Bulleid Society Plate

THE SOCIETY AND ITS AIMS

The Bulleid Society

The Society is the owner of Bulleid West Country class locomotive No. 21C123, Blackmoor Vale, the Adams designed B4 class locomotive No. 96, Normandy and the Bulleid coach, No. 5768.

Since its instigation in 1967 the Bulleid Society has always aimed to maintain its locomotives and coach in an authentic condition as possible. The West Country class locomotive is in Malachite green livery and carries the Southern roundel on the smokebox. The only fundamental difference between its current appearance and that of 1946 being the change in cab to the wedge shaped cab, introduced in 1954. No. 96, has run in a variety of authentic liveries since the locomotive was purchased by the Society in 1972 and after the forthcoming overhaul will run with a full cab and British Railway livery rather than the cut away cab now in place. The Society’s Bulleid coach will continue to display its Bulleid Malachite green livery on completion of the current overhaul.

The overhauls of these items are undertaken by both the Bluebell’s full time engineering staff with active participation of Society members. Finance for any overhaul is from a combination of monies generated by Society funding and from resources of the Bluebell Railway. The Society is grateful for donations from members and with the opening of the Society’s new shop on platform 2 at Sheffield Park station, will again hopefully have a new source of funding towards locomotive and coach overhaul.

We welcome new members with both an interest in the Society’s motive power and rolling stock and also with an interest in other Bulleid designed Southern Railway products.

The Society is fortunate in having descendents of the Bulleid family as its Presidents with communication between the Society and its members maintained by the Society’s web site, www.bulleidsoceity.org and Bulleid Express, the Society’s journal normally published twice a year and sent to members.      

Aims

To advance the education of the public in the history, engineering and design of steam locomotives and rolling stock, in particular by,

  1. The acquisition, restoration, preservation and exhibition/display of steam locomotives and rolling stock and other appropriate items, equipment, stock artefacts, documents and records.
  2. The publication of a journal and website on the topic of steam locomotives and rolling stock.
  3. Providing opportunities for people of all ages and diverse backgrounds to learn about heritage railway preservation, restoration, maintenance and operation.

For the purposes of this clause, steam locomotives and rolling stock is taken to mean former British Railways steam locomotive, Bulleid Light Pacific West Country Class No 34023, Blackmoor Vale, (previously 21c123 of the Southern Railway) and former British Railways steam locomotive, B4 No 30096, (previously No 96, Normandy of the London and South Western Railway and Southern Railway) and Bulleid Composite Coach No. 5768.’

In acquiring, restoring, preserving, exhibiting, and maintaining the above items the CIO must take consideration of what is determined to be good locomotive and rolling stock practice at that time.