Editing Bluebell Railway (section)

==Preservation==
[[File:Bluebell Railway (26143350804).jpg|thumb|right|Bluebell Railway [[SECR P class]] ''Bluebell'' 323]]
On 15 March 1959, a group that included the future president of the society, [[Bernard Holden]], met in Ardingly and formed the ''Lewes & East Grinstead Railway Preservation Society''. The society elected John Leroy as the first chairman, and £940 was raised in donations to start the society. On a vote at the meeting, the society changed its name to the '''Bluebell Railway Preservation Society'''.<ref name=Welch>{{cite book|title=The Bluebell Railway: Five Decades of Achievement|author=Michael Welch|publisher=Capital Transport Publishing|date=31 May 2010|isbn=978-1854143365}}</ref>

The society's initial aim was to reopen the whole line from East Grinstead to Culver Junction as a commercial service, using a two-car [[Diesel multiple unit|DMU]].<ref name=Welch/> The plans came to nothing: the society failed to buy the whole line, and most local residents were not interested.<ref name=Welch/> The committee then recommended that the stretch of track between [[Sheffield Park Garden|Sheffield Park]] and Horsted Keynes could be run as a tourist attraction, with vintage locomotives and stock operated by unpaid volunteer staff.<ref name=Welch/>

===Sheffield Park to Horsted Keynes===
[[File:Bluebell Railway - geograph.org.uk - 435324.jpg|thumb|Bluebell Railway [[LB&SCR A1 class|A1]] ''Fenchurch'' taking on water at [[Sheffield Park railway station|Sheffield Park Station]].]]As B.R. still ran an electrified line from Horsted Keynes to Ardingly,<ref name=Holland/> the society leased a stretch of track from BR just south of this.<ref name=Holland/> In 1960, the interim line was opened, running from Sheffield Park to Bluebell Halt, {{convert|100|yard}} south of [[Horsted Keynes]]. In 1962, the society extended services to Horsted Keynes. Also in 1962, a halt was opened at Holywell (Waterworks). However, this was closed the following year. B.R. withdrew passenger services from Horsted Keynes to Haywards Heath in 1963; and with complete closure of the line north of Horsted Keynes, the Bluebell Line was severed from the British Rail system.

===Horsted Keynes to Kingscote===
In 1974, the society purchased the [[Freehold (law)|freehold]] of the demolished [[West Hoathly railway station|West Hoathly station]], allowing the first steps to be taken towards an extension northwards towards [[East Grinstead railway station|East Grinstead station]]. It then purchased the freehold of the site of [[Kingscote railway station|Kingscote station]] in January 1985.<ref name=BBExtn/> These efforts culminated in a [[public inquiry]], with the Secretaries of State for the [[Secretary of State for the Environment|Environment]] and [[Secretary of State for Transport|Transport]] giving [[planning permission]] and a [[Light Railway Order]] for an extension to East Grinstead in 1985.<ref name=BBExtn>{{cite web|url=http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/extend.html|title=Bluebell Railway Extension|publisher=Bluebell-Railway.co.uk|access-date=10 February 2013}}</ref>

The Bluebell Railway Preservation Society completed the extension from Horsted Keynes to Kingscote in April 1994,<ref name=BBExtn/> re-laying track through Sharpthorne Tunnel, which at {{convert|731|yd|m|0|disp=or}} is the longest on a UK heritage railway. At the north end of Sharpthorne Tunnel, the line passes through the site of the former West Hoathly railway station. It was demolished in 1967, but remains of the platforms and goods dock are still visible.

2010 marked the Bluebell's 50th anniversary of running trains.<ref name=Welch/><ref name=BBC8687797/> To mark the event, the railway held a gala over 6–8 August 2010 with all available home engines and two visitor engines.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/events/50th.html|title=Bluebell Railway - 50th Anniversary Events|website=www.bluebell-railway.co.uk}}</ref> Some of the society's founder members gathered at Horsted Keynes to mark the arrival of a commemorative [[LB&SCR A1X class 55 Stepney|LB&SCR A1X class No. 55 ''Stepney'']]-hauled steam train. The entourage then travelled towards Sheffield Park.<ref name=BBC8687797>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/8687797.stm|title=Bluebell Railway in Sussex celebrates 50th anniversary |work=BBC News|date=17 May 2010|access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref>

===Kingscote to East Grinstead via Imberhorne===
[[File:Excavating Imberhorne cutting.jpg|thumb|This cutting between Kingscote and East Grinstead had been used as a rubbish tip, and the waste material had to be cleared before the line could be reopened. The track northeast of this point was relaid to allow the waste to be removed by rail.]]
From its inception, the society had always planned to work northwards towards East Grinstead, where the line would connect with the national network. BR donated [[Imberhorne Viaduct]] to the railway in 1992, but the purchase of the final pieces of the by then privately owned track bed north to East Grinstead was only completed in 2003,<ref name=Welch/> allowing physical civil engineering activity to be undertaken from that year.<ref name=BBExtn/>

A major problem was the former [[landfill]] site in the {{convert|30|ft|m|1|adj=mid|-deep}} cutting just south of Imberhorne Viaduct. It had been filled with domestic waste by East Grinstead Town Council in the 1960s and 1970s, but tests undertaken by contractors working for both the society and the borough council found the {{convert|96000|m3}} of waste within the {{convert|500|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} cutting were not toxic.<ref name=BBC7747542/>

The excavated [[clay]]-cap covering the landfill site was taken south by rail, to fill the site of a removed viaduct and embankment on the old [[Ardingly]] spur. In January 2008 agreement was given to start clearing foliage on the section of the tip between Imberhorne Lane and Hill Place bridges. In a public launch event, [[BBC News|BBC news]]<nowiki/>reader [[Nicholas Owen (journalist)|Nicholas Owen]]—a local resident and society volunteer—started removal of the actual waste on 25 November 2008.<ref name=BBC7747542>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/7747542.stm|title=Rubbish cleared for steam trains|work=BBC News|date=25 November 2008|access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref>

Initially rubbish was removed from the site by lorry, but, due to the substantial volume and cost of about £45/tonne, in 2009 a trial removal of spoil by rail was carried out by [[DB Schenker Rail (UK)]]. At £25,000 per train and now undertaken by [[GB Railfreight]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lewes.co.uk/Magazine.aspx?id=25|title=Bluebell Railway East Grinstead Extension|author=Gemma Fennings|work=The Lewes Magazine|date=24 November 2011|access-date=12 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007035432/http://lewes.co.uk/Magazine.aspx?id=25 |archive-date=7 October 2012}}</ref> this practice continued periodically as funds became available. However, an increase in the landfill tax was announced in 2008, and this was due to take effect from April 2012. It would increase the cost of removal from £25/tonne to £90/tonne. So the society formed an appeal to complete the removal of the landfill waste by the end of March 2012.<ref name=BBC13608094/> With the receiving site changed to [[Appleford]], [[Oxfordshire]]<ref name=BBNLNov11>{{cite web|url=http://www.bluebell-railway-museum.co.uk/archive/newsletter/001/newsletter.htm|title=Update: NEP Imberhorne Tip Waste by Rail|publisher=Bluebell Railway Society|date=24 November 2011|access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref> and thanks to the "tenner for the tip" appeal, the cash target was met and the rubbish was removed by rail in time.<ref name=BBC13608094>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-13608094|title=Bluebell Railway races to clear rubbish from cutting|work=BBC News|date=31 May 2011|access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref>

In autumn 2008 work started on site clearance at East Grinstead for construction of the new station about {{convert|100|yd|m|0}} south of the national rail station.<ref name=Welch/> At the railway's 50th anniversary celebration weekend in 2010, East Sussex resident [[Vera Lynn|Dame Vera Lynn]] launched a £3.8 million appeal; the greater part of this amount would be put towards reconnecting the line to East Grinstead.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/8189165.stm|title=Dame Vera launches railway appeal|work=BBC News|date=17 May 2010|access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref> [[Mid Sussex District Council]] responded with a one-off donation of £50,000 towards the reconnection.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/8758214.stm|title=Steam railway in Mid Sussex receives cash boost|work=BBC News|date=24 June 2010|access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref>

On 7 March 2013, the last section of track was formally joined using a white fishplate, with the honour of tightening the four bolts being given to Barbara Watkins, a long-standing Bluebell Railway volunteer.<ref>{{cite web|title=15 March 2013: The Line Is Joined!|url=http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/ext/extprog.html#15mar13|publisher=Bluebell Railway|access-date=2013-03-21}}</ref> The extension to East Grinstead was officially opened on Saturday 23 March, with a two-week opening festival starting that day.<ref>{{cite web|title=East Grinstead Festival |url=http://www.bluebell-railway.com/east-grinstead-festival/ |publisher=Bluebell Railway |access-date=2013-03-21 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===West: Horsted Keynes to Haywards Heath via Ardingly===
[[File:3724smallRSBR.JPG|thumb|left|150px|The Ardingly spur, just south of {{stnlnk|Horsted Keynes}}]]
[[File:Former Ardingly Branch Line - geograph.org.uk - 859564.jpg|thumb|left|150px|The trackbed just east of the [[Hanson plc|Hanson Aggregates]] depot, {{stnlnk|Ardingly}}]]
Originally built as a double-track line,<ref name=Turner3/> it was [[Third rail|electrified]] in the 1930s, with [[SR Class 2NOL|2-NOL]] units used for the [[Seaford railway station, East Sussex|Seaford]]-Horsted Keynes service. The line between Horsted Keynes and Ardingly was operated as single-track in its final years, with [[British Rail Class 401|2-BIL/Class 401]] and [[British Rail Class 402|2-HAL/Class 402]] units. The second track was left in place and used for carriage storage, most notably the new Kent Coast electric stock prior to its introduction and later the steam-hauled stock that it replaced.<ref name=BBExtn/>

After the line's closure in 1963, the trackbed was purchased in its entirety by a member of the local gentry. In the 1990s the society bought the abandoned trackbed west between Horsted Keynes and Ardingly from his estate. This included up to the [[Hanson plc|Hanson Aggregates]] depot built on the former [[Ardingly railway station]] site.<ref name=Welch/><ref name=BBExtn/>

The society plans to reconnect the line with [[Network Rail]] at Copyhold Junction, to allow access to the [[Brighton Main Line|London to Brighton Main Line]].<ref name=Welch/><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2022-12-28|title=Bluebell Railway ready to advance 'through' railway|url=https://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/2022/09/16/bluebell-railway-ready-to-advance-through-railway|website=www.railmagazine.com}}</ref> Stations could either be located at Copyhold or Haywards Heath. There is a proposal that the line could be restored as [[third rail]] electrified, allowing operation of the society's electric stock.<ref name=BBExtn/>

While the {{convert|218|yard|adj=on}} Lywood Tunnel remains in good condition, there are two major areas of work that would be required to re-open the line, these being the replacement of a short girder-bridge span bridge and the {{convert|117|yard|adj=on}} Sheriff Mill Viaduct, which was demolished in 1969. The removed clay-cap from Imberhorne cutting has been deposited on the banks of the former Sherriff Mill viaduct to allow later bridging of the gap.<ref name=BBExtn/> Also in 2013, the former [[Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway]] bridge that crossed over the [[M50 motorway (Great Britain)|M50 motorway]] was donated to the railway for eventual installation in the replacement bridge.

===South: Sheffield Park to Lewes===
[[File:Bluebell Railway, Looking South from Sheffield Park.jpg|thumb|Looking south towards the former line to [[Newick]] and [[Chailey]] and to [[Lewes]], from [[Sheffield Park Garden|Sheffield Park]]]] 
By the late Victorian era, [[Lewes railway station|Lewes station]] was the convergence point of three lines from the East Sussex coast and three lines to the north all of which reached [[London]] via [[Croydon]].<ref name=Turner3/> Today, Lewes has a line to the north which joins the Brighton main Line at [[Burgess Hill]] and from there on to Gatwick Airport, East Croydon and London, a line west towards Brighton, a line south to Newhaven and Seaford, and a line east to Eastbourne, Hastings and Ashford.

Originally the Bluebell Line was the straightest and quickest route from Lewes to London.<ref name=Turner3/> The Bluebell Railway ran directly south from Sheffield Park to Culver Junction (at Culver Farm just south of [[Barcombe Mills]]), with intermediate stations at {{stnlnk|Newick and Chailey}} and {{stnlnk|Barcombe}}.<ref name=Turner3/> At Culver Junction it joined the 1858 [[Wealden Line]] (part of which is now restored as the nearby Heritage [[Lavender Line]]), thereby gaining access to Lewes.<ref name=Turner3/> The section from East Grinstead to Culver Junction was closed in 1958, and the Lewes to Uckfield line in 1969 by British Railways.

Bluebell supporters and committee members have expressed interest in re-building the line south by three more stations to Lewes.<ref name=Welch/> However, a substantial number of large civil engineering obstacles and intrusions onto the former track-bed make this a difficult project to envisage the completion of.<ref name=Welch/> For execution, the project would require:<ref name=BBExtn/>
*The bridging of the raised, widened and re-aligned [[A275 road]] immediately south of Sheffield Park
*The re-excavation of waste-infill under the former road bridges just south of Sheffield Park and Barcombe stations
*The in-filling since of the cutting and former route under the [[A272 road]]
*The re-excavation of waste-infill at the former {{stnlnk|Newick and Chailey}}, which includes industrial waste producing large amounts of [[methane gas]] discharges<ref name=BBExtn/>
*The fact that a large [[private residence|private]] [[housing estate]] has been built on and surrounding the former Newick and Chailey site
The remaining undeveloped line from Lewes to Sheffield Park has been safeguarded as a bridleway and footpath.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lewes.gov.uk/coun/planning/lewes_local_plan/written/written_frame.htm?cpt9.htm&re6|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614015638/http://www.lewes.gov.uk/coun/planning/lewes_local_plan/written/written_frame.htm?cpt9.htm&re6|title=Lewes District Council Local Plan, Chapter 9, paragraph 9.19|archivedate=14 June 2011}}</ref>