Originally a contractor’s locomotive, ‘Sharpthorn’, which has been at the Bluebell Railway since 1981, will now receive some much-needed surgery.

Due to a lack of space, the Manning Wardle K-class locomotive has had to be stored outside. This has led to the rotting of the soft wooden buffer beams, which were fitted in a previous cosmetic restoration.

A joint initiative between loco department volunteers, the Bluebell’s Museum at Sheffield Park station and SteamWorks, the restoration work can be carried out thanks to a small project grant being awarded by the Bluebell Railway Trust.

Work is now underway to scrape back the paintwork and remove the surface rust using a wire brush.

Once this initial work is complete, all exposed paintwork on the smokebox and saddle tank will be treated with a special rust-inhibiting paint.

The Carriage and Wagon workshop at Horsted Keynes will replace the wooden buffers before moving the locomotive to Sheffield Park to complete the cosmetic restoration.

‘Sharpthorn’ came to the Bluebell Railway from the Bressingham Steam Museum in time for the line’s centenary commemorations in 1982.

However, its links to the line go much further back.

Built in 1877 and originally called ‘Soloman’, the K-class was renamed ‘Sharpthorn’ when it was bought by contractor Joseph Firbank.

It was used by Firbank in the building of the Lewes & East Grinstead Railway, part of which is now the Bluebell Line.

‘Sharp Thorn’, as it is styled on the 1874 map of the area, is the village where West Hoathly station was located. This was the saddle tank’s base in its time on the line.

‘Sharpthorn’ was sold in 1888 and worked at Dagenham Docks as a coal shunter until it was withdrawn in 1958.

Once restoration work has been completed, the historic saddle tank will be on show as part of a static display charting the building of the line at the Bluebell Railway’s Steamworks! exhibition.

It’s neighbour at Steamworks! will be the North London tank engine which lifted track from parts of the original line when the Lewes & East Grinstead Railway was closed in the 1960s.

The section between Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes remained open, operated by the Bluebell Railway as the first passenger-carrying heritage line in the UK.

The same North London tank later helped with the Bluebell’s Northern Extension Project when the line was rebuilt between Horsted Keynes and Kingscote in the early 1990s.

Included in this extension was Sharpthorn, meaning both village and locomotive were then in action.