Class 73 electro-diesel No, 73133 The Bluebell Railway is to be based at its namesake railway after the completion of restoration work now being undertaken at Eastleigh, where the locomotive has recently been used.
The Bluebell Railway aims to have the locomotive available in time for its spring 2023 timetable. It will also be immensely useful for replacing steam locomotives when they cannot be used because of the danger from lineside fires during hot summer weather.
At one time 73133 was painted in Dutch livery, the first of the class to do so, and was also painted in Network South East colours and in a modified Mainline blue livery with distinctive light clusters and with improved visibility for use as a route learner.
The name The Bluebell Railway was applied to 73133 September 1990 and carried it until withdrawal. It was originally fitted with route indicators, which the Bluebell Railway hopes to eventually restore, as well as review its lights. However, those are not the current priorities since the main focus at the moment is to complete the necessary restoration work to make the locomotive operational.
Neil Glaskin, Bluebell Railway Operations Director said “we plan to use the locomotive to give us more flexibility and develop our timetable to enhance how it meets visitors needs as well as move with the times, increasingly we are seeing a place for more modern traction as it appeals to many. Though we are first and foremost a steam railway”.
Paul Auckland, leading the project to return 73133 commented: “the locomotive complements 33052 Ashford, another diesel based at the railway being restored as well as 73133 will provide some cover for 09018 which is the stalwart workhorse right now”.
If you would like to assist with the Class 73, you can donate towards the restoration work over on the Crowdfunder page at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/73133-the-bluebell-railway-restoration
Regular updates about the restoration are also posted on The Bluebell Railway’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1101391470555524 – you can also contact the page if you would like to get involved with the project.
Responses
i do like a class 73 didnt know it was going to be staying
Good news – and a welcome example of a Southern loco being based in an appropriate setting. Though the EDs weren’t associated with the Bluebell when it was in BR hands, they were ubiquitous on the lines all around Horsted Keynes.
The headcode display should certainly be restored. No Southern emu, demu, diesel, electric or electro-diesel* looks complete without one at each end! (*A better term than that unhelpful coinage ‘bi-mode’.)
It’s disappointing that so many SR locos and emus have ended up far out of reach of Southern enthusiasts. While presevation in the remotest reaches of Wales or Scotland is a better fate than succumbing to the cutter’s torch, it’s inappropriate historically. Too often, such exiles lack a strong support base in their new home. As a result, some end up neglected and rusting in bramble-choked sidings until the remains are sold for scrap because the loco/unit/carriage is deemed ‘beyond repair’, ‘surplus to requirements’ or ‘taking up valuable space’.
Maybe those units would have been better had the lines wanted them. I was at Woodpax when the 4COR carriages were stored there and it was clear the Blueball had no interest in anything but their kettles and vac braked stock.
Ding