Bluebell Steam Railway

The billowing clouds of white water spraying into the sky stand for nothing less than the great spirit of travel and adventure that we have long ago unleashed upon the world. The great railways that wander upon the earth continue to beckon to our hearts, calling us to flee our mundane lives and strike out for destinations and riches unknown. The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers. It has the largest collection of steam locomotives in the UK after the National Railway Museum, and a collection of almost 150 carriages and wagons (most of them from before or between the world wars), unrivalled in the south of England. In 1877 an Act of Parliament authorised construction of the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway. The line was sponsored by local landowners, including the Earl of Sheffield. The line had six stations, but only Barcombe was within walking distance of a village. Chailey parish had two stations, one at Sheffield Park and the other at Newick and Chailey. It was customary for a rural line supported by a company or individuals to have stations close to the residences of its sponsors. Thus Sheffield Park station was built for the Earl of Sheffield, and Newick and Chailey for Newick Park and Reedens, the residences of two other sponsors. This sound uses the following file from Freesound: http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=118733