As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, the Bluebell Railway Museum Committee were proud to present an exhibition
of fifty locomotive plates. The exhibition was held in the northern most room of the station buildings on
Platforms 1 and 2 at Horsted Keynes station.
The exhibition comprised a mixture of nameplates, smokebox door plates, works plates and shedplates as follows.
| Cabside | 777 | Numberplate from King Arthur class locomotive Sir Lamiel No. 30777. Now part of the National Collection and currently operating on the main line.
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| Cabside | 2042 | The first B4 class locomotive built at Brighton by the LBSCR as No. 42 in 1902 a 4-4-0 tender locomotive. Renumbered 2042 by the Southern Railway. It was withdrawn in 1947 never becoming a British Railway engine.
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| Cabside | 2043 | The second B4 class locomotive built at Brighton by the LBSCR as No. 43 in 1902 a 4-4-0 tender locomotive. Renumbered 2043 by the Southern Railway and 32043 by British Railways. It was withdrawn in 1951.
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| Cabside | 21C2 | Built by the Southern Railway at Eastleigh in 1941, the second Merchant Navy class locomotive to be built. Named Union Castle after the shipping line. Renumbered 35002 by British Railways it was withdrawn in 1964.
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| Misc | SR Roundel | The Southern Railway roundels were originally carried on Smokebox doors. This one was on No. 21C167, latterly No. 34067 Tangmere.
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| Nameplate | 615 Squadron & Badge | The nameplate and badge from Battle of Britian class locomotive No. 34082 615 Squadron. This locomotive spent time on routes from all the London termini. It was withdrawn in 1966. 615 Squadron was formed at Kenley in 1937 and flew Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain. The motto on the crest Conjunctis viribus means By our united force.
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| Nameplate | Blackmore Vale & Scroll | Nameplate from West Country locomotive No. 21C123, latterly No. 34023. Preserved on the Bluebell Railway it was built by the Southern Railway in 1946. It worked mainly on the West of England services until withdrawal in 1967.
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| Nameplate | Corall Queen | The name given to the B4 Normandy preserved at the Bluebell Railway after it was withdrawn in 1963 and sold to Corall’s coal merchants at Southampton.
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| Nameplate | Cudworth | Nameplate from Rememberance class locomotive No. 32330. Built by the LBSCR in 1921 it was named Cudworth by the Southern Railway after James Cudworth Locomotive Superintendent of the South Eastern Railway. It was used on secondary routes and withdrawn in 1955.
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| Nameplate | Freshwater | Nameplate from Isle of Wight class O2 locomotive No. W35. It was built in 1890 at Nine Elms in London and prior to moving to the Island in 1949 worked at Wadebridge in Cornwall. It was withdrawn in 1966.
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| Nameplate | Hartland Point | Built by the LBSCR in 1906. There were only eleven in the class known as Brighton Atlantics. They spent their lives woking out of Brighton. Hartland Point was withdrawn in 1951.The Bluebell Railway is building a replica of Beachy Head.
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| Nameplate | King’s Wimbledon | School’s class locomotive No. 30931, King’s Wimbledon, worked in the South East of England and was withdrawn in 1961. Another of the class, No. 928 Stowe, is preserved on the Bluebell Railway.
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| Nameplate | Lord Hawke | One of the Lord Nelson class of engines built in 1929 and withdrawn in 1962. No. 30860 Lord Hawke, worked express passenger services out of Waterloo. Named after Admiral Lord Hawke (1705 - 1781), Admiral of the Fleet and First Lord of the Admiralty.
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| Nameplate | New Zealand Line | Merchant Navy class engine No. 35021 spent its life working out of Waterloo to Bournemouth. Built in 1948 and withdrawn in 1965.
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| Nameplate | Okehampton & Crest & Scroll | The full set of plates from the locomotive No. 34013 Okehampton. The engine worked all over the Southern Region and was one of the last to be withdrawn in 1967.
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| Nameplate | River Dart | Poor running of these tank engines resulted in the Sevenoaks accident in 1927. The class was then rebuilt as tender engines and re-classified as U class No. 31806. Two U class locomotives are preserved on the Bluebell Railway.
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| Nameplate | Sir Archibald Sinclair | Original nameplate from the Bluebell Railway’s locomotive No. 34059, withdrawn 1966. Sir Archibald Sinclair became Secretary of State for Air in 1940 in Winston Churchill’s wartime coalition government.
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| Nameplate | Sir Richard Grenville | Lord Nelson class locomotive No. 30853, built in 1928 and used on main line expresses out of Waterloo. It was withdrawn in 1962. Sir Richard Grenville (1541 - 1591) is best remembered for his gallant fight against the entire Spanish Fleet off the Azores.
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| Nameplate | Sir Villiars | King Arthur class express passenger locomotive No. 30790. Built in 1925 and withdrawn in 1961. Based at Eastleigh for most of its working life it would have hauled passenger trains in and out of Waterloo. Sir Villiars was one of the Knights of the Arthurian Round Table.
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| Nameplate | Taw Valley & Scroll | Original nameplate from the preserved locomotive No. 34027. It spent much of its time in the West Country before returning to London prior to withdrawal in 1964. The locomotive is based at the Severn Valley Railway.
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| Nameplate | The Bluebell Railway | Nameplate from the Class 73 Electro Diesel. This is the same class of locomotive that recently hauled the spoil trains from the south end of the tip to Horsted Keynes.
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| Nameplate | Vivien BR Class 5 | Given the name from a withdrawn King Arthur class locomotive, No. 73117 Vivien was built by British Railways in the 1950s and worked on the Southern Region. No. 73082 Camelot, from the same class, is preserved on the Bluebell Railway. In Arthurian legend Vivien is the woman who entombs Merlin in a cave or a tree.
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| Nameplate | Watersmeet & Scroll | Locomotive No. 34030 was built in 1946 and worked mainly in the South East. It was withdrawn in 1961. Watersmeet is the meeting point of the East Lynn River and Hoar Oak Water above Lynmouth in Devon.
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| Shedcode | 71A Eastleigh | Locomotives carried shedcodes attached to their smokebox door a plate giving the locomotive’s home depot. Eight are on display. 71A was the home depot of No. 30096
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| Shedcode | 75A Brighton | The 7 smokebox plates starting 75 are a complete set from the Brighton section of the Southern Region of British Railways
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| Shedcode | 75B Redhill | |
| Shedcode | 75C Norwood Junction | |
| Shedcode | 75D Horsham | |
| Shedcode | 75E Three Bridges | |
| Shedcode | 75F Tunbridge Wells | |
| Shedcode | 75G Eastbourne | |
| Smokebox | 30028 M7 | This tank engine spent part of its life at Three Bridges depot and would have worked push/pull services to East Grinstead.
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| Smokebox | 30064 USA | This locomotive was imported from the USA during the war and worked in Southampton Docks. It lasted until the end of steam and was withdrawn in 1967. It is now preserved on the Bluebell Railway.
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| Smokebox | 30096 B4 | The original smokebox numberplate from No. 30096 Normandy now preserved on the Bluebell Railway. This little engine worked in Southampton Docks until 1963.
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| Smokebox | 30582 0415 | One of the three Adams Radial tanks to survive after working the Lyme Regis branch. The Bluebell Railway owns No. 30583.
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| Smokebox | 30694 700 | Known as Black Motors this freight locomotive spent its life in London until withdrawn in 1961.
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| Smokebox | 30931 V | The smokebox numberplate from the Schools class King’s Wimbledon.
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| Smokebox | 31533 H | Smokebox number plate from London based H class tank engine withdrawn in 1962. The Bluebell owns H class No. 31263.
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| Smokebox | 31767 L | Two consecutive numbers from the same class of tender engine. Both worked in South East England on both passenger and freight trains. No. 31767 was withdrawn in 1958 and No. 31768 in 1961.
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| Smokebox | 31768 L |
| Smokebox | 32349 K | Another mixed traffic locomotive based around Portsmouth for much of its life. Withdrawn in 1962.
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| Smokebox | 32422 H2 | Smokebox number plate from Brighton Atlantic North Foreland. It was based on the South Coast all its life working from Brighton and Newhaven. Withdrawn in 1962
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| Smokebox | 32473 E4 | Tank engine class E4 which worked around South London until withdrawal in 1962. It is now restored and running on the Bluebell Railway as No. B473.
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| Smokebox | 32553 C2X | Freight locomotive No. 32553 worked in the South of England until withdrawal in 1961
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| Smokebox | 33030 Q1 | The most modern freight locomotive built by the Southern Railway, these Charlies as they were known, worked until nearly the end of steam, 33030 being withdrawn in 1964. No. 33030 was originally numbered C30, the reason for their nickname. No. 33001 is part of the National Collection and spent many years at the Bluebell Railway.
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| Smokebox | 34030 WC | Smokebox numberplate from Watersmeet
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| Smokebox | 35001 MN | The first Merchant Navy locomotive built at Eastleigh in 1941 and named Channel Packet after the shipping line. Originally allocated to Exeter the locomotive moved to London in its later life before being withdrawn in 1964.
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| Worksplate | LBSCR Pie Dish No 91A very attractive worksplate originally attached to I3 class locomotive no. 91. The tank engine was subsequently numbered No. 32091 and withdrawn in 1952.
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The Bluebell Railway Museum Committee would like to thank the following people and organisations for their
valuable help in supplying the exhibits and the setting up of the exhibition.
Chubb Security, Phil Swallow, David Postle and the Kidderminster Railway Museum at the Severn Valley Railway.
Barry Jones, Mike Bacon, John Sharp, Colin Tyson, Roger Cruse, Tony Hillman and Martin Elms. Roy Watts, David Foale.
The Bulleid Society, The Bluebell Battle of Britain Locomotive Group, Tim Baker and the Horsted Keynes
station staff, Dave Clarke, Richard Salmon and the members of the Bluebell Railway Carriage and
Wagon department and last but not least, Sam Bee (Chairman) and Tony Drake (Curator)
along with the members of the Bluebell Railway Museum Committee.
Mounted pictures of events over the past 50 years are on display in the buffet at Sheffield. The images are
available on the Museum website
