'The Chesham Flyer' recreated on the Bluebell Railway | Branch Line Gala Weekend - 16.03.25

The Bluebell Railway’s annual Branch Line gala, taking place over 14th-16th March, would be met with a sunny weekend, as various locomotives headed over the Sussex branch, with the usual interesting moves such as regular coach set swaps, and freight runs.

The gala was booked to have two visitors, the first being Ivatt Tank No. 41313, visiting from the Isle of Wight. A notable part of the gala would be the engine being paired with the railways Chesham set, recreating the Chesham Flyer shuttle service, which used to run along the Metropolitan Railway between Chalfont Road and Chesham. The appearance of this recreation would mark the 65th Anniversary of the end of steam on the Chesham Branch, the last engine to perform this duty being 41284 in 1960.

Alongside the Ivatt, the second guest locomotive was due to be Hudswell Clarke No. 68067 from the Great Central Railway, however the engine failed upon arrival at the railway with faulty tubes, and was instead replaced by Battle of Britain Class No. 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair. While the Branch Line gala usually features smaller locomotives, the unavailability of Standard 4 Tank No. 80151 and Standard 5 No. 73082 Camelot, both currently under maintenance, would mean that 34059 was the only other engine available to fill in for the Hudswell’s duties. However, with Bullied Light Pacific’s having previously performed branch line duties, the engine’s appearance was not out of place for the gala’s theme. The home fleet would also feature 32424 Beachy Head & SECR O1 Class No. 65, with A1X Terrier No. 72 Fenchurch also making an appearance, tagging along with 32424's services to and from Horsted Keynes, to perform a freight set run from Horsted Keynes to Sheffield Park and back.

With there only being one guest engine, the main focus of this video was to capture the Ivatt as much as possible, fitting in any shots of the home fleet where able. With the Ivatt also facing Sheffield Park, a few extra locations would be required out of the usual, in order to catch the engine boiler first. The engine would certainly look right at home along the line, moreso when hauling the Chesham set, topped off with the day's excellent sunshine.

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