Ready for departure

A very good day bookended by two interminable journeys to and from Sheffield Park.

We'd planned to visit the National Trust grounds at Sheffield Park and ride on the Bluebell Railway on this day last week, but that was the day of intense heat so we postponed it so today was the day. And such a contrast - temperatures in the high teens rather than mid 30s and showery rain in the air rather than sunshine. It made for a more pleasant experience.

Sheffield Park is set around several lakes, or ponds, which make up the grounds of the former stately home of that name, designed in part by that original but ubiquitous garden designer Capability Brown. Nowadays the house itself has been converted into luxury apartments and is not open to the public. The grounds however, were taken over by the National Trust in the 1950s and are an example of a rather fine parkland contining many indiginous and exotic trees and shrubs.

The Bluebell Railway is one of the oldest Heritage Railways in the country, recently extended into East Grindstead - which was one of the reasons for wanting visit. Extending to East Grindstead, with its link to the national rail network, was a monumental feat. With the closure of the line from East Grindstead to Horsted Keynes the Imberhorne cutting was used as a landfill site containing 300,000 cubic metres of rubbish.

By early 2013 thanks to tireless fundraising and enormous effort the railway was through to East Grindstead and able to cross the impressive Imberhorne viaduct again. A truely magnificent effort and one that it was a pleasure to experience.

In this shot today's engine 30541 prepares to leave Sheffield Park station. The fireman is resting from shovelling coal forward in the tender while the guard and another member of the train crew discuss some matter regarding couplings. 30541, a Q4 class 4F locomotive designed by Richard Maunsell for the Southern Region, was built just before the Second world War. It went to the Bluebell Railway and is the only Q class loco in preservation. It re-entered service in April 2015.