WHAT’S GOING UNDER COVER?
LBSCR Craven Passenger Brake Van No. 94
Built: Circa 1858 Any rolling stock of such vintage is relatively rare, so this Craven-era van is particularly important to a line established on Brighton principles. Indeed, this surviving body was rescued from the coastal town in 2008 after long-term storage in the former Preston Park Pullman carriage works. Prior to 1980, it was part of a dwelling.
LBSCR 12-wheel Directors’ Saloon No. 60
Built: 1913 A remarkable survivor. This saloon is one of only two 12-wheel carriages built by the LBSCR (the other being the ‘King’s’) and is the only Brighton coach to have survived complete, besides those on the Isle of Wight. The saloon was adapted by the Southern, including the fitting of end doors, and it survived long enough into the 1960s for the Bluebell to negotiate its purchase. Although it was operated for around a decade, it hasn’t been used since 1978, in need of major work. It is the eventual intention to return No. 60 to its original umber and gold leaf glory. Harmful asbestos material has already been removed by specialists.
LBSCR Stroudley four-wheel Brake Third No. 676
Built: 1875 This vehicle will demonstrate a real throwback to Victorian travel, with just one lamp illuminating the entire carriage, there being no partitions above the seat backs. It was one of the first electrically lit carriages in the UK. The rescued ex-farmyard coach body will eventually ride on a converted Southern Railway van underframe.
LBSCR Stroudley Brake Third No. 992
Built: 1880 After years as a grounded body within a bungalow (until 2008), No. 992 is destined to become the fifth member of a prototypical five-coach set of Stroudley carriages that will perfectly complement one of the many preserved Brighton ‘Terriers’ – especially the Bluebell’s own 1872 No. 672 Fenchurch.
LCDR six-wheel Brake Second/Third No. 48
Built: 1894 Unlike many of the ‘miracle’ vintage carriage restorations, No. 48 retains its original underframe and wheelsets. However, it is in particularly poor structural condition and is devoid of any passenger-carrying interior, having been reclassified following the electrification of the Sevenoaks line in 1927, becoming a departmental vehicle. Nonetheless, eventual use in the LCDR/SER train is a possibility.
South Eastern Railway Family/First Saloon No. 172
Built: 1898 This will provide First Class accommodation for the LCDR/SER train of four and six-wheelers. It was rescued from Pagham, West Sussex in August 2010 after spending 80 years as part of a bungalow. A former Southern Railway van underframe will be adapted to accommodate the body in its eventual restoration to SECR condition.
South Eastern Railway/Southern Composite (later Third) No. 5546
Rebuilt: 1924 Built from the parts of three old SER six-wheel carriage bodies on a new 63ft underframe made by joining sections of two standard Maunsell underframes, No. 5546 was one of the earliest carriages to be out shopped by the newly formed Southern. It was a prototype for the conversion of steam-hauled to electric-hauled stock, but itself was put into traffic steam-hauled in 1927. It briefly formed part of a ‘Birdcage’ set before another change of use to a pull-push trailer. It is hoped to restore it to a ‘Birdcage’ trio set.
SECR six-wheel ‘Birdcage’ brake van No. 719
Built: 1905 Many pre-Grouping vans were re-purposed after withdrawal from their original jobs and No. 719 was no different, albeit one of the more unusual cases. It was bought by the independent Derwent Valley Light Railway in Yorkshire in 1947, where it served until closure in 1965. Restoration will involve significant attention to its badly wasted underframe.
SECR ‘Birdcage’ Brake Second/Third No. 1061
Built: 1909 No. 1061 is a sister carriage to restored ‘Birdcage’ brake No. 3363, and this carriage would add another piece to the jigsaw of recreating a trio set of SECR stock that was a common sight in Kent, Surrey and Sussex for half a century. A basic restoration of No. 1061 was carried out in 1965, enabling it to run in passenger service between Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes for ten years before major repairs were required. It hasn’t run since 1975.
SECR ‘Birdcage’ Brake Third No. 1170
Built: 1912 With the prospect of two ‘Birdcages’ already pencilled in to form a trio set, this example could have its ‘lookout’ end lopped off (and conserved) in favour of a pull-push driving end (as one such vehicle was), although there are no firm plans for this. A match for ex-pull-push ‘H’ No. 31263…?
SECR ‘Hundred Seater’ Third No. 971
Built: 1923 Tightly packed London commuters would have experienced the spartan environs of these vehicles, as have visitors to the Bluebell on busy gala days! It arrived at the Bluebell in 1963, having served on branch lines and in pull-push trains in its later commercial life, and was maintained in heritage use until 2007 when the wear and tear of its age caught up with it. A major overhaul is now needed before it can rejoin the olive green livery vintage train.
LSWR Family Saloon No. 25
Built: 1885 A jewel that, once restored, will be able to showcase the now long-forgotten days when an entire railway carriage could be hired by a family to transport them to their holiday destination in consummate luxury. The saloon was withdrawn in 1934 and bought for use as a dwelling in Yarcombe, Devon (minus its wheels) – a function it served until 2005 when it was transported to Sussex for preservation.
LSWR Corridor Third No. 494
Built: 1911 As an early example of a walk-through carriage with corridor connections, No. 494 was immediately placed into top link express trains out of Waterloo until it was superseded in the 1920s, eventually becoming a camping coach. Restoration will require the re-creation of its interior from scratch.
Southern Railway (ex-LSWR) Lavatory Third No. 320
Built: 1900, converted 1935 One of the more unusual Southern carriage designs was the former LSWR 48ft stock, lengthened to 58ft with new underframes and two new compartments spliced in. No. 320 arrived at the fledgling Bluebell in 1960 and became famous in its all-over blue livery in the line’s reopening train. It was used for ten years before repairs became due (but were never carried out) and this historic preservation piece has been deteriorating since.
Three pre-Grouping wagon underframes
There is just enough space in the shed to squeeze in three pre-Grouping van and wagon underframes, which – being made of timber – would deteriorate if stored outside until eventually reused or reconstructed. The Bluebell already boasts a substantial fleet of restored wagons and vans.
Southern Railway Composite Dining Saloon No. 1365
Built: 1927 Surviving Southern restaurant carriages are few and far between, so No. 1365 has a promising future, both historically and practically. It has been identified as being a viable option for a sub Pullman dining option alongside the plush ‘Golden Arrow’, for cream teas and suchlike, and would provide an unusual vehicle to marshal into the olive green Maunsell set, together with kitchen-fitted companion No. 7864 (the restoration of which is planned to start in a few years).
Southern Railway Maunsell Corridor Composite No. 5644
Built: 1930 It is fitting that No. 5644 was saved by the Bluebell, given that it spent most of its working life running through the Sussex Weald. This unusual survivor is in generally sound condition, but has suffered because of a leaking roof. A contender for inclusion in the Maunsell rake.
Southern Railway Maunsell Corridor Brake Composite No. 6575
Built: 1929 Built for the Bournemouth-Newcastle through service as a loose vehicle, meaning that it could be used independently after detaching a portion at Bradford or Leeds. This was the second carriage in the Bluebell’s inaugural reopening train, for which it was painted blue, and it served the line well until a leaking roof put paid to its usefulness in 2000. Naturally, repairing it will require significant time and money.
Southern Region Bulleid Semi-Open Brake Third No. 2515
Built: 1951 A true veteran of Bluebell Railway service, No. 2515 was made operational for the 1977 season and it was in almost continuous passenger service for 33 years before finally succumbing to corrosion to its steel bottom side (where the carriage body is joined to the underframe). Once overhauled, it will join the longest operational rake of Bulleid carriages in the country.
Southern Region Bulleid Brake Third No. 4227
Built: 1948 Daily use in the ‘Man of Kent’ Charing Cross-Margate express is a distant memory for No. 4227, later converted to a cinema coach… But the intention is that its restoration will, eventually, be tackled.
Southern Region Bulleid Brake Third No. 4279
Built: 1949 The railway may be awash with Bulleid carriages, but they are useful for their high seating capacity and display more heritage features than their successors, the Mk 1s. No. 4279 has nominally been available for front-line service for four decades, but it too now requires a major overhaul.
Southern Region Bulleid Open Third No. 1481
Built: 1950 Preservation life on the serene Bluebell Railway between 1979 and 2000 was a world away from its former use on ‘Ocean Liner Expresses’, but like its ‘sisters’, this is an ideal match for the railway’s late-Southern and early-BR condition locomotives. However, it needs significant bodywork attention as part of a general overhaul before it can be brought back into use.
Pullman Kitchen First Constance (originally SER Drawing Room Car No. 33)
Built: 1891, rebuilt: 1920 Another rarity, Constance is a hybrid of an original USA-built (Ashford-assembled) ‘Hastings Car Train’ carriage, but redeployed by the Pullman Company to cope with demand from the SECR. Retired from service to become a dwelling in the late 1920s in Middleton-on-Sea (and then cut in half) it was later salvaged by the Bluebell. Although restoration is a distant prospect, it has already been considered, which might result in its reappearance in full SECR colours, to run as a refreshment vehicle in a vintage train, or provide spare capacity for the ‘Golden Arrow’.
Pullman Parlour Third No. 76 ‘Lillian’
Built: 1928 An all-steel vehicle that formed part of the LNER’s ‘Queen of Scots’, No. 76 came to the Bluebell in 1996, via Bulmers Cider and VSOE ownership. It ran for nearly 20 years in the Bluebell’s ‘Golden Arrow’ train, but now requires a full overhaul to bring it back to running order.