Bluebell
Railway
East and West Sussex
| The Bluebell Railway
runs a 9 mile standard gauge preservation railway between East and West
Sussex, steam trains being run from Sheffield Park and Kingscote, with
an intermediate station at Horsted Keynes. Work in hand will extend this
to 11 miles. It is said to have the largest collection of steam
locomotives in the UK after the national railway museum, with around 30
locomotives resident on this line.
Except for diesel used for shunting, this
line is entirely steam, so all trains are steam hauled.
The stations have been restored to show
different periods of the railway's life. Sheffield Park has been restored to a
generally Victorian ambience, as it would have appeared during the time of the
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (up to 1922); Horsted Keynes tries to
emulate the style of the Southern Railway (1922–1948); and Kingscote echoes
the early British Railways period of the 1950's.
The Bluebell Railway was the worlds first
preserved standard gauge steam-operated passenger railway, it opened on 7 August
1960, with 5 miles of track. Ahead of its time, as steam engines did not stop
completely on British railways mainlines until 1968.The line has extended from Horsted Keynes to Kingscote in 1994, which included relaying track through
Sharpthorne Tunnel, at 731 yards (668m) it is the longest on a UK heritage
railway. Work is now in hand to reinstate the remaining two miles of line from Kingscote to East Grinstead where it will again join the national rail network.
They also have a very wide range of quality coaches and goods wagons.
Work has also started on the Ardingly
spur. It is hoped that in the future the Ardingly spur will also
reconnect with National Rail at Ardingly, and thus gain access to the
London to Brighton main line at Copyhold Junction. This will restore a
bypass of the London–Brighton line which proved very useful in the
past (during the Second World War the signal box at Horsted Keynes was
manned both night and day, to provide an alternative route for troop
trains). |
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Towards Horsted Keynes station looking
south from the bridge.
By
Charles Rawding |
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Click
on an image to see a larger version |
There is also interest in extending south
towards Lewes, but the removal of the road bridge just south of Sheffield Park
station, the in-filling of the cutting and route under the A272 road, and the
housing development that was built on the site of Newick & Chailey station makes
this difficult. The remaining undeveloped section of the line from Lewes to
Sheffield Park has been safeguarded from development prejudicial to its use as a
bridleway and footpath, leaving open the possibility that the whole line may one
day be open to services.
Their website is well designed and a mine of
information, with a quick navigator bar on the top left.
Lineside Passes
Annual permits £16pa for members of BRPS,
£32pa non-members. Membership £17pa and has many other benefits (lower rates
for Seniors, children etc, and other options). Membership is for a year and to
next quarter point.
No day passes are available.
The application form is not available
online, it has to be completed and signed in the presence of the member of
Bluebell Railway staff who is issuing the permit. Lineside Photographic
Permits are available from Bluebell Railway booking offices during
operational hours. Applicants will need to undertake a short safety briefing
at the time of purchase so call before to confirm this is going to be
possible. ORANGE HIGH VISIBILITY JACKET must be worn at all times that you
are on or about the lineside.
You can find their
locomotive duty roster here
 and
next
weeks service page here
Locomotive List
Further information Grid
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Location: |
Bluebell Railway |
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Ceremonial County: |
Sussex |
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Grid Reference: |
Sheffield Park Station TQ 403237
Horsted Keynes Station TQ 371293
Kingscote Station TQ 367355 |
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Map Link: |
Sheffield Park
multimap
streetmap
Horsted Keynes Station
multimap
streetmap
Kingscote Station
multimap
Streetmap
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Aerial photo: |
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Route(s):
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9 miles of
SG Track |
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Best Times to Visit: |
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E-mail: |
info@bluebell-railway.co.uk |
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Website: |
own
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Other useful
websites: |
wiki
Wiki Images
Strollingguides
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Nearby Locations: |
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Other Relevant pages: |
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Classification: |
Railways |
Date Updated: 07/2008 |
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Planning Grid
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Location: |
Bluebell Railway |
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Grid Reference: |
Sheffield Park Station TQ 403237
Horsted Keynes Station TQ 371293
Kingscote Station TQ 367355 |
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Getting there: |
Sheffield Park Station is said to be
the best point to join the Bluebell Railway. Situated on the A275 East
Grinstead-Lewes main road, about two miles north of its junction with the
A272. Signposted with brown tourist direction signs from the A22 and A23
trunk roads. Horsted Keynes
Station. A mile and a half north-west of the village. From the village
centre follow signs to the station, forking right onto the West Hoathly/Sharpthorne
road. Station Approach will be found on the left after about a mile, just
after a steep hill and sharp right hand bend. Horsted Keynes Station is also
accessible (via a restricted headroom bridge) from Ardingly. Head south on
the B2028 towards Lindfield. Take the first turn on the left, after about
half a mile, signposted to the railway. Then take the next turn to the right
at the bottom of the hill into Station Approach, and carry on about a mile
on this very twisty road. Shortly after passing under the low bridge, you
will come to Horsted Keynes Station.
Kingscote station - No road access.
Information on local bus services and more
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Access: |
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Parking: |
Sheffield Park Station - parking
available.
Horsted Keynes Station has plenty of
parking in the field beyond the station in the summer. |
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Facilities: |
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Things To Do,
See and Photograph: |
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What to take: |
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Nature highlights: |
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Address: |
The Bluebell Railway
Sheffield Park Station
East Sussex |
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Postcode: |
Sheffield Park Station TN22 3QL
Horsted Keynes Station RH17 7BB |
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Telephone: |
01825 720800. Timetable Information:
01825 720825 - 24 hours |
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Opening times: |
Open all days except Christmas day, 11am to 4pm, or
30 minutes before and after trains if longer. Trains don't run every day,
see timetable.
Timetable and dates available
Pullman dinning trains
Events calendar
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Charges: |
Range of ticket types, 1st and 3rd class. All
day, unrestricted all line tickets, and tickets restricted to a part. There
are also station admission tickets available. Special events generally cost
more, but some tickets can be obtained cheaper by purchasing in advance. As a
guide
Adult all line, event £14-£20, other days £10.50-£16
Child event £7-£10, other days £5.25-£8
Family tickets and discounts for buying ahead
are available.
See the website for a complete list of prices.
Special joint prices with
Sheffield Park Gardens (NT)  is
available. |
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Photo Restrictions: |
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Other Restrictions: |
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Special Needs Access: |
Level access is available from each of the
station drives. Stations have bridges or subways connecting the platforms,
but those with walking difficulties or wheelchairs can be escorted by station staff via a ramped crossing between the platforms. |
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Special Needs Facilities: |
They have one carriage with widened doors for
wheelchairs but contact them in advance to see which trains this is on, or
when it can be added. A lot of
facilities and access has been provided including reserved parking.
See
more
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Children Facilities: |
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Dogs Allowed: |
Are allowed in all non eating areas, charge
for taking on trains. Guide dogs free. |
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CIN Page Ref: |
Bluebell_Railway |
Date Updated: 07/2008 |
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Please let us know any other information that we
can add to the Further information and Planning Grids or page and any errors that you discover. Before making a long trip to any location it is always
wise to double check the current information, websites like magazines may be
correct at the time the information is written, but things change and it is of
course impossible to double check all entries on a regular basis. If you have
any good photographs that you feel would improve the illustration of this page
then please let us have copies. In referring to this page it is helpful if you
quote the CIN Page Ref at the bottom of the Planning Grid above. To print the
planning grid select it then right click and print the selected area.
Please submit information on locations you discover so
that this system continues to grow.
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