As you’d expect, I’ve been to the Bluebell Railway a lot over the last year. Usually those visits have coincided with a large event such as the Branch Line Gala or Giants of Steam that get their own post.
Sometimes, though, I pop in for a shorter visit, which might only result in a smattering of shots, not worthy of their own post. The best thing I can think of to do in that situation is this, another ‘Returns…’ post, with a title threatening to break functioning grammar and stretching my standardised title rules.
This post encompasses all of my little trips out in 2025 – and a cheeky one from 2024, because otherwise I’d have nowhere else to put it.
Our first visit in this post is from June 2024, when my family and I went along to the railway for a normal visit. As I had my family with me I didn’t go lineside, but I did take a variety of pictures from the publicly accessible parts of the railway. On steam that day was 73082 Camelot.
Thanks to the Pullman coaches being prepared on Platform 1 for the lunchtime service, Camelot had to back up to fetch her coaches, giving me time to get over to the footbridge for her returning.
Once Camelot was on platform and ready to depart, I decided to take some unusual angles from the viewing area at the north end of Platform 2.
The tip of the platforms at Sheffield Park are just shy of the Greenwich Meridian, marked by a small sign.
You can get a pretty decent view of the trains from the public areas, no lineside pass needed.
After Camelot departed, I popped into the old (non-functional) signal box and grabbed a quick shot of the lovely old phone and clock.
I don’t take as many of these random, non-train shots at railways as I used to. I still try to grab ones when I can.
The next visit in this post is from February 2025, when I visited the railway to renew my lineside photography permit. Although I passed the course, I wouldn’t be allowed out on the rails for a few weeks until the paperwork was sorted, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t pop into some of the public viewing areas to get some shots of № 65 as she departed on a lunchtime service.
First, though, she needed to take on some water, giving me a chance to get a shot of the crew.
65 was soon connected up to her coaches on Platform 1.
There were still opportunities for shots of the crew at work.
I crossed over to Platform 2 to photograph 65’s departure. Over there was 92240, sans tender, partway through an overhaul.
I made my way to the viewing area at the north end of Platform 2 to capture 65 on her way out.
With it being a while until the next service was due, I made my way home.
My next mini-visit – although I obviously spent a couple of days there in March for the Branch Line Gala – was in April, when I once again went out with Sharpthorne Steam to explore a bit of the line I’d never been to before, the section just north of Horsted Keynes station up towards the southern entrance to Sharpthorne Tunnel. We like to use these normal running days as practise runs for shots for galas, when we will only have a few chances to get shots of specific visiting locomotives. We spent most of the day out by the track, but being a normal running day there wasn’t the glut of trains that there was at the Branch Line Gala, so I didn’t come back with enough images to warrant a post of their own.
Our first stopping point was just north of Horsted House Bridge, where we saw 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair making a northerly run.
For the next train of the day we went back south towards Leamland Bridge for 32424 Beachy Head to pull her first service of the day. For this one, I chose to use my wide angle lens – although in hindsight, this is not the best lens to use when you can see a locomotive coming from a distance, and the best shot of the run ended up being one taken within my normal zoom lens range.
A few of the wider angle shots are in the gallery below.
We stayed roughly in this spot for the next train, which would be Camelot pulling the Golden Arrow luncheon service. Having learned from the previous run, this time I made use of my telephoto lens.
For Archie’s second run of the day, we got a bit closer to Leamland Bridge.
We headed back north again, to catch Beachy Head’s second run from north of Horsted House Bridge, but on the other side of the track to before.
Finally, we headed a little further north, to catch Archie on her next run as she crossed the foot crossing.
All in all, it was a successful day, and we got a bunch of shots in new and interesting locations to think about for later.
I would return to the railway a few weeks later to catch the bluebells in bloom.
In May I once again headed out with Sharpthorne Steam to photograph a visiting diesel electric multiple unit. This time we were joined by 72B Photography, one of the first times the three of us went out together.
We started with Sharpthorne doing the important work of showing me some of the places to park to access lineside from places other than the station entry points I’d been using to that point. Our first stop was actually the public side of Freshfield Bank to catch 73082 Camelot pulling the morning service.
We then travelled up to Rock Cutting to meet up with 72B (who was already lineside) and prepare for the arrival of the visiting Hastings unit. This day I’d only get one pass at shooting the unit, as I wasn’t able to stick around until later on in the day for the outward journey.
A DEMU is currently a rare sight on the Bluebell Railway, although work is underway on restoring a Thumper DEMU for the line, something that would allow them to run earlier passenger services. If the Hastings looks a little familiar though, it’s because one was on loan to the railway in the run up to the Diesel Gala.
With the DEMU up the line, we hung around at Rock Cutting chatting away, thinking of the next stage of our plan. We knew the next thing along the line would be Beachy Head, but we all decided we weren’t going to bother photographing her, partly because she’d likely be idling downhill. That idea lasted right up until the time she was upon us, but it meant that we hadn’t come up with any clever ideas to frame the shot.
Considering the lack of effort or preparation, the shot came out really nicely. As the train went by I grabbed a photo of Sharpthorne and 72b watching her go.
We walked a little further north into Lindfield Wood ready for Camelot’s second run of the day.
At this point I had to leave Sharpthorne and 72b to the rest of the day and head home.
The next visit was a real flying visit. Word had come to me via the grapevine I now find myself on a branch of that 70000 Britannia would be visiting the Bluebell, seeking a brief refuge from the Other Railway. Apparently it’s been many years since a mainline steam railtour had visited the railway so it was a rare sight – especially as she would be facing south, very rare for a tender locomotive, at least in my limited experience. As the visit came on a Friday evening, going lineside was not going to be an option. I elected to go to the public side of Rock Cutting to shoot there. Unfortunately, I found the field I needed to be full of cows. Although I did make my way into the field, it soon became apparent that the cows would rather I left, so I headed back to the foot crossing to wait.
My luck was mixed. I had decided to just use one spot and go straight there, which meant I was the first to arrive, allowing me prime choice on where to stand with my camera (a bunch of other people soon turned up, including at least one of my Instagram followers, but they didn’t fancy challenging the cows’ possession of the field any more than I did). The downside was that Britannia had dumped most of her coaches at Horsted Keynes, so when she came by this spot she only had her support coach in tow.
This was the only pass of Britannia that I saw, unlike most of the people I met at the crossing, who had been chasing her from the mainline.
After that outing in May, I wasn’t able to get back out to the Bluebell Railway for a few months, finally heading back out again in August for their 65th Anniversary gala, then in September for their Diesel Gala, and then again in October for Giants of Steam.
It was whilst I was out at the Diesel Gala that I first heard word that one of my favourite locomotives at the Bluebell, 6989 Wightwick Hall, could be back not long after Giants of Steam and, what’s more, would still be in her bold red livery from her turn starring (yes, starring) in the new Harry Potter TV series at the Hogwarts Express. This turned out to be true, and I headed out with 72B again the week after Giants to capture the rare sight of a brilliant red locomotive at the Bluebell Railway. I decided to share those images in a post entirely devoted to Hall, but it was far from the only train running – Camelot would also be hauling a passenger train, and 80151 would be pulling an afternoon tea train.
We started out in the engine shed for some shed shots, something I don’t often get to do because we’ve got somewhere else to run off to (or, in the case of Giants of Steam, we were there too early for the shed to be open). Most of those shots would be of Wightwick Hall and in the previous post, but I did get this shot of Beachy Head.
We then headed lineside, where Camelot was preparing to pull the first service of the day, giving us a chance for a few more creative shots.
I also grabbed one of my traditional ‘train on the platform in the morning sun’ shots.
After this, we headed up the line to Ketches Wood, a spot that has been great for me in the past, but that 72b had never shot at before. For now at least, the temporary speed restriction is still in place, so it’s still a good spot for getting photos of locomotives working hard as they come off the restriction (although as I’ve realised, not great for interesting video footage).
The challenge this time was that, for once, the sun was out, which it hasn’t been any other time I’ve shot in this location. As the track runs north, it meant a slightly challenging backlight – but it did help enhance the golden brown foliage.
This shot ended up being featured on Jessop’s Instagram account. Despite them having many times the followers I do, the shot actually performed a lot better on my account than theirs. Another lesson in the power of a niche.
We walked a bit further north to Freshfield Bank in order to shoot Wightwick Hall, then headed back to Sheffield Park to get in the car and drive over towards Waterworks Bridge, to shoot Camelot on the twisting section of track on the exit of Lindfield Wood where I had so successfully shot 60163 Tornado a week earlier.
We then walked north, up to Caseford Bridge on order to shoot Wightwick Hall’s last run of the day. While we waited we got caught in a a bit of a downpour, which led to some fun a little later when we realised my car was a little bit stuck in the mud on a verge, but also gave us this lovely rainbow.
After the Hall had gone by, we left the lineside in order to head over to Rock Cutting for our last shot of the day. As we walked down the road we heard the southbound approach of Camelot. Being tender-first, we hasn’t planned on shooting her, but given our position it was worth a shot for the composition.
We then continued on to Rock Cutting, in order to catch 80151 running south (and so therefore facing forwards) pulling the afternoon tea train. Luckily the sun had come out to give us some lovely, early-golden hour light.
What this means, somewhat weirdly, is that the two best shots I’ve gotten of 80151 (which faces south on a line dominated by north-facing photo opportunities) were taken the week after Giants of Steam in golden hour while she pulls the Wealden Rambler afternoon tea train (the same thing happened last year).
After that I had a bit of a break from shooting the railway as it settled into its Christmas timetable. That said, I would like to figure out getting out at night for either the Halloween or Christmas light trains next year. But a couple of days after Christmas, the sun was out, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me, Sharpthorne and 72b to get out onto the rails for a warmup ahead of the New Year’s Day gala.
Once again the timetable was operated by Camelot and Wightwick Hall. We started out at Sheffield Park, where Camelot was on platform. I did my customary morning shot, but being far deeper into winter than the previous trip, the sun was lower in the sky and a bit harsher as a result.
We had no real plan for the day. We headed up the track from Sheffield Park, and decided to shoot Camelot’s departure from a spot before Ketches Wood (the one I’d used over a year previously to take my – to date – final shots of 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley). Being a cold morning, we knew we were taking a risk that she’d still be blowing off as she came by but decided to take our chances. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t in our favour, but it did give me some dramatic shots of Camelot surrounded by steam.
We possibly lost out a bit – I’ve certainly gotten better shots of Camelot in her own steam – but a report from one of our friends further up the line was that Camelot was still blowing off, and even wheelslipping, up at Fresfield Bank – the effects of a cold morning and her being the first train on a cold track for several days.
As the steam cleared, I also got a nice shot of the coaches in a light mist in the morning sun.
The video of this run is something too – you can watch as the steam gradually eats up the foliage in the foreground until it completely surrounds the camera, and then clears to the coaches in the golden morning sun.
We continued northwards up to Freshfield Bank to shoot Wightwick Hall. By this point the wind was picking up at times, so we were hoping for a lull when her pass came. I decided to position myself out in the field for a side-on shot. Sharpthorne stayed lineside by the bridge, and 72b picked a spot somewhere in the middle. Soon we heard the sound of an approaching train.
As you can see, the wind picked up quite a bit, which unfortunately caused the exhaust to put the locomotive completely into shadow. The amount of wind is probably clearer in the video of this pass, which was shot with my phone left on the embankment by the bridge. You can see the exhaust going upwards as usual, until Wightwick Hall gets in the open, then it starts going completely sideways.
We didn’t move far for the next train, we just walked slightly north to shoot Camelot coming under the bridge at Freshfield Bank.
This is one of my favourite shots at the railway for its simplicity and framing. And also, you can see the Moon in the shot too. Very pleased with that one.
There was only one more run left in our day, which would be the second pass of Wightwick Hall. Having scoped out a spot in Ketches Wood on the walk up, we returned there to end our day. This was very close to my traditional spot, but on the inside of the curve for a different perspective. The decision was made partly for variety, but also because there was a giant pink spider there as part of the Christmas light decorations (don’t ask; I have no idea). It made for a nice change, and a very different shot to the straight on shots I get from the other spot.
I often do, I ended up with a more compressed zoomed shot and a wider shot that often, for reasons I can’t quite quantify, looks less dramatic to my eyes.
With that, we were done, and make our way back towards Sheffield Park. As we approached, we saw that the railways resident diesel, E6040 The Bluebell Railway, was preparing to depart, bringing a crew up the line to turn on the Christmas lights. We waited for her to depart, giving me one final picture for the trip.
Unsurprisingly considering it was after Christmas, that was my last trip out on the rails in 2025. Including galas and mini-visits I visited the Bluebell Railway on 15 days last year. Not bad to be sure, but I would like to improve on that number in 2026, and throw some extra railways in there for good measure. Hopefully this time next year I’ll be able to bring you a collection of shots like this from my visits in the coming year.
As is now tradition, I’ve included a selection of my choice images in the post above. There is a fuller selection in the gallery below.
Creative Splurges 