Bluebell Railway 'Diesel Gala' - 06.09.24

Something a bit different to the norm for me, as the usually pure steam Bluebell Railway would see the rarity of a chorus of Diesel locomotives running along the line, as they held their first Diesel Gala since 2018.
The gala would see a total of 6 diesel locomotives in action, 4 of which would be visitors, consiting of Class 37 D6851 'Flopsie' (Locomotive Services Limited), Class 20 D8188 (Mid Hants Railway), Class 14 D9551 (Severn Valley Railway), and Class 33 No. 33111 (Swanage Railway). The 33 would be paired up with the Bluebell's own 4VEP No. 3417 'Gordon Pettitt', running in a 'push pull' fashion. This would be the first time 3417 would travel the full length of the line, as well as the first time it has carried passengers in over a decade.
Alongside the visitors, the home fleet would feature Class 09 D4106, and Class 73 E6040 'The Bluebell Railway', the latter having not been featured into the timetable to begin with, but having been accepted into traffic the day before, was slotted in to top and tail with one of the Class 20s runs, thus hauling its first passenger train on the line.
The weather would unfortunately see rain for most of the day, which means some of the shots aren't as good as hoped, but nonetheless it was great to capture the rarity of some impressive diesel locomotives running along the Sussex Branch.
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[@Matty_1843]

Regardless of the Bluebell's relationship with diesels, they very much did this properly. Not a single loco here didn't fit the line in some way, and the 33/1 push pulling the VEP was the highlight. Only wish I could've been there. Great stuff! And not a single person flailing until the very end, either.

[@themodster]

Cheers Matty. The Bluebell is, like many heritage railways, one that focusses on steam purely for the fact that it's more likely to bring families etc in to visit, though admittedly, other lines use diesels more often than they do. But for the odd event, a pure diesel show is nothing to complain about. The lineup was certainly a good one, with the 4VEP's return very much being a highlight.

[@vickielawless]

We were there on the Saturday. The sound of the 20 in Sharpthorne tunnel was epic..

[@themodster]

They did sound good through there, I quite liked how the 37's headlights lit it up. You don't see that often.

[@SimonTog]

A great video Thomas from the Diesel Gala :)

[@themodster]

Cheers Simon

[@eastmidlandstrainspotter2014]

Awesome awesome video of the different trains going Past I have subscribed to you 🎉

[@themodster]

Thank you for the comment and sub

[@mikethecabbie8476]

Interesting paint job on the class 73. Smart, though.

[@callumthornelow2936]

Super footage Thomas. For someone who normally films steam, this must be quite a change for you?
Still, variety is the spice of life.

[@themodster]

Thanks Callum. I will always be a steam guy at heart, but I don't mind the odd diesel, and it is quite rare to see the Bluebell running in this way, so worth the trip, even if the weather was off-putting

[@signalbelle]

The 4Vep is a might of been if the 2nd world war hadn't happened with electrification from Horsted Keynes to East Grinstead.

[@themodster]

Certainly good to see it running along the line.

[@Trainguy_spotter]

I got to do a tone in 33111 at norden(swanage railway) and got an Ilkley of it