page_title: Bluebell Railway
section_title: West: Horsted Keynes to Haywards Heath via Ardingly
hierarchical_section_title: Bluebell Railway / Preservation / West: Horsted Keynes to Haywards Heath via Ardingly
caption_attribution_description: English: 3724 on the Ardingly spur
context_page_description: The Bluebell Railway is an 11 mi heritage line almost entirely in West Sussex in England, except for Sheffield Park which is in East Sussex. It is managed by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. It uses steam trains which operate between Sheffield Park and East Grinstead, with intermediate stations at Horsted Keynes and Kingscote.
  It is the first preserved standard gauge steam-operated passenger railway in the world to operate a public service. The society ran its first train on 7 August 1960, less than three years after the line from East Grinstead to Lewes had been closed by British Railways.
  On 23 March 2013, the Bluebell Railway started to run through to its new East Grinstead terminus station. At East Grinstead there is a connection to the national rail network, the first connection of the Bluebell Railway to the national network in 50 years, since the Horsted Keynes – Haywards Heath line closed in 1963.
  Today the railway is managed and run largely by volunteers.
context_section_description: Originally built as a double-track line, it was electrified in the 1930s, with 2-NOL units used for the Seaford-Horsted Keynes service. The line between Horsted Keynes and Ardingly was operated as single-track  in its final years, with 2-BIL/Class 401 and 2-HAL/Class 402 units. The second track was left in place and used for carriage storage, most notably the new Kent Coast electric stock prior to its introduction and later the steam-hauled stock that it replaced.
  After the line's closure in 1963, the trackbed was purchased in its entirety by a member of the local gentry. In the 1990s the society bought the abandoned trackbed west between Horsted Keynes and Ardingly from his estate. This included up to the Hanson Aggregates depot built on the former Ardingly station site.
  The society plans to reconnect the line with Network Rail at Copyhold Junction, to allow access to the London to Brighton main line. Stations could either be located at Copyhold or Haywards Heath. There is a proposal that the line could be restored as third rail electrified, allowing operation of the society's electric stock.
  While the 218 yards (199 m) Lywood Tunnel remains in good condition, there are two major areas of work that would be required to re-open the line, these being the replacement of a short girder-bridge span bridge and the 117 yards (107 m) Sheriff Mill Viaduct, which was demolished in 1969. The removed clay-cap from Imberhorne cutting has been deposited on the banks of the former Sherriff Mill viaduct to allow later bridging of the gap. Also in 2013, the former Tewkesbury and Malvern Railway bridge that crossed over the M50 motorway were donated to the railway for eventual installation in the replacement bridge.
caption: The Ardingly spur, just south of Horsted Keynes
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