RAILWAY GOES "RETRO VINTAGE" FOR BAND VIDEO

The Bluebell Railway has been involved in making tracks--musical tracks that is--for a lot longer than people can remember.

Elton John was one of the first to start the trend, in 1970, with his album cover for Tumbleweed Connection, which seems to show the entrance to the Museum at Sheffield Park photographed from Platform 1. Then Sheena Easton, in 1981, made the memorable video about a "Morning Train" (aka "9 to 5"), which saw the pop singer in various locations, including riding a bike along the platform at Horsted Keynes.  

The action shot of Easton dancing on the front of No. 488 as it was running through the platform is somewhat memorable, if only for the fact that ORR would have a fit if we tried anything like that today!

So move on a few years, and we are still helping up-and-coming artists enhance their musical offerings with our timeless setting. On 27 May, 2016, we hosted a relatively new girl band called The Northernettes, who were shooting a music video at Horsted Keynes.

They have previously appeared on BBC's The Voice, so they are very familiar with exotic locations! And you will have gathered from the name that they come from somewhere up the West Coast mainline. According to the band's website they are a "super chic retro vintage harmony group".

The photo of Katie using the phone box in the waiting room on Platform 5 confirms that we do "retro vintage" as well as anyone.

By Mike Hopps, Filming Facilities.

ASH APPEAL UPDATE 

BIG RED VAN: PLAY CARRIAGE (AKA ELEPHANT VAN) PROGRESS

The huge effort put into this project means that the Play Carriage ( Elephant Van No. 4601) restoration phase is fast approaching completion. 

On 16 May, 2016, the Van was moved from the Shed's main work area to the paint shop, where it remained for a week while the painter was on holiday.  This period allowed us to finish the laminated trim under the roof ends and to top coat areas that will be difficult to access once it's in the dock road outside the shed.

	No. 4601 in the dock road outside the Carriage Shed (photo by Paul Cripps).

The west side, roof, and south end were the focus for the final push inside the Shed. Once again, many volunteers rallied round and put in extra time so that we could achieve our targets.

The Van was shunted to the north end of the dock road on the following Monday so that work could continue on the east side and the north end. The east side sidelights will be glazed soon, and the south east double doors are nearly ready to replace the temporary shuttering ply doors.  

The second of the large end doors is now being assembled, and the position of the Van means it will be relatively easy to fit the end doors on the Van when the time comes. The vent hoods also can be fitted to the east side, and then painting can continue to complete the van's color scheme.

There has been much discussion about the Van's final colour, which of course isn't a great surprise! For the record, the red that is going to be used has been mixed to BS381C No. 540 crimson, which more than one source has told us is the correct shade of red.

On the inside, the inner roof is being painted, but the relocation of the van to outside has brought an unforeseen problem: when the steel roof gets hot in the sun, painting the underside becomes impossible because bristles stick to it. I suggested a pre-dawn shift to do this work, but I have a suspicion that this fell on deaf ears!  I hate to say it, but a few days of miserable weather would help.  

	Chris Broadbridge assembling a side door (photo by Paul Cripps).

Once the inner roof has been painted to white gloss, we can think about insulation, which is very necessary for final use and will make the van a more comfortable place to work. The interior will be painted to the correct colour before the play area fitting-out starts.

Visitors to Horsted Keynes express interest when they see our Big Red Van, which looks rather splendid from the platforms. We have already heard encouraging remarks--together with a majority of people on the Railway, the public seems to think the play carriage is a good idea.

We plan to encourage visitors to view the Van while work is progressing. To facilitate this, we have recovered an old wheelchair access ramp that is being refurbished for temporary use while the Van is in its current position. We can then provide another area of interest for visitors even before the project is finished.

The Van will need further painting as a whole, including the roof, to make sure it is as protected from the elements as possible; to allow this work, it will return to the paint shop over the Christmas period.

Thanks to all who have helped in any way with this project so far: a truly fantastic effort.

By Sheina Foulkes, Supervisor, Carriage & Wagon Department

STANDARD CLASS 2 UPDATE: NEARLY READY FOR WHEELS

At long last we are approaching another milestone in the programme to build a Standard class 2 tank engine from a Barry wreck. We are aiming to have the engine on its driving wheels this summer.

The machining of the axle boxes is complete and keeps for each box are being test fitted, and one remaining horn guide needs to be shimmed and fitted to the horn blocks. Once this is complete and the axle boxes have been fitted to the journals, the engine will ready to go onto her wheels.

With the planned levelling of our site, we will be able to have the engine on a piece of track roughly where she is now; this will also allow us to erect the poly shed acquired from the group that rebuilt the Brighton fruit van at Horsted Keynes. If this job can be completed this summer, we will have reasonable under cover working conditions for next winter, which will speed up renovation work because we will not be so dependent on weather.

While the work on the wheels has been going on, progress also has been made in other areas. The casting for the rear truck has been delivered and checked, and it is now waiting machining, which can be started once the machining of the front truck is completed.

Drawings have been issued to get an acceptable quote for fabricating the rear truck radial arm, and as the material specification and thickness is the same for other parts of the rear truck assembly, a drawing has been produced showing "nesting" of all these parts to enable water jet cutting of all them from a single standard plate.

The driver's pedestal has been tacked together and the available controls are being test fitted along with the hinges and doors that have been made. With the driver's pedestal bolted to the frame, we will then start installing the steam and vacuum pipework to/from the pedestal.

It's been a long slog, but with the engine back on its wheels, standing on a length of track, and looking a proper engine again, the aggro will have been worth it!

Plus, with the engine under cover, we will have the space and working conditions to accommodate more volunteers. If you are interested in helping us rebuild this engine, please come to one of the Railway " Find Out More" days [the next is 12 June, 2016-The Eds.], or if you would like more information, we are generally at the Railway every Thursday.

By Chris Wren, Standard Class 2 Working Group