Notices
Society AGM and Members’ Day
Sheffield Park Station, Saturday 15th June 2024 commencing at 4pm.
Members will have received notice of this meeting, and a Call for Nominations (deadline 31 March) with the Winter 2023 edition of Bluebell News.
The following BRPS AGM documents are in the post but are published here as PDF downloads as a backup and for the benefit of members, especially those overseas:
BRPS AGM Document 2024 – as revised 5 June 2024 **
Combined Report and Accounts Booklet 2023
BRPS Proxy Voting Form
Gavin Bennett
Secretary
** Due to an unfortunate error, the wrong election statement and photograph was published in the AGM document for one of the candidates. All the statements are re-issued to avoid drawing attention to a single candidate. These are included in the revised document, online, and have been sent by post to members.
Members’ Day
On AGM Day, 15th June, the Railway is once again throwing open its doors for members to see what goes on behind the scenes. Departments will show what they do so members can get an idea of just what makes the Railway work. The idea of the day is to hopefully encourage members to see what is going on at their Railway and show them where they can help, either by volunteering or by other contribution.
We’ve made a few changes to the format from last year’s very successful event, particularly to give members more time to explore the railway before attending the AGM itself. The service will begin earlier than a normal Saturday (first departures 9.20 am from Sheffield Park, 10.15 am from East Grinstead) and still have plenty of time to look around. The meeting will take place in a marquee on the top car park at Sheffield Park, commencing at 4 pm. Afterwards, there will be a social event with food and drink available. Trains will leave for East Grinstead after the AGM at 6.45 pm and later at 9.00 pm so, if you chose to arrive by rail, you can get home afterwards.
Event Details
At Sheffield Park, a highlight of the day will be the formal renaming of 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair, planned to take place at 12.00. Throughout the day, we are expecting that all areas within the loco yard (running shed, works, Atlantic House and maintenance shed) will be open to view the progress being made on the various restorations and overhauls that are underway. Various loco owning groups will have stands and will be on hand to update you on their respective projects.
On the station, Friends of Sheffield Park and the Museum Team will have displays and representatives too. We also hope to display restored Pullman Car No 54 for viewing.
At Horsted Keynes, there will be tours of the Carriage & Wagon works, where you can see the progress being made on a number of carriages as they continue their journey back to full operational service. [*] The SR Coach Group will have a display and be on hand to discuss their work on our Maunsell and Bulleid coaches. The wagon group will also have a display and stand to show visitors the progress they are making. On Platform 1/2 of the station, the Infrastructure teams will be mounting a display to explain the work they are undertaking there and the 1305 (Thumper) team will have a stand where they will be on hand to explain how they are bringing this unit, currently located nearby, back to working order. At the south end of Platform 2 there will be a meeting point for the S&T Department, from where you will be able to review proposals for the new Sheffield Park Signal Box, study the layout for the final East Grinstead signalling and view a display of unusual signalling features.
At all our stations, staff will be happy to answer questions and, subject to operational requirements, show you how things work in their particular part of the Railway. It is also hoped that guided visits to some of the signal boxes will be possible, subject to permission of the signalman.
Don’t forget that a lot of the individual project and owning group will have sales
stands as part of their displays so please do support them where you can.
We hope that even more of you will join us on our Society AGM day this year to enjoy everything the Bluebell has to offer. Do take the opportunity to join in a conversation with Society management about how to take the Railway forward for the future and hopefully find ways in which you can help the Railway on that journey.
On behalf of the Chairman, Roy Watts, we look forward to seeing you.
Keith Leppard
Trustee
* Due to delays in completing the replacement of the shed wall, it will not now be possible to open the carriage works to visitors on 15 June. The SRCG and Goods Division will have displays on the dock at the south end of Platform 5.
Paul Churchman
I am writing to inform you that I have received Paul Churchman’s resignation as Chairman of the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society and Bluebell Railway PLC, and also as a Governor of The Bluebell Railway Trust.
The following interim measures, agreed and approved by the Society Trustees and the Company Directors have been put in place:
- Acting Society Chairman – Roy Watts
- Management of the PLC will be overseen by Lisa Boyle, Neil Glaskin and Roy Watts
- Carriage and Wagon will be overseen by Trustees Keith Leppard and James Young
These measures are temporary until replacements are in position.
In the meantime, whilst I am sure that this will come as a surprise, it is very important to remember that the Bluebell Railway will continue as normal especially as we are right on the cusp of a new operating season. We have seen some really positive events this year and it’s important we continue to maintain that level of progress in ensuring the Railway has a strong future.
Obviously you will be kept informed of any changes as they happen and new incumbents are put in place.
As always, I am assured by the continued level of support and commitment of the volunteers and members of the paid staff who want nothing more than to deliver a first class Railway experience to our visitors whilst showing off the high quality of our restorations.
Roy Watts
Vice President and Acting Society Chairman
Obituaries
Please note that a change in policy means that instead of appearing here, notices of the deaths of Bluebell staff and volunteers are now circulated via internal channels, and full obituaries continue to appear in Bluebell News magazine.
Preservation Standards Manual
We are pleased to be able to publish the first edition of our Preservation Standards Manual, which details how everything on and about our Railway should be presented. This is a major undertaking, and there are some sections yet to be fully completed, and it will probably always remain a work in progress as new research is still uncovering refinements.
Documents for Members
- “Who’s Who” in the BRPS
- BRPS Objectives, Aims & Plans – 2021 edition (available as a pdf document), together with an explanatory note.
Revised (V 1.1) Articles of Association for the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society agreed at the 2022 AGM.- Diesel Developments – D6570 (pdf) – 29 June 2021
- Preservation Standards Manual – April 2020
- Accessibility Statement – March 2019 and updates
- Safeguarding Policy – August 2018
- Privacy Policy – May 2018 (updated 22 Feb 2021)
- Agreed preservation policies and strategies:
- Traction and Rolling Stock Collection Policy (as adopted in 2004)
Internal Combustion & Electric Traction Policy (pdf) – Issue 1 – 18 January 2024- Carriage and Wagon Restoration Policy (as adopted 2003)
- Van Strategy (as adopted October 2015)
- Historic Wagon Strategy (as adopted May 2008)
- Bluebell Railway Trust – Governance and Management Regulations – March 2018
- Carriage Strategy Review (February 2015)
- Options for a turntable or a triangle – October 2011.
- The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the MBE for volunteer groups – June 2010
Social Sub-Committee
- BRPS Social Sub-Committee – with who’s who, and recent and forthcoming events.
List of Notices
- BRPS AGM Notices 2024 and Members’ Day events and Social evening – 31 May 2024.
- Paul Churchman’s resignation as Chairman – 14 March 2024.
- Chairman’s Weekly Updates – Feb 2023 to Jan 2024.
- BRPS AGM Notices 2023 – 20 May 2023.
- Notes from the Volunteer Forum (pdf) – 18 March 2023.
- Changes to the Bluebell Railway plc board – 26 January 2023, and statement from Geoff Mee – 27 January 2023.
- BRPS Objectives, Aims & Plans – 2021 edition (available as a pdf document), together with an explanatory note.
- Revised (V 1.1) Articles of Association for the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society agreed at the 2022 AGM.
- BRPS AGM – 28 May 2022 – AGM Document 2022 (including AGM arrangements, Agenda, Election nominations, Minutes of October 2021 meetings, long service awards, in memoriam, and various reports), Trust & Society Combined Report & Accounts 2021, Proxy Voting Form – May 2022.
- AGM Notice and Job roles (zip file) – March 2022.
- BRPS Certificate of Incorporation and Articles of Association (the latter as agreed in EGM, October 2021, and now superseded). These came into force with the change from an unincorporated association to a Company Limited by Guarantee on 1 January 2022.
