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Southern Railway Coach Group

About the Group


80151 with three Bulleid coaches departing from Horsted Keynes - 29 August 2009 - Richard Salmon The Bluebell Railway has a long and successful track record in the restoration of Southern Railway designed rolling stock, from Bulleid coach restorations in the 1970s through to more comprehensive restoration of Maunsell and Bulleid stock from the 1980s onwards. However, with a number of vehicles that have been in traffic now stopped for comprehensive overhaul, there is work to be done to deliver the Railway's long term plan of operating full sets of Maunsell and Bulleid carriages.

Left: 80151 with three Bulleid coaches departing from Horsted Keynes, at the launch of Brake 2526 into service, 29 August 2009 (Richard Salmon).

1638 with Maunsell train - Dave Clarke - 16 March 2009

Vision

To restore, maintain and promote awareness of the Bluebell Railway's rolling stock designed and/or operated by the Southern Railway.

Objectives

The current objectives of the Group:
  • Increase the number of Southern Railway built and designed vehicles in use at the Bluebell Railway, with the initial focus of completing sets of Maunsell and Bulleid carriages
  • External promotion activities and raising awareness in the Bluebell Membership and a wider audience through published articles and social media
  • Subscriptions, and fundraising for restorations
  • Leadership of campaigns for specific vehicle restoration
  • Working with the Carriage and Wagon Trustee, Director and staff to identify the most effective approaches and timescales for restoration and to support maintenance programmes
  • Working with the Bluebell Railway Trust to help secure external funding for vehicles along with other fund-raising activities
  • Providing a focus for volunteer coordination for those with an interest of this type of vehicle

Above right: Maunsell U-class 1638 with Maunsell carriages, 16 March 2009 (Dave Clarke).

SRCG Organisation

The Southern Railway Coach Group is an internal group under the umbrella of the BRPS in a similar way to the Bluebell Railway Goods Division. Money raised will be directed into Bluebell Railway Trust restricted funds and used to meet the group's objectives.

The SRCG Steering Group was set up at an inaugural meeting in August 2023. Follow the link for more about the steering group and its meetings.

Please consider joining the SRCG. Subscription now open for 2024.

SRCG Newsletter Archive

SRCG members receive two newsletters per year, by email in March and September, that are made available here 2-3 months later. If you enjoy reading our past newsletters, please consider becoming a member so you can see them as soon as they are published.