Updated: 1st March 2023

I have worked at director level in the transport industry for nearly 20 years and have also owned my own businesses.

I have been a member and working member of the Bluebell Railway since 1989. I have previously been a Trustee and Operations Director from 2007 to 2010. I was Station Master at Sheffield Park as well as having qualified as a guard, signalman and shunter.

Steve has been a finance director for various companies covering different sectors including housebuilding, recruitment, oil and gas, and most recently mergers and acquisitions.  

He led commercial strategy at group board level for an international services consultancy, and was responsible for finance, commercial and resources. He is now semi-retired. 

Steve grew up around railways as his father was a rail enthusiast and he spent many hours at GWR’s Didcot centre. 

He has also been a school governor and managed the financial reporting for a charity supporting an orphanage and school in India. 

I am Chief Guards Inspector and a Shunter. 

I joined the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society in 1990 and started as a volunteer on the day before my 14th birthday in 1991.  

I was Commercial Manager for local bus operator Compass Travel with buses operating across Sussex and Surrey and two of its bus routes serve the Bluebell Railway.

I spent nearly 40 years in the airport business, with almost 20 years in BAA culminating at senior management level at Heathrow. I had many varied roles but for much of my time in BAA I concentrated on jet fuel infrastructure projects which included major contract negotiations and the development of new jet fuel related facilities at Heathrow Terminal 5.  

In 2008 I set up my own airport consultancy business and worked at a number of high-profile airports in the Middle East, focusing on the development of jet fuel infrastructure.

Following partial retirement in 2019, I became a volunteer project manager, initially in the Carriage & Wagon department before moving to Infrastructure to oversee the power upgrade project at Horsted Keynes.

Now fully retired, I have the time to take on new challenges.

Outside the railway, I enjoy skiing and continental touring cycling.

I first visited the Bluebell Railway in 1975 on a primary school trip. I still remember the experience and it was a lasting influence on my interest in all things mechanical and engineering. After leaving school, I found myself in one of the last traditional electrical apprenticeships and had a lucky break to move into the technology sector.

I have worked across all aspects of the technology industry from IT infrastructure, application, modernisation and digital use cases for business and the consumer. While a technologist at heart I have had the opportunity to build programs which help people and organisations evolve their culture and simplify technology so it is not seen as a barrier to using it. My current role is with Amazon Web Services where I lead a team of technical architects helping customers adopt the latest Amazon technology and move their business to the cloud.

I really appreciate being involved in organisations which have a community presence. I was the Chairman and Councillor for Cuckfield Parish Council and over nine years was able to deliver on community-based projects for the environment, events, planning and highways. Something I still look back on was saving the local playgroup and village hall from closure.

It is this belief of communities which brings me to the Bluebell Railway as IT Director.

Chris comes from a railway family – his grandfather was a signalman on the East Coast Main Line and his father worked on the engineering side of signalling, so railways have always been a topic of interest for him.    

Chris has had a varied working career serving in the Royal Air Force and the police in addition to holding various senior HR and Business Change and Transformation roles in both public and private sector organisations such as PwC, Serco, American Express and Mercedes Benz. Chris currently works in the defence industry and has travelled widely with work spending a lot of time on projects in the Far East, South Africa and the USA. He also has significant board level experience in the charity and heritage sectors.   

When not working, Chris enjoys shooting, motor cycling and all things steam having for many years been involved in a hands-on role in the preservation of a Burrell Special Scenic Road locomotive. 

Tim has a background in the construction industry, specialising in electrical installation. Having been part of a family business (for which he is now running) within this sector, Tim has over 30 years of experience, and he also provides valuable service to various aspects and needs across the railway.

Tim has been volunteering at The Bluebell Railway in the locomotive department since 2010 and has progressed through the grade at the railway to Locomotive Inspector. He is also the Locomotive Department Chief Roster Clerk at Sheffield Park.

I have been a member and regular visitor to the Bluebell Railway since 1965 when I started volunteering in the station buffet and polishing the carriages. I am a chartered accountant with a background in dealing with trusts and charities.

In 2014 I was appointed the administrator of the Trust which supports the railway and in 2019 I became chairman.