{"id":2430,"date":"2013-05-08T08:03:32","date_gmt":"2013-05-08T12:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/?p=2430"},"modified":"2013-05-08T09:00:14","modified_gmt":"2013-05-08T13:00:14","slug":"bluebell-railway-april-20-2013-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/bluebell-railway-april-20-2013-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Bluebell Railway April 20, 2013\u2014Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attention to Details.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Bluebell<\/a>
Luggage on the platform at Horsted Keynes on April 20, 1948, no sorry, make that 2013.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Bluebell<\/a>
Old advertisement at Sheffield Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bluebell<\/a>
Nameplate on locomotive Stowe inside the engineshed at Sheffiled Park. Lumix LX3 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the great features of Britain\u2019s preserved Bluebell Railway is its exceptional attention to detail. Everywhere you look there is something to make the past, alive. Old advertisements, piles of luggage, semaphore signals, cast iron warning signs, and buckets of coal.<\/p>\n

You hear the clunk of a rod moving a signal blade from red to green, followed by the shrill guard\u2019s whistle and the slam of a wooden door. Then a mild hiss as the automatic brake is released and the sharper hiss from the locomotive as it eases off the platform. Yet, the Bluebell experience isn\u2019t all about its locomotive, or its trains. The Bluebell is a railway<\/i> experience.<\/p>\n

\"Semaphores.\"<\/a>
Outer home semaphore on the Bluebell Railway near Horsted Keynes. I’m especially impressed by Bluebell’s \u00a0great attention to period railway signalling (two ll’s). Canon EOS7D with 28-135mm lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The number plate on a smoke box door catches the hint of a blue sky beyond. Canon EOS7D with 28-135mm lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bluebell<\/a>
A class 9F 2-10-0 emits wisps of steam on the platform at Sheffield Park. Lumix LX3 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Old<\/a>
Southern Railway advertisements hint of the glamour of railway travel from another era. Lumix LX3 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The time warp ends when you arrive back at East Grinsted, where you insert your ticket with its magnetic stripe into automatic barriers, then board a modern electric multiple unit with sealed windows, plastic d\u00e9cor and space-age loos that look like they belong on the set of Star Trek.<\/p>\n

\"Crews<\/a>
Crews chat on the platform at Sheffield Park. Lumix LX3 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

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