as part of a new gallery of the weekend's hugely successful Collectors' Fair).

• Update to the Loco Works News pages, with the latest progress on the Standard class 2 project, and updates from the Bulleid Society on 'Blackmoor Vale' and 'Normandy'.

• Details of the major display of Locomotive Nameplates, which will form part of the 50th Anniversary Gala. Bring along your own Railwayana for valuation. More details here.

• A 1962 photo (by John Smith) showing 32636 (Fenchurch) during the Sussex Coast RCTS tour is to be found on the Disused Stations web site page for Kemp Town.

• Derek Hayward has an album showing preparations for the 50th Anniversary.

• Photos below show the two Electric 5BEL cars together at Horsted Keynes (from John Simmonds), and two photos from Derek Hayward, showing the two trains operating on Saturday, together with the two pacifics at Horsted Keynes.

• Finally two photos from today from David Chappell, showing the new fencing on the East Grinstead platform that has been painted and erected by the Friends of Kingscote team (over 500 hours of labour has been put into this so far, and about a sixth of the fencing has now been erected), and also the new coping stones now in place along the edge of the platform. As always, click on the photos for enlargements.

• The Search Engine for this site has been improved, adding an "advanced" search option. It has also been extended to cover both our new commercial site, bluebell-railway.com, and the Museum's site, bluebell-railway-museum.co.uk

• Martin Lawrence's photo shows "Blackmoor Vale" being hauled up to Horsted Keynes yesterday where it forms part of the display of engines being prepared for the 50th Anniversary celebrations. This also acted as a test run for 34059 "Sir Archibald Sinclair" which had, that morning, passed a boiler test following its recent firebox/thermic siphons repair.

• Martin's photo gallery and Video are also available.

• Update to the Loco Roster, showing what locos we expect to be working when. "Sir Archibald Sinclair" is now rostered to run every day for the next two weeks.

• John Sandys has some photos and a video showing work in progress laying the coping stones on the platform at East Grinstead.

• David Jones' photo on the right shows the first arrival for our 50th Anniversary Gala - Southern Railway Brighton Belle Pullman Car No.88, which will join our own Brighton Belle car, "Doris", on display at the event. Car 88 is the first of the Belle cars to be restored for the 5BEL Trust. Also seen in the photo is our 1877-built 'Fletcher Jennings' loco, "Baxter", which arrived on the Bluebell back in 1960. It makes its debut after its recent overhaul at the Gala, and was observed in steam being tested around Sheffield Park station yesterday.

• The photo below is another of Derek Hayward's showing the progress on the Woodpax site, in particular the Signal Box from Withyham, now erected on its new brick base, featured in more detail on the Museum's web site. The water crane was also re-erected (after work to stabilise its foundations, and an overhaul of its mechanism) at the same time the signal-box body was craned onto the base. The signal box will be part of the museum display, demonstrating and explaining railway signalling.

• The next photo below, from Martin Lawrence, shows 80151 arriving at Horsted Keynes on Saturday with a special train for Central Sussex Brownies, which ran in addition to our peak public timetable, with a wedding held on the line, a charter of the GN Saloon, and the now regular Saturday steam shunt. Martin has three recent galleries: from 13 June, 19 June (Family Fun Weekends), and last Saturday, 17 July.

• The final photo is another of Dave Clarke's showing where we are (as of Sunday) with the compartment end of the People's Millions coach. Exactly half of the carriage (seen here) is now structurally complete, and the other half is not far behind. The red paint is undercoat, the final colour will be the much darker SECR crimson lake. The grey paint is brushing filler, and shows up the new mouldings well!

• We are sorry to have to report that the planned return to service of 323 Bluebell has been delayed until (probably) October, due to the discovery of a cracked backhead radius on the boiler (for which a method of repair has been agreed with the boiler inspector).

• Update to the application form for the Deferred Payment Scheme to enable BRPS members to purchase shares by standing order. One feature of the current form is the ability to pay £50 a month for the remainder of the year (to reach a shareholding of 250), and thus qualify for next year's shareholder benefits.

• Dave Clarke's photo on the right shows the recent progress on the "People's Millions" carriage Project, SECR No.3360, where the first of the four saloon windows has now been formed in the former brake end. The other end of the coach (two compartments) is now structurally completed, and has been re-clad, and the first overhauled door has been re-hung. The repairs to the roof have also been undertaken over the last few weeks. The underframe is also progressing rapidly, having been shortened and much of the riveting also complete. Dave Clarke has many more photos showing progress on the project, here.

• The Bluebell Railway regret that we have been advised that repairs to the A1 Class Locomotive "Tornado" are more extensive than first thought. As a result, the locomotive will not now be visiting the Bluebell Railway to participate in our 50th Anniversary.
  We are very sorry for the disappointment this will cause. Customers with bookings will be contacted very shortly by our Customer Service Team.
  Our Gala will still be something very special with special displays, all available locomotives in steam, behind the scenes tours and the first passenger trains over our new extension from Kingscote to Imberhorne South.
  In addition the special Land Cruise Trains with the visiting Furness Locomotive Number 20 will take place the week after the event.

• Dave Clarke has updates on other Carriage restoration projects: SECR Birdcage Brake 3363, and some more of the same coach here, SR Bulleid Composite 5768, plus maintenance work on Pullman Car 64 and a repaint for Mk1 RMB 1838.

• Derek Hayward has updates available showing the completion of the structure of the carriage storage shed and museum at Sheffield Park, complete with the installation of the signal box which will be part of the exhibition, and more photos showing progress with the overhaul of 323 "Bluebell". His photo below taken yesterday shows the completed structural steelwork of the shed.

• Tony Sullivan's two photos below, taken today, show No.1638, having crested the top of Freshfield Bank, heads towards the site of Freshfield Halt with the 1.00pm Sheffield Park to Kingscote service, and a few minutes later, No.B473 having just passed the site of Freshfield Halt with the southbound service.

• Football Competitions 2010-11: The aim of the competitions (which is to raise funds for the restoration of Maunsell Restaurant Car No.7864) is to predict the final positions in the premiership and the winner of the FA Cup. Entry forms are now available. Many thanks to those who took part in the World Cup competition. Winners' cheques have been sent to those who chose Spain, Netherlands or Germany.

• Sad to report that Vandal, the cat who had adopted the shop at Sheffield Park, died in her sleep a week ago last Thursday. She was being looked after by two Bluebell members towards the end of her life, therefore died in a home environment and not alone.

• Details available for the Social Sub Committee's The 'Middy' Special - a visit to the Mid-Suffolk Railway Museum on 25 Sept.

• You may have seen reports in the media of a fire at Horsted Keynes yesterday morning. It is sad to report that the fire, which appears to have been accidental, fanned by extremely strong winds, has consumed the timber work of the following unrestored vehicle bodies: LCDR Horsebox No.1, LBSCR Craven-era Brake Third and LBSCR Goods Van 1590.
  The material lost from the Brighton goods van is in any case largely rotten timber, and since we still have an underframe of the correct pattern, and the remains of the steel-work, we have not, we hope, lost the ability to reconstruct that vehicle much as we would have done in any case.
  Fortunately Ian White has already made a survey of the Craven coach, so some important historical detail had been recorded, which will be published soon in the Brighton Circular. Dave Clarke had also recorded much detail photographically.

• Updates to the Loco News pages, with reports on the return to service, completed in SECR Livery, in May of P-class No.178, of the Loco Works Working Group's current project, SECR P-class No.323 "Bluebell", and belated notification of an update in April on the overhaul of BR Class 5 No.73082 'Camelot' on the Camelot Loco Society's web site.

• Yesterday was the last day of our initial one week trial of tip excavation trains. After a problem with the loco which delayed Wednesday's train by a couple of hours, Thursday went smoothly, with a different loco (66402) used (Jan Kozminski's photo shows it hauling the empties southbound passing Woldingham at about 1pm that day), and the train was loaded by 5pm (with plenty of time to spare before its departure at 9.10pm). Next week the County Council begin 5 weeks of maintenance work on the farm overbridge at the north end of the tip, and three or four more weeks of rubbish removal are planned for October. Subject to confirmation as to how this week actually went, we should have now removed approximately 10% of the rubbish, and should remove about another 10% in October. Clearly if we can raise more money before then, the dig could continue for longer, getting us closer to completion all the time. Please do donate to our 50th Anniversary appeal.

• Below is David Chappell's photo showing BRPS Chairman Roy Watts in the cab of 66707 'Sir Sam Fay' on Monday. He reports that the view from the train when on the viaduct is stunning!

• Derek Hayward has some more updates to the Woodpax project - half the structure, and the signal-box base are now complete, and loco works photos for 323 "Bluebell", P-class No.27 (which has entered the works, so that its springs can be transferred to 323), on "Baxter" which is now expected to re-enter service in August (seen in Derek's photo below), and H-class No.263.

• The third photo below, from Derek Hayward, shows our two LSWR locos, No.96 'Normandy' and Adams Radial Tank No.488, which were moved to Horsted Keynes on Wednesday as part of the display being prepared for the 50th Anniversary Gala.

• Following the weekend's test train, which departed on Monday evening, yesterday saw the official launch of the one-week trial dig removing 1000 tonnes a day of waste from Imberhorne Cutting, with local dignitaries, the press and invited guests, together with a good number of members of the public and of the Railway who turned out to view the train of 18 wagons, headed by GB Railfreight's 66707 'Sir Sam Fay', which was posed for photographs, as seen in Ashley Smith's photo on the right. The train departs soon after 9pm each day, for a Shanks waste site in Bedfordshire, where it is unloaded over-night, returning to the Bluebell for re-loading early the following afternoon. It takes the team from Land & Water just 10 minutes to load each wagon, which is weighed before dispatch.

• Article about the rubbish removal in the Mid Sussex Times.

• The headboard carried is "Project East Grinstead". If you would like to see your own headboard on there, you can sponsor a train. Contact the Railway's fund raising team for more details.

• Photos of yesterday are available from Ashley Smith, Robert Philpot, and Chris Dadson, a video from Matthew Nightingale.

• More good news - "Tenner for the Tip" sales have, as of yesterday, broken the £100,000 barrier. Many thanks to all who have contributed - and if you haven't, why not help us shift some more of the rubbish by buying one now.

• The Bulleid Society web site has an update about the repair of the thermic syphons on 'Sir Archibald Sinclair'.

• Martin Eastland. We regret to inform members that Martin Eastland, one of the "Founding Four", died suddenly on Friday. Martin attended our recent AGM, and was planning to go to Buckingham Palace later this month as part of the small team representing the Railway's volunteers, following our receipt of the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.

• As seen in the photo on the right, in preparation for the first official tip excavation train on Tuesday (why not visit East Grinstead for our open evening to see the train), a test train has been at East Grinstead over the weekend, to ensure that everything will go smoothly on Tuesday. See the full report and another photo from Nigel Longdon on the Extension progress page. The photo here also shows the two new ground frames which control the points seen in this photo, and some of the associated point-rodding runs, all of which have been installed in the last couple of weeks by our S&T volunteers.

• Below is Mike Hopps' photo taken this afternoon at Kingscote, showing 592 leading the Victorian carriages on the 4pm train from Sheffield Park.

• Also below is a pair of photos from David Chappell, showing progress as of yesterday on the HLF-funded building at Sheffield Park. The first shows the carriage running shed framework, from the south. The second shows the framework for the new museum building attached to the shed to the north of the canopy, which is itself to be rebuilt back to its original length as part of the project.

• The final photo below, from Tony Sullivan, shows the Yetties last night, in their penultimate performance for us at Horsted Keynes.

• Our new web pages specifically for visitors to the Railway are now available.

  The new pages are connected to a system which will (in a few weeks time) offer ticket booking facilities, and replace the timetable, special event, Golden Arrow and Catering services information pages on the existing site. This means that after 12 and a half years, the commercial and heritage (or plc and Society) sides of the web site are now separated.

  The Visitor Information pages will now be maintained by Tim Baker's team in the Sales and Information Office at Sheffield Park, whilst the existing volunteer team will concentrate on the heritage and up-to-date news from the Bluebell on the BRPS pages edited by Richard Salmon, the focus of which will continue to be this "What's New" page. The time which this frees up for futher development of the BRPS side should result in better and more frequent news updates, whilst the visitor-oriented side of the site will be much better focused on what is of interest to the general visitor to the line.

  The new front page at www.bluebell-railway.co.uk links all five areas of the Bluebell's web presence, together with our other "New Media" outlets such as Facebook and Twitter.

• Details are now available for the annual Sussex Food Festival at Horsted Keynes Station on Sunday 15th August.

• Further details are now available for the 50th Anniversary Gala on Friday 6th to Sunday 8th August, and a reminder that discounted advance tickets are only available until tomorrow (4th July).

• Tony Sullivan's photos right and below, taken at today's Victorian Picnic event, show the SECR C-class loco with the Victorian train at Kinscote station, two of our Victorian Music-hall team with LBSCR first-class carriage 661, and the cast of the show on stage.

• The latest news of progress on the Brighton Atlanic Project was updated with new photos from Fred Bailey last week.

• With 200 Vintage & Classic Cars now booked to attend, entry for cars for the Vintage Transport Weekend on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 August is now closed.

• Update from Lewis Nodes to the Loco Roster, indicating what locos we expect to have running each day (always subject to any last-minute changes) through to September.

• It's the last of our Traditional Summer Fair/Family Fun Days tomorrow (Sunday). Derek Hayward's two photos above from today show 178 "Nettle" shunting the trucks, and someone's grandmother enjoying the welcome relief from the heat of a wet sponge in the stocks!

• Update to the Golden Arrow Pullman pages, with the sample menu for July.

• Derek Hayward has updated his loco works photos for "Baxter", 323 "Bluebell" and H-class No.263.

• Our contractors started work on erecting the steelwork of the HLF-funded Woodpax-site carriage running shed at Sheffield Park at 1.20pm today. Tony Sullivan's photo on the right shows the progress by 3.15pm today, and Derek Hayward's gallery has more shots of today's activity, (including images taken on site with the kind permission of the contractors). Chris Dadson also has some photos of this plus one from East Grinstead, where work on the capping of the platform edge is progressing now the rails have been positioned. The point lever on the point at the north end of the platform is also in place.

• On Tuesday 3rd August there will be an additional 50th Anniversary Pullman Gala Dinner - a six course black-tie meal on board the Golden Arrow, hauled by 'Tornado'. On reaching Kingscote, the train will continue on to Imberhorne Lane, thus becoming our very first public train to run north of Kingscote. Book now - the Gala Dinner Pullman train on 5th August has already sold out.

• Some good news just in - Mid Sussex District Council has pledged to contribute £50,000 towards the Northern Extension project. This further boost to the fundraising for the removal of rubbish from Imberhorne Cutting represents about 2% of the funds we still need to raise, and comes just as we are about to start the next phase of that removal, by rail, which everyone is invited to observe on 6th July.

• Update to the Loco Roster - Baxter, which is in the final stages of re-assembly, needs a bit more work before it can steam, so will not be in service this coming weekend. However, the photo below from Derek Hayward, shows that it's not far off!

• The 84030 group has recently acquired a set of four BR buffers - from a scrapped 08 shunter - to use on our BR 2MT 2-6-2T loco. The shot below from Tony Sullivan shows three of the four buffers. Restoration has already started on the fourth. Tony's next photo below shows the U-class today on the service train, and his final one shows the overhauled printing press which we use to produce our Edmunson Card Tickets. Brian Peacock and Gerry Brown put in many hours producing all the tickets that the railway needs, and the press has now been accommodated in a purpose-built building at Sheffield Park.

• The pilot run of waste removal form Imberhorne cutting by rail is now fixed for July 6th which is very close to the planned opening of East Grinstead station (scheduled for Saturday 3 July) so it has been decided to focus on the long awaited 'Waste by Rail' event rather than the station opening, which will now officially take place in September.

  East Grinstead site will be host to the invited guests and the press from 6pm on Tuesday 6th July (entry via north end site gate 1) in order to see the first official train. Members and public are also welcome to attend (£2.00 entry charge in advance) although space is limited at the site so either book early through Sheffield Park Sales and Information office, or entry on the evening price £2.50 if space permits.

• Stephen Hunt has some photos of the Family Fun weekend here, including the one shown here of 55 "Stepney" and 473 "Birch Grove" departing from Sheffield Park on Sunday. There is a second weekend of Family Fun this coming weekend, and it is hoped that Loco "Baxter" will make an appearance after overhaul.

• Details now available for the Santa Specials (Booking opens on 1st July) and the Special Santa trains for Schools and pre-Schools in December.

• Photos from Chris Dadson, showing the recently returned hand-pump trolley which has been away from the line for a few years for repairs, and also a couple of photos from East Grinstead showing progress on the track and platform.

• Dave Clarke has had another rummage through the stores at Horsted and found some more moquette samples, and any information on identifying the patterns will be gratefully received.

• A newly published book, East of Eastbourne, West of Waterloo: The Brian Groome Memoirs features colour photos by popular Bluebell Life Member Clinton Shaw. There is a discount of £1 off the RRP for Bluebell members.
  As with previous Buggleskelly Books publications 10% from all orders received via "East of Eastbourne", 22 Glassenbury Drive, Bexhill-on-Sea TN40 2NY will go to the Bluebell's Brighton Atlantic Project, via Bluebell signalman Melvyn Overbury. Details here, on their facebook page.

• Update from Nigel Longdon on the East Grinstead Extension.

• Tony Sullivan's photo taken yesterday shows LSWR B4 loco 'Normandy' with two Victorian coaches forming our exhibit at the South of England Show at Ardingly. Below, his second photo shows our "Victorian" marketing team of Tim Baker, Jean Sullivan, Bob McLean, Sally Cruse, Chris Pratt, Matthew Cousins and Roger Cruse in front of the Bluebell Railway Marquee.

• The Bulleid Society have also updated their web site with some photos of 'Normandy' being transported to the show ground.

• Minor update to the page for the Sentinel shunter, with the information from Jan Kozminski that it was numbered DH27 when working on the Manchester Ship Canal Railway, where it took part in the changeover from steam event in July 1966.

• The other photo below, from Robert Philpot, shows the tamper which arrived at East Grinstead on Monday to fettle the newly laid track.

• With the current work on the water column on platform 2 at Sheffield Park, many engines are taking water at Kingscote, and here Fenchurch is photographed by Andy Prime, last Saturday, filling two tank wagons at Horsted Keynes.

• THE LOCO WORKSHOP WORKING GROUP WANTS YOU!
  The band of volunteers who regularly meet to assist the paid workshop staff are looking to improve the time it takes them to overhaul their 'project' locos and take on bigger projects, but to achieve this they need more people to join the group.
  Previous projects include the overhaul of C-class loco No 592 and P-class loco No.178, and the current project is P-class Loco No.323 'Bluebell'. Click here for more information.
  If this interests you then please e-mail, or speak to the workshop staff next time you're at the railway.
  All you'll need is a current Bluebell Railway membership, be aged over 18, and own a pair of steel toe-cap boots and overalls. No previous engineering experience necessary. Over the next couple of months some members of the team should be working each Sunday to push on with 323.

• Don't forget to enter the World Cup Football Competition in aid of the restoration of Maunsell Restaurant Car No.7864 - details and an entry form; the closing date to post your entries is 10th June.

• More photos from the weekend's Open Days at East Grinstead:
  • Chris Dadson's photos from Saturday
  • Robert Philpot's photos, also including a couple of the tamper which arrived there yesterday to fettle the newly laid track.
  • Simon Smith's photos, also from Saturday

• With the extra July 9th "Murder Mystery" evening on the Pullman train now sold out, two further dates have been added: Friday 13th August and Friday 24th September.

• Update to the Access to the Railway page with details of the revised timetable for the 246 (Fridays only) bus from Uckfield to Sheffield Park.

• Tony Sullivan provides three photos from today's Open Day at East Grinstead. That on the right shows some of the visitors examining the face of the tip which we will start to dig into in the next few weeks. The first photo below shows the railhead (with buffer stops now installed), which is on the wider section of trackbed just outside the narrower cutting, to allow width for loading the rubbish into the trains. The second shows the tracks and points laid at East Grinstead over recent weeks (i.e. the photo is looking the other way compared to yesterday's featured photo). On the left is our connection to the national network (with on the extreme left, under a plastic cover, one of the two new ground frames which will operate the points and signals). In the centre is the track leading into our new platform, and on the right the run-round loop, with leading off it back towards the camera on the right, the refuge siding which will allow us to take a vehicle out a train formation at East Grinstead if required.

• Nick Talbot's photo below shows Fenchurch arriving back at Sheffield Park yesterday after the steam-shunt session at Horsted Keynes. One of the vehicles in the short train is our second Bo-Rail which is to be placed on loan to the Swanage Railway.

• The final photo below, from Mike Hopps, again from East Grinstead yesterday, shows volunteers and contractors working together on track laying alongside the platform.

• Photo from Mike Hopps showing some of the many visitors for today's Open Day at East Grinstead - The station site, and the trackbed to the tip is open again tomorrow. The station site is open between 10am and 4.30pm and entry costs £5 per person, towards extension funds.

  Please note that visitors are advised to use other car parks in the town, such as the Station car park on the old high-level site, rather than Sainsburys car park, which is very busy with shoppers.

  Stout footware is advised, due to the need to walk on the ballast for the first section up to the viaduct.

  The open day not only provided the last chance to walk across the viaduct, but the chance to see the P-way work being undertaken at close quarters, with track continuing to be laid next to the new platform during the day, and volunteers continuing to work on the fettling of the points in the station throat.

• Reminder that this weekend we have Open Days at East Grinstead - come and see progress for yourself, plus the last chance to walk across the viaduct. The station site is open between 10am and 4.30pm both days, and entry costs £5 per person, towards extension funds.

• Update to the Loco Roster.

• Update to the web page for the Bluebell Railway Band, using photos provided by Dave Hewitt and Bob Wolfenden, including the one on the right, showing the band at Sheffield Park on the "Southern at War" weekend last month.

• The Bluebell Railway Preservation Society is delighted to have been granted one of this year's Queen's Awards for Voluntary Service, the MBE for volunteer groups.

  This prestigious award is given for outstanding work done in local communities. It recognises volunteering work that is of social, economic or environmental service to the local community and is supported, recognised and respected by the people who benefit from it.

  Part of the citation for the Bluebell states the award is for "Pioneering the preservation of Britain's Railway Heritage through Railway Operation" and it goes on to acknowledge the contribution the Railway has made to education and the inclusiveness of the Society with its "welcome to all" philosophy.

  Further information is available in our Press Release, on the direct.gov website, and you can also read the official announcement, as a download from the London Gazette (2nd June 2010, Supplement No.1 Page 5).

  Roy Watts has also circulated a notice around the Railway, which is availble on the BRPS Members' Notices page.

• The Isle of Wight Steam Railway has reached the Semi-Finals of the Lottery Good Causes Awards in the heritage category. Just as they supported our successful "The People's Millions" lottery bid, we are pleased to encourage our supporters to vote for our friends on the Isle of Wight.

• Two photos from Martin Lawrence. He caught the U-class during a run-round at Kingscote on 22nd May (below), and on Sunday (30th May) the E4 is seen departing from Kingscote with the GN Saloon at the head of the train. Martin also has four new photo galleries available, from 15th May (includes photos taken while working on the Northern extension, and of our centenarian GWR wagon under restoration), 22nd May (includes some on the footplate of the C-class), 23rd May (includes the p-way team at work) and 29-30 May.

• Update to the Loco Roster.

• Would you like to sponsor a part of our reconstruction of Brighton Atlantic No.32424 "Beachy Head"?
  The component sponsorship list from the Bluebell Railway Atlantic Group has just been updated showing which components of the locomotive remain available for sponsorship.

• Chris Dadson has added four photos taken on Saturday evening at East Grinstead to his photo gallery. Don't forget the Open Days at East Grinstead next weekend - come and see progress for yourself, plus the last chance to walk across the viaduct.

• During May there were 69,916 total hits on this page, from 37,468 unique visitors.

Older updates are in the What's New Archive
or the 2009, the 2008, the 2007, the 2006, the 2005, the 2004, the 2003, the 2002, the 2001, the 2000, the 1999 and the 1997-8 "What was new" archive pages.

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See also Latest News, the Loco Works News, Latest progress on the Extension, and News from the Maunsell Locomotive Society.

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reports the number of page views (hits on this page) as since 1 July 2010
During June there were 65,416 total hits on this page, from 35,969 unique visitors.