Bluebell Branch Line Gala March 2019

[TRP]

The Bluebell Railway's Branch Line Gala over the weekend of 15-17 March 2019 is set to have a London & South Western Railway theme.

LSWR O2 class 0-4-4T No.24 'Calbourne' is confirmed as attending, making a rare visit to the UK mainland from the Isle of Wight and this will be the loco's first visit to the Bluebell. The Bluebell is looking into the possibility of also bringing in the NRM's LSWR 'Beattie Well Tank' (0298 class) 2-4-0WT No.30587.

The two resident LSWR locos at Sheffield Park - B4 class 0-4-0T No.96 'Normandy' & 'Adams Radial Tank' (0415 class 4-4-2T No.488) are both out of traffic, but the Bluebell intends to put them on display.

Other locos from the home fleet will also be in action and are likely to include a quartet from the SECR - P class 0-6-0Ts Nos.178 & 323 'Bluebell', H class 0-4-4T No.263 and O1 class 0-6-0 No.65.
It is possible that BR 4MT 2-6-4T No.80151 may also be back in traffic by then.

Tony

[TRP]

The visits of 'Calbourne' & 30587 have been confirmed, along with the rest of the line up from the home fleet, which should be the 4 SECR locos: P class Nos.178 & 323, H class No.263 & O1 No.65.
80151 could be back in traffic around Easter, but won't be ready for this gala in March.

Tony

[TRP]

Interesting news in the latest Steam Railway:
The out of traffic Adams Radial tank (No.488) is being repainted into BR black as 30583 with late crest, to match the 2 visitors, W24 & 30587. The repaint is being carried out by Heritage Painting and this will be the first time the 4-4-2T will appear in this livery since 1983.
The other out of traffic LSWR loco at the Bluebell, B4 No.96 'Normandy', will also appear at the Branch Line gala in BR livery as 30096, but only temporarily by using transfers as the loco is already black (in 1940s SR 'Sunshine' livery). This will be the first time a BR-liveried B4 has been seen during preservation.

Tony

[TRP]

Timetables now available: https://www.bluebell-railway.com/wp-...table-2019.pdf
Now confirmed seven locos in action: W24, 30587, 178, 323, 65, 263 plus ex-SR Q class 0-6-0 No.30541.

Tony

[horace]

Originally Posted by TRP

Interesting news in the latest Steam Railway:
The out of traffic Adams Radial tank (No.488) is being repainted into BR black as 30583 with late crest, to match the 2 visitors, W24 & 30587. The repaint is being carried out by Heritage Painting and this will be the first time the 4-4-2T will appear in this livery since 1983.
The other out of traffic LSWR loco at the Bluebell, B4 No.96 'Normandy', will also appear at the Branch Line gala in BR livery as 30096, but only temporarily by using transfers as the loco is already black (in 1940s SR 'Sunshine' livery). This will be the first time a BR-liveried B4 has been seen during preservation.

Tony

The Adams tank looks fabulous in BR lined black. I only ever saw it running in LSWR green some time back in the 1990s. Enjoy the gala it is a bit too far to travel there and back in a day from deepest Somerset.

[TRP]

Originally Posted by horace

The Adams tank looks fabulous in BR lined black. I only ever saw it running in LSWR green some time back in the 1990s. Enjoy the gala it is a bit too far to travel there and back in a day from deepest Somerset.

I've not seen the Adams Radial in BR black as 30583 before - it apparently spent a few months in this livery in 1982/1983 - so I'm looking forward to seeing it at the gala. It looks fantastic on the cover of the latest Steam Railway.
I think a BR black B4 will be a first in preservation as well, so I'm looking forward to seeing 30096, along with the two visitors.
It's a shame that it's too far for you to come from Somerset, but I noticed something on the same weekend that's a bit closer to you that looks quite interesting: the 'Caley Tank' (439 class 0-4-4T No.419) starts it's visit to the Swanage Railway. 419 is visiting for the gala over the weekend of 29-31 March but also operating on 16/17 March plus during the visit of 'Flying Scotsman' from 22-26 March.
419 is making it's first trips away from Scotland since it's visit to the Bluebell in 1982 & will also visit the East Lancashire & North Norfolk Railways, having visited the Churnet Valley Railway last weekend.

Tony

[TRP]

An Update:
The Bluebell Railway has posted a short post on their Facebook page:

Our beautiful P-Class locomotive and namesake - No.323 'Bluebell' - has sadly been withdrawn from service with immediate effect. For an engine of her size she has worked extremely hard since returning to service in 2011 and now requires a full overhaul before she can steam again. Proving popular amongst our visitors, she has also flown the ‘Bluebell’ flag, spending time away at other railways too. This does also mean 'Bluebell' will not be appearing at our upcoming Branch Line Weekend as originally planned and we’ll release an updated Branch Line Weekend timetable later this week.

This will also have an effect on the North Norfolk Railway's Spring Gala 5th-7th April as 'Bluebell' was due to be visiting.

Tony