Day out to the Bluebell Railway

Sunday 08 November

A gang of Saturday and midweek P-way members totalling 11 made the trip to the Bluebell railway. The day started at Horsted Keynes with tea and biscuits in the Bluebells P-way mess. We then caught the 10.02 train  to East Grinstead , where we started a track walk  back towards Kingscote , passing over the Imberhorne viaduct, stopping for the obligatory photographs.







Moving on we walked through the Imberhorne cutting and you still wonder how the railway cleared the rubbish tip and made it ready for trains. At 11.00  we stopped at the Kingscote end of the cutting to observe the two minutes silence for those who gave their lives so that we may enjoy such simple pursuits.



 

After continuing the walk and arriving at the Kingscote signal box we were given a tour of the new installation of the Westinghouse L-Frame which will control the signals from Kingscote to East Grinstead.  The train was then caught back to Horsted Keynes for lunch and a guided tour of the Carriage and Wagon works.  We then carried on to Sheffield Park, where a visit to the loco works and the new build Atlantic Class loco was provided.  The last train from Sheffield Park  was boarded back to Horsted Keynes where tea and cake were consumed in the P-Way mess after which the group departed.

I would like to thank Jon B and his team at the Bluebell Infrastructure group for their hospitality and making the day interesting and informative as always.  Also, thanks to the Carriage and Wagon group and the loco shed for taking time out of their day to give us guided tours of their workshops, it was much appreciated by all.