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Recent Accessions

The Museum is always trying to enhance the collection with the acquisition of appropiate material. Items arrive in the Museum either by donation or purchase. This page will include some recent donations and purchases.

Accession 20   Single line staff from the Cuckoo Line. Purchased at auction and donated by a member for the signalling display in the new Museum.

Accession 19   Smokebox number 30582 from an Adams Radial tank. (The Bluebell Adams was numbered 30583 by British Railways).

Purchased by the Museum.

Accession 18   A superb O gauge model of a Brighton Atalntic in LBSCR livery.

Generously donated to the Museum by a Bluebell Member.

Accession 17   LBSCR poster advertising the Cross Channel route via Newhaven - Dieppe. The model ship Paris, which the Museum has on loan from the National Railway Museum, operated this route.

Purchased by the Museum.

Accession 16   A bound copy of the South Eastern Railway timetables for 1853. Twelve individual months bound together probably for use in the Railway Offices.

Purchased by the Archive.

Accession 15   Not actually a new accession but a refurbished one. London Jack has been collecting money for Woking Homes for many years and before taking his place in the new museum it was decided to give him a well earned face lift.

While the new museum is being built London Jack will be on show in the Museum room at Horsted Keynes.

You can read more about Jack HERE.

Accession 14   One of three Southern Railway waiting room benches previously in use at Worplesdon station.

All three have been donated to the Museum by South West Trains when they were replaced by modern metal versions. Two will be used in the waiting room area of the new museum with the third in the museum area at Horsted Keynes.

Accession 13   Enamel plate from the Southern Railway train departure board at Victoria.

Generously donated to the Museum by a Bluebell Member.

Accession 12   LB&SCR wood/bone whistle on chain.

Purchased by the Museum.

A similar Southern Railway whistle has recently been donated to the Museum.


Accession 11   Brighton Railway Guide for Easter 1914.

Purchased by the Archive.


Accession 10   Nameplate from Electro-Diesel 73004.

Purchased for the Museum.


Accession 09   A superb LB&SCR Cap Badge.

Generously donated to the Museum by a Bluebell Member.


Accession 08   1950s poster giving very visual information about the time taken to travel on the Atlantic Coast Express to Devon and Cornwall.

Purchased by the Museum.


Accession 07   Southern Railway ships flag based on the naval Red Ensign. The flag was used on the Cross Channel ferries between Dover and Calais or Dunkerque and included sailings of the GOLDEN ARROW and the NIGHT FERRY.

Purchased by the Museum.


Accession 06   Four pre-grouping publications from the LB&SCR and SE&CR. The Brighton Railway Homes booklet gives details of residential locations served by the Brighton. The three SE&CR booklets list places to visit for holidays, the route to the Continent and the annual report of the St John’s Ambulance, SE&CR section.

Puchased by the Archive.


Accession 05   A glass paperweight produced by the LB&SCR for the Southern Belle. Almost impossible to photograph, the words etched into the glass read “LONDON BRIGHTON & SOUTH COAST RAILWAY - The Southern Belle Limited Pullman - The last word in luxurious travel - VICTORIA & BRIGHTON in 60 Minutes Each Way - Weekdays & Sundays”. Puchased by the Museum.


Accession 04   A London, Brighton & South Coast Railway handlamp. It is stamped YARD BOX NEW CROSS.

Generously donated to the Museum by a Bluebell member.


Accession 01   Purchased as part of an end of collection auction lot, these six pages of foolscap paper make the case for British Railways to close the branch line between East Grinstead and Lewes. The savings effected by closure are £68,000 against a lose of revenue etc at £9,000. A re-typed PDF version of the document, without appendices, is available HERE.

This document will be lodged in the reference section of the archive.


Accession 02   These plaques replaced the clock over the doorways at either end of the Pullman Car. Fingall, running on the Bluebell Railway, has had the clocks replaced so returning it to its original condition. The Museum was fortunate to be able to purchase both Fingall plaques.


Accession 03   In the new Museum there will be a section on transport predating railways. This piece of original Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Tramway dates from c1805 will be included in this section. Purchased by the Museum.