THE Bluebell Railway’s flagship locomotive is to be returned to steam – and a Bulleid Pacific is on course to rejoin the roster, fresh from overhaul.
Following discussions and an agreement by the Boards of the Bluebell Railway PLC and the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society, it has been decided that SECR Wainwright‘P’0-6-0T No. 323 Bluebell is to return to working order.
No. 323 is planned to go into the workshop at Sheffield Park in early 2024, with a view to the 1910-built locomotive to be available in the summer of 2024.
Ending its main line career as No. 31323, the loco was withdrawn from BR in 1960 and was one of the first locomotives to be saved by the Bluebell Railway in that year. The loco was then named Bluebell and became one of four of the class to have survived into preservation. No. 323 became the line’s flagship locomotive and played a key role in establishing the railway as a major tourist attraction during its early years.
Currently on static display at SteamWorks at Sheffield Park, Bluebell last steamed in 2019 and has since been waiting for its turn in the overhaul queue.
The news comes as the.
