ANOTHER SELL-OUT ‘SCOTSMAN’ SUCCESS AT BLUEBELL RAILWAY

History was recreated at the Bluebell Railway on April 13, when ‘A3’ No. 60103 Flying Scotsman was reunited with its 15in gauge counterpart, Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway No. 7 Typhoon. The two ‘Pacifics’ were posed together at Sheffield Park on the first day of the Gresley 4-6-2’s visit to the railway, recalling a famous shot taken of the pair at King’s Cross in 1927 (see ‘Return Ticket’, SR466). The photoshoot was one of a number of events staged during Flying Scotsman’s visit to the Bluebell, the ‘A3’ making its debut over the East Grinstead-Sheffield Park line. The event attracted nearly 20,000 people in what has been described as “probably the largest event that the Bluebell has ever hosted,” according to the railway’s Communications Director, Roger Garman. All trains hauled by No. 60103 were sold out for the seven-day event, with over 8,700 people taking a trip behind the threecylinder ‘Pacific’. A third Gresley-inspired 4-6-2 was also displayed alongside Typhoon and Flying Scotsman, in the shape of a 10¼in gauge ‘A3’, courtesy of the South Downs Light Railway. Versions of the LNER flagship, from 7¼in gauge right down to ‘OO’ gauge models, were also on display at Sheffield Park. Flying Scotsman wasn’t the only locomotive in steam, as Bluebell residents ‘S15’ 4-6-0 No. 847 and BR Standard ‘5MT’ No. 73082 Camelot were also pressed into service. Dick Fearn, chairman of Bluebell Railway plc, said: “The success of the recent visit of Flying Scotsman to the Bluebell Railway over Easter clearly shows that steam trains still generate great excitement for people of all ages. “It was a great privilege to be able to host this most famous of steam locomotives for a full week, so that thousands of people in the south-east of England were able to see it in action at the Bluebell Railway.” The railway is the second preserved line to play host to No. 60103 this year, following the ‘A3’s’ visit to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway on April 1-9, from where it also re-opened the Settle & Carlisle railway as a through route on March 31 (SR466). Flying Scotsman’s next visit to a preserved line this year will be to the West Somerset Railway, where it will be running on September 5-7 and 9-12. It will also be the guest of honour at the official reopening of Barrow Hill Roundhouse on September 23/24 (SR463).