Editing Bluebell Railway (section)

===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>