Bluebell Railway is hoping for bumper weekend

This annual event is one of the busiest in the Bluebell Railway calendar.

It recreates days gone by when steam locomotives transported goods and passengers from smaller villages and towns dotted along branch lines, onto the mainline and into the UK’s large towns and cities.

In total there will be eight vintage steam locomotives either on display or hauling vintage carriage sets along the line.

The locomotives include ‘Calbourne’, an O2 class engine visiting the Bluebell Railway all the way from her permanent home at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and a Beattie Well Tank engine on loan from the National Railway Museum.

There will be a busy timetable of trains running up and down the line, recreating the busy branch line as it would have looked and operated in the late 1950s.

As well as riding on the trains and visiting the four stations, visitors can also drop in to our impressive new interactive exhibition and locomotive storage shed at Sheffield Park, which features hands-on steam and train related activities for all ages.

The play zone at Kingscote and converted former elephant transportation carriage at Horsted Keynes are also sure to be a hit for younger visitors.

Along the line, the buffet carriages and restaurant will be serving a wide range of delicious hot and cold food, beverages and snacks.

Visitors are also encouraged to bring a picnic and enjoy the sights and sounds from the field at Horsted Keynes and riverside walk picnic area at Sheffield Park.

Bluebell Railway Locomotive Director Chris Hunford, a lifelong train enthusiast and organiser of the event, said “The Bluebell Railway Branch Line Weekend is the perfect family day out and an essential weekend in every train enthusiast’s calendar.

“We’ve gone to great lengths to recreate the branch line as it would have looked over 60 years ago.”

A one day ticket costs £23 per adult, £11.50 per child and £57.50 for a family ticket.

www.bluebell-railway.com