The Bluebell Railway Trust Projects

SECR P Class Tank Engine No. 323 ‘Bluebell’ is the flagship locomotive of our line and we intend to bring it back to working order. However, we need your help! ‘Bluebell’ has languished out of the limelight for five years since its last spell in traffic but now it is time for re-awakening.

The charming 140-year-old coping stones adorning our platforms are nearing their end. We need to replace the 150-metre platform edge with 180 new stones (made from a modern composite stone material, but having the texture and form of the originals) – rather than the cheaper option of concrete edging. We’re inviting members and friends to donate to ‘buy’ a stone for £115.

The appeal is to help in the restoration of a key station, which has featured in scores of TV programmes and films. We are asking for public support to finance the repair of leaking roofs and replacement of rotting beams at the Grade II-listed station.

No. 488 is now in “Atlantic House” at Sheffield Park, where it is planned that the overhaul will commence in earnest once the overhaul of the other locomotive there, Adams B4 ‘Normandy’ is progressing towards completion. In the interim, the project will be scoped, and the plan for the overhaul decided. Your support of this project will be much appreciated.

The locomotive entered service at Bluebell Railway in 1990 after a 13-year overhaul. In 2002, it was withdrawn from service and now awaits restoration. The ‘Awake the Giant’ restoration group is seeking to raise £500,000 towards the restoration of 92240 back into service.

The restoration will be carried out by the 1305 Oxted Thumper Gang. Once back in service it will be used for the first and last services of the day from and back to East Grinstead, allowing an earlier start for visitors travelling from the National network. The work is expected to take 2 years, with your help!

The Goods Division undertakes a whole range of projects on the Bluebell’s historic collection of wagons, from minor repairs and repaints to intermediate and full overhauls. With fundraising by the group match-funded by the Trust up to £5,000 each year, your donation makes an enormous difference to our ability to undertake this work.

Arriving on the Bluebell in 1978, its owning group merged with others to form the Maunsell Locomotive Society, and it returned to steam in 1983. A subsequent overhaul saw it operate for 8 years until the end of 2022. The Bluebell Railway Trust and Maunsell Locomotive Society are keen to raise funds to help overhaul the locomotive once again.

Used on the Bluebell from 1962 to 1981 to provide static catering at Sheffield Park station, it is now the subject of a fund-raising appeal to raise the money for its overhaul and restoration to use in its original form for our train of Maunsell coaches. The body is in extremely bad condition with much of the structure having been affected by rot, and the interior will have to be reconstructed almost from scratch. The overhaul was started by the volunteers of the SR Coach Group in February 2024.

The restoration of No. 27 to working condition is now well under way following a delay of nearly 30 years. The work on the locomotive is being undertaken by the Villas Gang and other volunteers, supported by the fund raising efforts of the ‘Fenchurch Fund’, the combined efforts coming under the banner of the Little Loco Group’s Project 27. Major work is required on the boiler and the replacement of the frames and cylinders, as well as some significant mechanical renewal and replacement of plate work, including the tanks.

When BR Class 2 tender engine No. 78059 was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in 1983 without a suitable tender being available, the decision was taken to restore the locomotive in the tank-engine form, of which there are no surviving examples. The loco will be very useful on the Bluebell, since it will be capable of hauling all but our very heaviest trains.

Coming to the Bluebell in 1980, it was rapidly restored to working order. Following expiry of its boiler certificate, it has been stored awaiting its turn in the workshop, in need of some very major (i.e. expensive) boiler repairs. Now under overhaul, we need your help to get it over the finish line!

Donations towards the upkeep of this peaceful garden, accessible from the car park and overlooking the line at Horsted Keynes Station, in which memorials to those who loved the Bluebell Railway are placed.

The Friends of Kingscote (FoK) exists to maintain that station and its environs in good order, representing the early 1950’s British Railways era. The Friends were formed in the late 1980s as a fundraising group, enabling the restoration work started in 1985 to continue.

These are essential to help the Trust support many aspects of our heritage, from track renewal to apprenticeships, from the match-funding of volunteer fundraising to maintaining the Trust-owned locomotives.