The Heritage attractions is a new route suggestion series about Heritage Railways in the UK and if we can see them implicated in TSW. The BlueBell Railway was the first standard gauge and I know the Talyllyn Railway was the first but considering that’s Narrow Gauge and yes we have Metre gauge in TSW but the Talyllyn is 2ft 3in gauge. British Railways were severly criticised but subsequently the Transport Commission persuaded Parliament to repeal the special section of the Act, and the line was finally closed on March 17th 1958. It was later taken over by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. The BlueBell Railway reopened on the 7th August 1960 when steam still ruled the railways in the UK and 5 months after the last steam engine Was built 92220 Evening Star!! The line runs from Sheffield Park Station and then East Grinstead station (roughly 11 miles). The line is called The Bluebell because of the abundance of bluebells that run along side the railway. Locos LBSCR Terrier 72 ‘Fenchurch’ One of the oldest residents (151/152) Purchased in 1964 Bigger Cylinder diameter Inside valve gear 0-6-0 2 cylinders inside BR 0P SR Bullied Pacific West Country/Battle of Britain Class 34059 ‘Sir Archibald Sinclair’ 3 cylinders: 2 outside, 1 inside 77 years old 7P/5F 4-6-2 Pacific Train packs SER O1 N°65 2F 0-6-0 128 years of age 2 cylinders inside Inside valve gear BR Standard 5 73082 ‘Camelot’ 5MT 2 cylinders outside Outside valve gear Only BR Standard 5 to have a name and a chime whistle in preservation 69 years old Timetable (This isn’t the steam gala) The timetable is a more of a weekend timetable so not as many trains running and it’s less busy as a steam gala Steam Gala The steam gala is more trains running and is more complex like WSR and there would be more people and of course guest locomotives or layers: ‘’Flying Scotsman” 8F ‘Jubilee’ 4F I’ve probably missed a lot so if anyone wants to criticise me, go ahead
I suppose but I was it’s about getting the right time period I based this in 2023 and Stepney hasn’t ran in approximately a decade or we could get her on static display in the museum or we get the Isle of Wight steam railway and Stepney could be a custom livery or hypothetically say Stepney was given larger cylinders and her old smokebox design in your new livery
Sadly DTG have confirmed any further development of in house steam traction or routes is deader than Monty Python's proverbial parrot. So unless a third party is prepared to come along and do all the work, including the loco(s), stock, the route and negotiate the licencing that would be needed for a payware product, think you can pretty much say goodbye to any more heritage routes in TSW.
