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Bluebell Railway Diesel Gala 2024
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RailUK Forums
ExRes
Established Member
37 & 4VEP just spotted by Mk1 eyeballs crossing Imberhorne viaduct at 1700
Would have been a thing to see the cl 14 along Bluebell lines, photos by Sharpthorne tunnel would have been amazing
It has been formally been accepted into traffic this evening so fingers crossed, should be running this weekend.
Accepted, but not allocated to any duties for the Gala weekend.
An excellent first day of the Gala event. Was surprised to find out that E6040 did operate two journeys, the first being top and tailed with D8188 on the 1345 ex Sheffield and leading the 1505 ex Grinstead, as far as my observations went.
An excellent first day of the Gala event. Was surprised to find out that E6040 did operate two journeys, the first being top and tailed with D8188 on the 1345 ex Sheffield and leading the 1505 ex Grinstead, as far as my observations went.
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Minstral25
Established Member
Railcam will be adding the Bluebell Railway - one Camera is live streaming this weekend
Invincible
Member
Good to see on YouTube the 4-VEP and 33111 working "push pull". A major step for the 4-VEP team.
Is the "push pull" kit still fitted to any 73s?
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Tom B
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Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, but when did the Bluebell begin accepting diesels? I seem to remember that they were very against diesel operation at one point, to the extent of firing up a small steam engine to do a bit of shunting on a non operational day.
There was a Diesel Gala in 2018. I also believe the no diesel policy was retracted when the Bluebell took delivery of an 09 (as opposed 08) shunter. According to Wiki it was used for emergency service cover as far back as 2013. HTH
Train Maniac
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Fantastic day out! Plenty of action and thrash, even managed to stick to timetable for the whole day! 
(Warning: Large Photos)
(Warning: Large Photos)
The 09, now in green as D4106 has indeed been in use since 2013, both on maintenance/shunting work and emergency cover. It was doing service today at the gala alternately on Sheffield Park Horsted Keynes shuttles, and (between “main line” movements) brake van rides around Horsted Keynes station (alternating with the class 14).
From observation the 33/VEP push pull combo was attracting a great deal of interest, looking (and sounding!) great. It was mainly working Horsted Keynes to East Grinstead shuttles with the loco on the East Grinstead end.
I think the March 2018 diesel gala was a visiting 31 and 46.
Going further back there was another diesel gala in April 2017 with the 09 and classes 20, 50 and 2 x 73.
Not sure about 2016, but April 2015 saw a Deltic running weekend with 9009 (in green) and 55019 (in blue)
And of course the grand opening of the East Grinstead extension in March 2013 saw an incoming special hauled by a 66, along with a pair of 73s and a class 33.
Going forward at the Bluebell there is the class 33 under restoration and the 1305 Thumper gang, doing sterling work restoring their namesake at Horsted Keynes. I believe the intention is this will enable earlier & later off peak services in the future. ( they have a facebook page, sorry can’t link)
Whilst the Bluebell will remain a predominantly steam railway (indeed the small B4 locomotive is now under restoration in Atlantic House with a view to re instating the steam hauled shunting turn) diesel has its part to play (imho, and despite the public grumbles of some members). Maybe a diesel gala will introduce the delights of the Bluebell to a whole new demographic!
I wholeheartedly concur with the above, an excellent day out despite the weather, well organised and on time running. Most enjoyable!
From observation the 33/VEP push pull combo was attracting a great deal of interest, looking (and sounding!) great. It was mainly working Horsted Keynes to East Grinstead shuttles with the loco on the East Grinstead end.
I think the March 2018 diesel gala was a visiting 31 and 46.
Going further back there was another diesel gala in April 2017 with the 09 and classes 20, 50 and 2 x 73.
Not sure about 2016, but April 2015 saw a Deltic running weekend with 9009 (in green) and 55019 (in blue)
And of course the grand opening of the East Grinstead extension in March 2013 saw an incoming special hauled by a 66, along with a pair of 73s and a class 33.
Going forward at the Bluebell there is the class 33 under restoration and the 1305 Thumper gang, doing sterling work restoring their namesake at Horsted Keynes. I believe the intention is this will enable earlier & later off peak services in the future. ( they have a facebook page, sorry can’t link)
Whilst the Bluebell will remain a predominantly steam railway (indeed the small B4 locomotive is now under restoration in Atlantic House with a view to re instating the steam hauled shunting turn) diesel has its part to play (imho, and despite the public grumbles of some members). Maybe a diesel gala will introduce the delights of the Bluebell to a whole new demographic!
I wholeheartedly concur with the above, an excellent day out despite the weather, well organised and on time running. Most enjoyable!
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Drifting a little off topic here, but hopefully this makes sense:
It has sort of crept in over the last 10-15 years as some of the people who were especially anti diesel have either left the railway or are sadly no longer with us. There has also been a shift in the view of management that a good service should be provided in periods of hot weather, and an earlier/later service should be provided to East Grinstead. This is a lot easier to do with a diesel, as it can be fired up in around 10 minutes, compared to around 4 hours on a steam engine.
And yes, for a while we did have the last regular steam shunt in the country! Believe it was on Mondays and Thursdays.
It's (thankfully) been incrementally changing since the initial hiring of 73136 for the Imberhorne cutting removal trips in 2009. Then there was the hiring of 33103 from Nemesis Rail in 2013 to 2014, shortly followed by the hiring of a hybrid 101/108 DMU set from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway in 2014 due to the relaying of trackwork between Horsted Keynes and Sheffield Park. Not long after that the diesel gala's started albeit on a fairly low key scale.
Fast forward to 2024 and we now have a 09 there for emergencies & shunting, 73 for lightly loaded services and shunting / engineers jobs, a 33 for early / later services etc and a wrong that has finally been righted since their withdrawal - a 207 Thumper on the line. Although it will predominantly remain a steam line, the line has started to steadily build up an excellent little fleet of Southern Region natives!
Dieselisation Bluebell Style!
Not only is there a bit of dieselisation going on here, but also a bit of a 1970s feel too. On hire from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, their BR Blue hybrid DMU set formed of class 101 DMC E51505 and class 108 DMBS 50599, and both painted in plain BR Blue, pass similarly painted 33103 as they...
www.flickr.com
33103 Bluebell Railway
33103 'Swordfish' working on the Bluebell Railway seen approaching East Grinstead through the site of the waste clearance at Imberhorne Cutting. 29.06.13
www.flickr.com
12LDA28C
Established Member
There was a diesel gala at the Bluebell in 2016 that featured several visiting locos, see photo below.
Yeah that's the one I went too
3417 will be returning on Tuesday: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U17798/2024-09-10/detailed
Dam! I was hoping it was staying for the Beer festival weekend to remain working with 33111.
Speaking of which, an excellent day today at the Bluebell. The 33 + VEP was no doubt the star attraction, and the timetable held up very well too (something of a rarity at Galas of late!). 73133 made a run along the line too, and it was great to have a chat with the Thumper team too. Full credit to all involved at the Bluebell, all in all an excellent day out!
The Bluebell made great use of diesel locomotives during the building of the northern extension to East Grinstead so it’s probably fair to say that they achieved social acceptance on the railway from then onwards.
It’s nice that they’ve provided a home for some of the diesels that worked in this region, a nice authentic touch.
A 33/1 on push pull with blue/grey stock looks amazing, maybe they need to get themselves a unit like this permanently. Sadly there’s quite a few neglected southern EMUs out there needing a good home!
A 33/1 on push pull with blue/grey stock looks amazing, maybe they need to get themselves a unit like this permanently. Sadly there’s quite a few neglected southern EMUs out there needing a good home!
I think the unit is already a Bluebell Railway asset, albeit in the care of the Southern Electric Traction Group for practical purposes.
https://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pic2/electric/vep3417.html
https://www.gofundme.com/f/Returning-3417-to-the-Mainline
The 33 at the Bluebell isn't a '/1', but presumably the 73 could perform a similar push pull role (with less power).
It is indeed a Bluebell asset, but is happily in the care of the SETG. I recall one of the reasons for this was because of the amount of doors the VEP has and was considered too much for the lines C&W to work on - as well as it being an EMU thankfully and lovingly restored and looked after by those who know an EMU inside out.
There are plans afoot by Paul (73133s owner) to make 133 work with the VEP in the future but at the moment it can’t, hence why no 73 hauled push pull services were operated over the weekend.
Mind you, if they would like a 33/1, previous visitor and Nemesis owned 33103 hasn’t been utilised at Worksworth for a while.
Minstral25
Established Member
Correct - one of our prime assets. Looking at the 4VEP at the weekend, the Bluebell letting the minions of SETG look after the 4VEP was a great decision. They obviously care about the unit and the restoration is excellent.
I heard, although may not be accurate, that the push pull equipment has been removed from the 73? Hope Paul can locate some replacements for the future & 133 can lift the VEP up and down the Bluebell next time it visits. Definitely would be good for the Bluebell.
The 73/1 can work with the VEP in exactly the same way as 33111 did at the weekend. The VEP gets it's control feed from the locomotive and has to provide air as there is no electrical supply for the compressor or MG set. When 33's worked with TC's the compressor and MG were powered via the ETH jumper which the VEP does not have. A 73/1 working on diesel could not power the ETH on coupled stock but could on electric. Just to make life interesting, 73/0's could preheat ETH fitted stock on diesel but not provide traction. 73/0's also cannot propel on diesel as they are not equipped with Westcode valves which convert control train lines in the 27 way jumper to air pressures for the engine governor.
As a teenager in the 1970s I clearly remember thinking to myself, how will a 4VEP 4CIG or any kind of EMU or DMU ever be nostalgic in the future? And yet here I am 50 years later feeling so nostalgic for them!
Whilst my first love is steam and anything properly vintage, the recent past has such money earning potential and if the Bluebell can make the 4VEP and 33/73 push/pull a regular feature plus the Thumper, what fantastic potential!
Whilst my first love is steam and anything properly vintage, the recent past has such money earning potential and if the Bluebell can make the 4VEP and 33/73 push/pull a regular feature plus the Thumper, what fantastic potential!
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