Car 88 is seen here at Horsted Keynes on 7 August 2010 coupled to Parlour First 'Doris'. She was taking part in the celebrations lasting from 6 - 8 August to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society.

Car 88 had a very steady stream of visitors and photographers across the three day celebration. She will leave the Bluebell in the second half of September, as her restoration continues at Barrow Hill, where she will receive new bogies, brakes and control gear.

Click on the first image below to take a virtual tour of Car 88 at the Bluebell Railway.

And here's an excellent two part video of the Bluebell's celebrations on Saturday 7 August, taken by Adam Ashford. Watch out for Car 88 and 'Doris'! Click on the four arrows icon to see the action in full screen mode.

 Motor third Car 88 arrived at the Bluebell Railway on 19 July to take part in the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. Car 88 will be coupled to Parlour First 'Doris' for the Celebrations and will remain at Horsted Keynes until the second half of September.

Click on the first image below to take a virtual tour of Car 88 arriving at the Bluebell Railway. The task of manoeuvring this long and heavy vehicle into position was quite a feat!

Image 1: Car 88 arrives on Allely's low-loader at the Bluebell Railway, escorted by Teahan Convoi Service.

Image 2: As the Bluebell wanted the driver's end of the coach in first, it meant reversing half into the gate before dropping the trailer.

Image 3: With the truck in position, there was no way of getting the tractor unit & neck (with the winch) to the back of the trailer.

Image 4: The tractor unit and neck has pulled over to one side. A rail ramp is then built to transfer the coach from truck to rails.

Image 5: The winch is run down to a pully and returned and hooked onto the coach bogies.

Image 6: A close up of the pulley system employed to drop off the 62 tonnes vehicle.

Image 7: The coach is now sitting on tracks in the carpark! However, there is no more track to allow the coach to move forward.

Image 8: The diesel shunter waiting to pull the coach into the compound when the trailer is manoeuvred clear.

Images 9 & 10: Finally on the Bluebell Railway! 

 Two former British Rail 4-CIG carriages were moved from the Dean Forest Railway to Southall Shed today. They will act as donor vehicles to complete the Brighton Belle restoration - watch the move on video here.

 Click on the picture to see 73101 "The Royal Alex" in Pullman livery at Lydney Junction

 76 years ago, the first Lady Mayor of Brighton inaugurated the Brighton Belle at Brighton Station. Now, the Station is to have on permanent display a spectacular life-size image of the Belle!

 Click on the picture to see an artist's impression of the mural

 The two coach SUB de-icing unit held by the 5BEL Trust at Etches Park will now be preserved as the only surviving example in Britain of a de-icer.

 Click on the picture to see the de-icer at Etches Park

 5BEL motor third Car 88 will make its first post-restoration appearance at the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the Bluebell Railway. She will join the cavalcade coupled to Pullman Kitchen First 'Doris'.

 Click on the picture to see Pullman Kitchen First 'Doris'

 The Trust has purchased a 4-CIG train set from Eastleigh Works to act as the donor vehicle for bogies, traction motors, control gear, EP braking system, couplings and other items for the Brighton Belle. No. 1881 will be moved to Barrow Hill, where all the parts needed for the project will be removed by the Harry Needle Railroad Company.

Click on the picture to see Dean Forest's preserved 4-CIG

 After six months of detective work, discussions and negotiations, the Trust has finally sourced the traction motors required to power the Brighton Belle! When the three train sets were taken out of service, British Rail removed the traction motors and much of the control gear from the motor brakes for sale as scrap - leaving the Trust with a major headache.

Click on the picture to see a motor brake bogie

 The Brighton Belle Project was formally launched today at the National Railway Museum in York. The launch was celebrated with a non-stop twin tender return run from London Kings Cross to York by A4 Bittern No. 60019 carrying the headboard "The Brighton Belle". Watch the videos of this historic run on video here.

 Click on the picture to see A4 Bittern carring the headboard "The Brighton Belle"

  On 9 April 2008, the Council of The Transport Trust agreed to support the project by raising funds. Two weeks later, Car 88 was inspected by a technical consultant to assess feasibility of installing new motors and a control system for electric operation as well as propulsion by a diesel led to an encouraging report.

On 9 May 2008, an article prepared for ‘Bluebell News’ clarified the position at that date: