What an interesting day it was today!  After an unplanned errand left me in Sussex late this morning, I was left at a lose end.  Now for most people they would head back home, a mere 30 minutes away but instead I carried on in the other direction into the depths of Sussex countryside.  A mere hour or so later I had arrived at one of my favourite places in the world – Sheffield Park station on the Bluebell Railway!There waiting for me was U class 1638, resplendent in Golden Arrow regalia at the front of a special Pullman service.  This locomotive is approaching the end of its ten year boiler ticket, so it was good to catch it, looking great in its olive green livery.

Indeed, three of the four locomotives in steam wore that same uniform.  Ex-LBSCR E4 class B473 was to be found at Sheffield Park, in use (it seems) for some driver training.

The other Maunsell green locomotive was S15 class 847.  It had been the first time I had seen 847 in action since I was much younger and I was soon reminded of how impressive it is.

The fourth steam engine was the beautifully painted South Eastern and Chatham H class 263 – a wonderfully proportioned locomotive.  After spending some time at Sheffield Park, I went on the look out for some spots to take some pictures of the steam in action.

With 847 caught running north of Sheffield Park up Freshfield Bank, I then found another spot to see 263 drifting down the other way.

All in all, it was a cracking afternoon!  More pictures and posts from the visit are listed below:

Sheffield Park Update

S15 847

U Class 1638

Ex-LBSCR E4 Class B473

SECR H Class 263

One Day…

Views of the Adams Radial Tank