Bluebell Railway given rare honour
VOLUNTEERS at one of the country's most loved heritage railways in Sussex are celebrating after winning a rare heritage award for their restoration efforts.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has given the Bluebell Railway and its volunteers its Engineering Heritage Award (EHA) for their work on its Sheffield Park, Horsted Keynes and Kingscote stations and lines.
IMechE Heritage Awards are granted to artefacts, sites, landmarks or groups that are either one of a kind and/or of significant engineering importance.
The Bluebell, which has starring in numerous films and TV programmes, has just celebrated 50 years since the first train ran on what was the first preserved standard gauge passenger railway in the world.
Without its success, the IMechE says, it is unlikely that many heritage railways would be operational today.
The Bluebell Preservation Society, which has receiving the award, looks after the railway and houses the largest collection of steam locomotives in the UK, after the National Railway Museum.
Roy Watts, chairman of the society, said: "I am absolutely thrilled that the Bluebell Railway has been given this prestigious award, especially in our 50th anniversary Year.
"This really is a special award that recognises the efforts that have been made over those 50 years by people from all walks of life.
"It is not just about preserving locomotives, carriages and wagons but also the very skills and craftsmanship of a traditional railway, that very essence that keeps them operational both now and into the future long after they would normally have been retired or consigned to the scrapheap."
IMechE immediate past President Keith Millard, said: "Some of these items are the only existing examples. It is truly the dedication of the Society, its volunteers and the work they have all done that has made Bluebell undoubtedly one of the most famous heritage lines in the UK."
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Monday 13 February 2012
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