Bluebell Railway web site:
Site Update Archive 1997-8

Please be aware that due to the historical nature of this page, some of the links on it may be out of date.

The Current What's New page, the 1999 archive, the 2000 archive, the 2001 archive, the 2002 archive, the 2003 archive, the 2004 archive, the 2005 archive and the 2006 archive contain all the more recent update information.

30 December 1998: Personal Recollections of the Bluebell Line.
This new section of the web site will feature individuals' recollections of past visits to the railway. If you have such a memory which you wish to submit for possible inclusion, please e-mail the Web Site Editor, Richard Salmon.
The first contribution is from Dan Wilson, who recounts a visit, by train, in 1956 to the Sheffield Park Sawmill.
New page added, acting as an archive to the News e-mails sent out June-Dec 1995
Updates to pages for the Friends of Thomas Weekend in June, Catering services, the Golden Arrow Pullman Dining Train and the 1999 Christmas Golden Arrow trains (for which bookings are now being taken!), and revised Visitor Information for 1999.
23 December: New web pages for LBSCR "Grande Vitesse" Van 270 and SECR Birdcage Van 719. New entry in stock list for SECR Birdcage Brake 2nd, No.950. Web page created for this coach.
18 December: Update to page on Pullman Car No.76, "Lilian".
16 December: Update to page for the Track Layout at Kingscote, including a new drawing showing the layout at the time of the 1958 closure.
Page for BR Standard Mk.1 coach No.21271.
15 December: Lewis Nodes has provided a video clip of Baxter working the Vintage Goods train in September 1997. The file is a 6MB Mpeg.
14 December: Pages for BR Standard Steam Stock Nos. 4921, 4941, 4957, 16210, 16263, 25728, 25769, 35448, 25871, TCL 99166, 5034 and 26208. Also, page for SECR Van 153.
11 December: Pages for BR Standard Steam Stock (Mk.1 coaches) 1818, 1838, 1987 and 3116. Update to page for Bulleid Society's CK 5768.
10 December: Updates to Peter Richards' page about the Signalling and Signalboxes, the page describing the Development of the British Railway Carriage, the Introduction to the Carriages page and the page for the LMS Stove R (BGZ) Guards brake van.
Link added to John Russell's photos of the SEmG 1998 get-together on the Bluebell. Includes a lot of photos of the Bulleid Q1.
8 December:
The Bluebell Railway Web Site has been awarded a TrainNet Web Gem Award.
Link added to the TrainNet Forum International Railway Links.

Web pages for Southern Railway designed Bulleid Coaches 2515, 4227 and 4279.
Link added to Chris Osment's West Country Railway Archives site.
4 December: Web pages for Southern Railway Maunsell coaches 1365, 2356, 3687, 3724, 4441, 4444, TPO 4922, 5644, 6575, 6686 and 7864, and Southern Railway designed Bulleid Coaches 1456, 1464, 1481 and 1482.
3 December: Updated details of Bus service 246 to Sheffield Park on the Access to the Railway page.
2 December: Full details of the 1999 Timetable and 1999 Special Events are now available.
1 December: New link to the London North Eastern E-Group, the e-mail group for enthusiasts, historians, and modellers interested in the former London & North Eastern Railway, its constituents, and successors.
29 November 1998: The Horsted Keynes Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
26 November: New link to Window Into Britain, a One stop guide to towns and attractions in Britain.
Web pages for Pullman Cars "Fingall", "Car No.54", "Bertha" and "Car No.76"/"Lilian", CIWL Night Ferry Sleeping Car 3801, LMS/BR Sleeping cars 398, 603 and 623 and Southern Railway Maunsell coaches 1309 and 1336.
23 November: Railway-related Link Buttons added to the links page (an idea originating on the uk.railway newsgroup).
19 November: Web pages for SER "Drawing Room Car 33" (aka Pullman "Constance"), LCDR Brake 2nd 106, Pullman "Car No.64" and LBSCR Stroudley 4w Brakes 676 and 949.
17 November: Web pages for SECR Birdcage Brake 1170, LNWR Observation Car 1503 and LSWR coach 1520.
16 November: New photos of the GNR Saloon, Sheffield Park Inner Home signal, and Kingscote Station, courtesy of Hiroshi Naito.
15 November: Web pages for Great Northern Railway Directors' Saloon 706E and SECR Birdcage Brake 1061.
13 November: Web pages for LSWR coach 494 and LBSCR Stroudley coach 667.
12 November: Web pages for Metropolitan Railway coaches 368, 387 and 412.
10 November: Web pages for LCDR coach 48, LBSCR Directors' Saloon, LSWR coach 320 and Metropolitan coach 394.
9 November: Web pages for SER/SR coach 1050, and SECR coaches 971 and 1098.
6 November: New photo of 'Camelot', courtesy of Hiroshi Naito.
New web page for BR(W) "Monster" Van No.600.
5 November: New links to:
* Hiroshi Naito's "photo report" from his visit to the Bluebell in May, on his excellent web site in Japan.
* LocoWatch have a page for Steam news, and welcome submissions reporting locations and workings of steam and diesel locos on the mail line, and steam loco restoration news.
* Martin Imber has a Web site with details of all Preserved Carriages, under development.
3 November: New Page created to replace the now defunct "History of the Line" page on the Chailey Web Site.
2 November: Details of Bus Service 246 added to the Access page, together with phone numbers of various bus operators in the area.
1 November: The Horsted Keynes Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
29 October 1998: Advanced notice of the dates of 1999 Special Events, together with provisional details of the SECR Goods Trains which run on Jan1st, May 15th, Sept 4th and Oct 23rd to celebrate the centenary of the formation of the SECR. SECR Gala August 7-8. Thomas visits 25-27 June.
26 October: New: Hold your Christmas Party in the new Birch Grove Suite at Sheffield Park.
Update to information about 1998 Christmas services on the Golden Arrow.
Also details of 1999 Golden Arrow Pullman Trains, including Valentines Specials on 13th and 14th February, for which bookings are already being taken.
Report on the Starlight Specials and Giants of Steam weekend.
23 October: New page describing the Development of the British Railway Carriage.
21 October: Link added to the Glossary of Railway Terminology being compiled by the Railway Terminology Group - just the place to look if you come across a word on this site you don't understand!
20 October: All the pages on the site are now validated by the W3C HTML Validation Service.
19 October: New page added with details of Corporate Services which the Bluebell is able to offer:
- Corporate Entertainment
- Facilities for Conferences and Business Meetings
- Film and TV Location
1 October: Booking now open for Santa Specials.
Details of the visiting 92 Squadron added to the Operational Locomotives and Stock List pages.
The Horsted Keynes Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
30 September 1998: Starlight Specials and Giants of Steam page updated.
29 September: Further details of the Starlight Specials and Giants of Steam events added.
21 September: Tour of the Website created.
Links added to The Signal Box - a web site which covers all aspects of traditional British railway signalling.
18 September: Advanced notice of two special events for 1999:
- January: Fri 1: Launch of South Eastern & Chatham Railway Centenary Year
- February: Sat 13 - Sun 14: Winter Steam Up Weekend. Six of our smaller locomotives operate an intensive service with vintage stock.
15 September: New page for Bluebell Railway Letter Service - including Commemorative Stamps and First Day Covers.
10 September: New page for Starlight Specials and Giants of Steam Weekend.
Links added to Robert Philpot's pages on Horsted Keynes and David Anderson's Horsted Keynes Village website.
7 September: Loco Roster and C&W Volunteers pages updated.
4 September:The move of all of the photos on the web site to their new locations has finally been completed, and all photos now have suitable pages (186 of them!) written to display them with captions. See 8 July entry.
Update to the BASH page, with latest progress on restoring the Metropolitan coaches included.
Links to the Vintage Carriages Trust updated to their give access to their spendid new web site.
2 September: Details of the LNER "Blue Spot" Fish Van added to Carriage Stock List.
25 August 1998: Update to Horsted Keynes section of the Signalboxes page.
24 August: This web site is now part of the UK and Ireland Railway Webring.
Link added to pages about the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway.
16 August: Update to the Locomotive Roster.
14 August: Information about extra attractions for the August Bank Holiday Weekend [page now removed - 2/9/98].
13 August: New page with details of Joint tickets with Borde Hill Garden, which is also added to the list of Nearby Attractions.
Index page improved.
6 August: New web page added for LSWR Carriage Project Sponsored Walk - 10th October 1998. Transformed into a page for the LSWR Coach Project on 23 October 1998.
5 August: Link added to the Southern Electric Group, who are owners of a pre-war Southern Railway 4 Cor electric multiple unit, and are also the enthusiast organisation covering the current and past Southern Electric scene.
4 August: New web page with the Locomotive Roster, which provides details of which engines are scheduled to operate on which days.
More photos of coaches moved in the web site reorganisation (see 8 July entry). Moves for all coach and locomotive photos now complete.
3 August: New web page for Summer Steam Gala (22nd & 23rd August 1998).
31 July 1998: New web page for LBSCR First class carriage No.7598.
Link added to Hastings and the 1066 Country.
30 July: The independent O1 and Wainwright Interest Group now maintain web pages about SER O1 locomotive No.65.
20 July: New page for our Operational Locos. Minor corrections to the Loco Stock List.
15 July: Minor updates to Locomotives, Loco Stock List, Visitor Information and Early Days (1963) pages.
More photos and graphics moved to new directories.
New web page for our award-winning LMS BGZ.
Updated e-mail address for David Mills for membership matters.
13 July: The World Cup football finals being completed, the outcome of our own World Cup Competition, in aid of the Carriage Shed Fund, is now available. N.B. Page deleted, 16 August.
8 July: Locomotive 80151 (BR Standard 4MT, 2-6-4T) added to Loco stock list. This loco arrived last week from the East Anglian Railway Museum under a long-term agreement with its owners.
A start has been made in putting all of the photos into a "Gallery", such that each full-size photo is presented with a caption on a proper page, rather than being displayed "in limbo". This means that most pictures are moving, and so anyone who has used links to these photos may need to update them. Access to photos of rolling stock continues to be through the various stock lists.
3 July: Link added to Iain Logan's page of Railway fonts and clip-art. He can supply a very useful Southern Sunshine font, which will be finding uses on this web site before long.
Link added to Piers Connor's Railway Technical Pages - a comprehensive resource on steam and modern railways.
Link added to the UK Heritage Railway News Pages (slightly confusingly named, and not related to the Heritage Railway Association UK Heritage Railways - News Page).
27 June 1998: First results available in the Carriage Shed Fund's World Cup Competition. N.B. Page deleted, 16 August.
25 June: Link added to Aerolite Booktraders.
24 June: New page for the Bulleid Society's composite coach No.5768.
Updates to the Locomotives page and the Carriage Fleet Review parts 1, 2, 4 and 6.
5 June: New pages for the 1998 Steam Fair (25-26 July) and 1998 Santa Specials. Also, the Christmas 1998 Golden Arrow Pullman dining train pages updated.
2 June: Final results of the 1997/8 Football League and FA Cup competitions.
A reminder to enter the World Cup Competition to help raise funds for the Carriage Shed Fund. N.B. Page deleted, 16 August.
26 May 1998: Page added to promote fund raising through The Bluebell Railway's own Visa Card.
News of the return to steam of BIRCH GROVE.
Updates of the Carriage Stock List and Carriage Fleet Review (1: Victorian coaches) as a result of our aquisition of two Stroudley Brake coaches.
29 April 1998: Link added to Viktor Schiffer's Links for Wagon Enthusiasts page.
28 April: The launch of our World Cup Football Competition, raising money for the Carriage Shed Fund. N.B. Page deleted, 16 August.
Latest positions in the Horsted Keynes Signalling Fund's Premier League and FA Cup Football Competitions.
The Carriage Shop at Horsted Keynes has a wide selection of second-hand books and railway models, run for us by Barry Jones.
17 April: Photos added of: 75027 with a goods train at the 40th Anniversary of closure weekend, SR "Pillbox" Brake Van 55993, GWR Tool Van No. 92 and Kingscote Track Layout Northwards.
14 April: An entire new section added, mainly material supplied by Peter Richards about the History of the Preservation of the Bluebell Line.
The Horsted Keynes Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
Link added to the Norbury & South London Transport Club.
9 April: New page for 9F Club (for young volunteers aged 9 to 15).
8 April: New page for Loco Department Volunteers.
Further details of the Toy and Collectors' Fair on 18/19 July are now available.
7 April: Norman Blake's phone number has changed to 01273 417166.
6 April: A Railway Memorabilia Collectors Events Diary is added to the links page. This also provides details of our own Toy and Collectors' Fair on 18/19 July.
1 April: New pages with the Sheffield Park Signal Box Diagram and an explanation of all the different Bell Codes used by the signalmen.
The Horsted Keynes Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
26 March 1998: Details added of the Somerset & Dorset Theme Weekend 4th & 5th April 1998.
25 March: New section added to Links page for Suppliers of Railway Books and Videos. Links added to Beulah (Historical Transport Films issued on Video), Stanley Fish & Co. (second-hand and new railway books) and the Vintage Carriages Trust, who, like us, are restoring Ex-Metropolitan Railway coaches.
23 March: New page added for Volunteers' Weekend - 4/5 April.
New page added for Vintage Bus Day - 26th April.
Order your Books and Videos by mail order from our shop (new page).
Links added to the Historical Model Railway Society's extensive web site and the Puffing Billy Railway, which is Australia's premier steam railway.
19 March: Photo of the original interior of a Maunsell Restaurant Car added to the Carriage Fleet Review, Part 3, which has also been updated.
17 March: Update to the Extension page.
16 March: The Horsted Keynes Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
80080, on loan from Midland Railway Centre, added to Loco Stock List.
Report of the 40th Anniversary of closure event.
10 March: Please consider supporting the Land Purchase Fund (new page).
4 March: Full details added for the 40th Anniversary of closure event taking place on 14-15 March.
The Horsted Keynes Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
25 February 1998: Details of Bus Service 270, from Haywards Heath to Horsted Keynes added.
The Map of the area showing access to the railway modified and improved.
18 February: The Horsted Keynes Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
16 February: New pages with details of the Children's Fun Weekend (28-29 March) [page removed after event] and The Yetties Concert (20 June).
Report on Branch Line Weekend.
13 February: This site has now joined the Travelring.
New photos added: Stepney with Chesham Set in the 1960s, Elephants being transported in an SR Scenery Van, 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair, a new view of Sheffield Park Station, Bessemer Arms sign, LBSCR Milk Van No.270 and a Pallet Van.
12 February: Signal Boxes page revised, with new photos of the interior of Horsted Keynes Signal Box and the exterior of Sheffield Park Box. The Kingscote Signal Box Diagram page has been approved, and a page for Sheffield Park Signal Box will come soon. The Railway's S&T Department have decided that the Locking Tables should not be made public. The Signal Box Diagram for Horsted Keynes will be published when current work in progress has been completed.
11 February: Link from Loco and wagon-list pages added to Lewis Nodes' page about the Steam Crane
9 February: New Page: Track Plan of West Hoathly Station and New Coombe Bridge.
Update to Horsted Keynes Platform 1 Canopy Project page.
5 February: The Links page has been re-vamped, and links added to Breakaway's UK Holiday Ideas, and more National Trust properties in the area.
4 February: New Page: Track Plans of Kingscote Station.
3 February: The HK Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
2 February: Minor updates to the Access to the Railway and Extension pages.
Link added to Bulleid's Steam News and the non-frames version of the same.
Links and Index pages separated.
The What's New page now limited to last two months of updates. Older updates transferred to this Site Update Archive.
29 January 1998: More details about the Branch Line Weekend, 14-15 February.
28 January: More explanatory text added to Track Layouts at Horsted Keynes.
New photos added of: Loco 80100. Carriages: 1336, 1365, 1061 as now and when running, 1050, 320. Vans: GBL, 653, LSWR Road Van. Wagons: Sleeper Wagon, Dogfish: 993348 and 993217.
27 January: Update to Carriage Fleet Review 6 and various housekeeping changes within the Carriage Fleet Review.
26 January: New Page: Track Layouts at Horsted Keynes.
Accommodation page revised.
Carriage Stock List and Carriage Fleet Review 7 revised following departure of Mk.1 FK No.13314
19 January: Links added to Martin Ward's photos of the SE-mG outing to the Bluebell, Michael Taylor's Audio Recording of Port Line and Tunbridge Wells Council's Tourism pages.
13 January: Correction made to price of Sunday Lunch Pullman Ticket on Golden Arrow page.
12 January: Link added to David Overall's SR EMU name/code page.
Photo on Home Page changed.
6 January: Link added to the UK Model Railways Web Community.
5 January 1998: Details of Friends of Thomas the Tank Engine Weekend, Branch Line Weekend and 40th Anniversary of closure event added.
New page outlining the role of the Buffet Car steward.
The HK Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions updated.
Update of Visitor Information for 1998.
Updates to Loco Stock List and the Extension page.
Link added to Kevin Clapcott's Somerset and Dorset Railway pages.
23 December 1997: Update to page showing Access to the Railway, adding information on access by road to Horsted Keynes, and also a link to a streetmap of the area.
Update to the Carriage Stock List, including the Blue Spot Fish Van, which had been missed off the list previously.
22 December: Link added to Michael Taylor's photos of Bluebell Locos in action.
12 December: 1998 Timetable added.
8 December: Golden Arrow Pullman and Catering pages updated with 1998 details.
Link added for the latest photos of Bluebell loco workshop activities on Lewis Nodes' Photo News Pages
5 December: Locking Tables for Kingscote Signal Box added. Removed - see entry for 12 February 1998.
2 December: Carriage Fleet review: SR Bulleid Coaches - post-script added. Some other carriage pages also updated.
1 December 1997: The HK Signalling Fund's Football Competition: latest positions. Also a more detailed Kingscote Signal Box Diagram is now available.
28 November: The signalling pages have been separated out as a section in their own right.
19 November: The Signal Box Diagram and a full description of the operation of the signalling at Kingscote has been provided by Peter Richards.
11 November:
- Photos added showing current progress on rebuilding the Horsted Keynes Platform 1 Canopy.
- New photo of Horsted Keynes Signal Box added.
- Carriage Stock List, Carriage Fleet review: Maunsell Coaches and Overview, and Wagon Stock List - photos of 387, 3724, 5644, 5498, 49018 and the recently arrived "Dogfish" added.
- Links Page: New link added to the London Underground Railway Society
7 November: BASH page: updated, and new photo of brake end of No.387
2 November: Carriage Fleet review: Victorian Coaches with newly researched details of the LCDR 4-wheel brake coach.
29 October: Carriage Fleet review: Revised overview taking into account the update below.
28 October: Carriage Fleet review: BR Standard Steam Stock - some coaches leave the railway, and another is to be converted to a multi-purpose saloon.
27 October 1997: Virtually the whole of this site is new, much expanded from the Bluebell's pages formerly hosted on the Heritage Railway Association web pages.

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Bluebell Railway web site: Site Update Archive 1997-8

Bluebell Railway web site:
Site Update Archive 1997-8