Edwardian Weekend on the Bluebell Railway

  South Eastern & Chatham Railway locomotives 178 of 1910 and 263 of 1905

The Bluebell Railway has featured on the blog before (here - http://electric-edwardians.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/bluebell-railway-1905-h-class-steam.html) and is home to easily the best collection of working Victorian and Edwardian locomotives and rolling stock in the UK and likely the world. This past weekend on 22nd and 23rd June, the railway ran an Edwardian Weekend, showcasing the railway's locomotives and carriages that would have been seen on the railways in the Edwardian era, as well as having staff in period clothing and also an Edwardian Fair, with various amusements of the time including a Punch and Judy show. These photographs hopefully give a good impression of the event which I hope will be run in years to come, as is one of the few preserved railways that have not only a railway station set in the Victorian/Edwardian era but also the locomotives and rolling stock to go with it, and also accurate railway uniforms of the era.

   

 Train comprising of the two SECR locomotives and 1898/1900 Metropolitan Railway carriages leaving Horsted Keynes station

     

The view from an 1898 Metropolitan Railway carriage over East Grinstead viaduct

 

South Eastern & Chatham Railway 'Birdcage' brake carriage 901 built in 1910

   

 South Eastern & Chatham Railway P Class locomotive 178 of 1910

One of many interesting Edwardian related projects at the Bluebell Railway is the reconstruction of a 1911 London, Brighton & South Coast Railway express passenger locomotive, 'Beachy Head'

 

 London & South Western Railway Lavatory Brake 3rd carriage 1520 of 1910, seen here in the livery it would have worn when first built - it has a very large luggage compartment for the amount of luggage holidaying Edwardians took with them to the south coast of England

 

 

 South Eastern & Chatham Railway H Class locomotive 263 of 1905

   

 A train consisting of four wheeled 19th century carriages (plus LSWR 1520 of 1910 out of shot), hauled by South Eastern & Chatham Railway P Class locomotive 323, leaving Sheffield Park station with staff in period London, Brighton & South Coast Railway uniform

   

 Close up of station lamp at Sheffield Park, with the engine shed and two Edwardian SECR locomotives in the background

 

 

 Sheffield Park station

   

 Another photo of the charming little P Class locomotive 178 of 1910 - three of these locomotives reside at the Bluebell Railway, and four in total are preserved - not bad when you consider the P Class only totaled eight locomotives in all!