Bluebell Railway’s “New Build Giants of Steam” Gala: A Weekend to Remember

The Bluebell Railway’s annual Giants of Steam gala is always one of the highlights of the heritage railway calendar and this year’s New Build theme was no exception. Across three packed days, the railway played host to some of preservation’s most exciting modern steam new builds, including A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado, Saint Class No. 2999 Lady of Legend, and Grange Class No. 6880 Betton Grange.

For me, the weekend was a mixture of videography, photography, and catching up with good friends, all set against the ever-changing Sussex skies.

Friday – Finding the Angles, Recording the Video!

The weekend began with a day dedicated entirely to filming. The Nikon Z8 is a very capable hybrid camera capable of shooting upwards of 8k/60fps although, my internet is not capable of uploading that within this century. The previous weekend, I had headed out with my camera in weather that was significantly better for a research of the line to see the amazing work that the lineside gangs had undertaken over the previous few weeks.

The first shot was a place I had scoped out the previous weekend, but wanted to keep for a video shot at Holywell. Meeting up with Rob, we headed to Holywell and began the day’s adventure. However, by the time we got to Town Place Bridge (Broken Bridge) we had that annoying drizzle that ruins a shot but at least we had a nice crew that kept the power on through the remains of the bridge.

Friday was all about movement, I covered ground from Freshfield Bank to Three Arch Bridge, capturing the action from as many perspectives as possible. Therefore, I continued the trek south towards Freshfield Bank and my first meeting with Tornado in the light of day. An impressive locomotive for sure and it was nice to finally see the locomotive in all its glory.

It was around this time that I waved goodbye to Rob and Alfie as they headed for both a shot at Ketches Wood and a panning shot at Freshfield Bank, I started the trek up the line to Town Place Bridge to get No6880 on the curve before the bridge. A wonderful shot and even had a hit of light come out for the event.

Video recording screen grab of No6880 “Betton Grange” rounding the curve at Town House Farm on Friday lunchtime.

The great thing about Bluebell linesiding is that you aren’t going to miss a train coming down or going up, it is just about being in the place that you want when the service you need to film is coming along. This is greatly helped by the excellent lineside gangs that help keep back the vegetation and make trekking the line much easier. As I made my way up the line speaking to a few fellow linesiders along the way.

Video recording screen grab of No2999 “Lady of Legend” at Nobles on Friday afternoon.

The ultimate goal was to get to “The Mound” just north of Three Arch Bridge, as this is usually a very good power location for services working into Horsted Keynes. For this I went with Lady of Legend, as I knew she would provide an excellent soundscape coming up the gradient. With this service done, we lost Alfie to his drumming practice. Rob and I decided to wrap things up and head back towards Tremains, on the way we stopped at Holywell to get a final shot with the Atlantic-Pacific double header.

We wrapped up and handed back our hi-viz and I began the frantic part of the weekend, editing, using Da Vinci Resolve. I spent the next several hours organising clips, colouring them and then adding in elements to stich them together. By 0100, after the artwork for the thumbnail was completed it was time for the video to go up, scheduled for the morning and with that I could take a step back and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Saturday – A Relaxed Rhythm

After Friday’s hectic pace, Saturday felt more relaxed, a balance of photography and video, and a chance to slow down and enjoy the atmosphere. Out again with Alfie and Rob, we started the morning at one of my favourite spots: the sweeping curve between Horsted House Farm Bridge and Vaux End Bridge, just in time for Betton Grange. This run was my favourite of the weekend with a solo locomotive, the noise of a GWR 4-6-0 can’t be beat, and Betton Grange showed why she was a contender for locomotive of the gala. However, this weekend the forecast was mostly overcast and thus photography was problematic.

The Lady Rolls In - As well as the clouds for the Saturday morning as No2999 “Lady of Legend” makes her way over New Road Bridge and into Horsted Keynes approach.

Camera Settings: Camera: Nikon Z8, Lens: 24-70mm f/4 S, Focal Length: 24mm, Shutter Speed: 1/500th, Aperture: f5.0, ISO: 250

We chased a little light at New Road Bridge for Lady of Legend, however, the clouds rolled in and made for a rather dark picture. However, the spot at New Road Bridge, is a fantastic spot for early morning arrivals. We moved to Three Arch Bridge, where the signals framed the scene beautifully. This was a picture that Alfie had wanted to achieve after a fantastic photo that Rob had taken there the year before. From there, we made our way to Holywell for another Tornado run, complete with a generous helping of whistling!

The Oldest New Build - No60163 is seen at the approach signals to Horsted Keynes at Three Arch with a non-stop express service to East Grinstead.

Camera Settings: Camera: Nikon Z8, Lens: 24-70mm f/4 S, Focal Length: 24mm, Shutter Speed: 1/640th, Aperture: f4.5, ISO: 250

Then came one of the day’s highlights: the four-loco lineup. With plenty of familiar faces around it was as much a social event as a photographic one. Later, at Freshfield Bank, a larger group gathered for a relaxed afternoon of laughter, friendly teasing, and shared anticipation for one last shot with Betton Grange. I even put my panning practice to good use, determined to keep improving.

The Fantastic New Build Four - from right to left, No2999 Saint Class “Lady of Legend”, No6880 Grange Class “Betton Grange”, No60163 A1 Class “Tornado” and No32424 H2 Class “Beachy Head”

Camera Settings: Camera: Nikon Z8, Lens: 35-150mm f/2-2.8, Focal Length: 58mm, Shutter Speed: 1/320th, Aperture: f5.6, ISO: 125

As the light faded, Rob headed off to join the evening charter with Betton and Tornado, rounding off a near-perfect day. Whilst Alfie and I headed for home and a rest before the final day, which promised weather wise to be a challenge.

Sunday – Sunshine, Rain, and Steam

Expectations were low for Sunday, with forecasts showing a wall of rain approaching from the southwest. But sometimes the railway gods smile on you, and as my good friend ferried me around in his new electric car, the skies turned a glorious orange. For the first two runs of the day, we were treated to stunning light, fittingly featuring my two favourites of the gala, Lady of Legend and Betton Grange.

Lady of Light - On one of the only runs with light in that I got, No2999 “Lady of Legend” powers up Freshfield Bank with the first service of Sunday morning

Camera Settings: Camera: Nikon Z8, Lens: 35-150mm f/2-2.8, Focal Length: 76mm, Shutter Speed: 1/640th, Aperture: f5.6, ISO: 320

Sunday is always my “feast day” at a gala, thanks to my friend’s unbeatable spread of bacon, sausages, and tea, a welcome contrast to the previous two days of running on adrenaline alone. However, this gala was a little different, we tucked into pait au chocolate and mince pies, both home made and both delicious! I must also thank Gary for being the videographer for the day, a superb job!

Betton and a Wonderful Vista - No6880 “Betton Grange” climbs Freshfield Bank with a wonderful morning vista in evidence behind her, shortly after this run, the clouds moved in and we were back to dull and grey weather.

Camera Settings: Camera: Nikon Z8, Lens: 35-150mm f/2-2.8, Focal Length: 70mm, Shutter Speed: 1/640th, Aperture: f5.6, ISO: 250

We spent much of the morning between Freshfield Bank and the Horsted Keynes footpath, where we met a visitor all the way from Ontario, Canada, perhaps the furthest traveller of the weekend! He gave us a first-hand look at drone filming, which definitely piqued my curiosity for future shoots.

Unfortunately, the weather turned on us soon after. Torrential rain set in, forcing us to use a poncho as an improvised rain cover for Betton Grange’s next run. The downpour ruined both photo and video attempts, but spirits remained high, as we ran into a very good friend from the Severn Valley, traintravelmike.

After Tornado’s climb up the bank, we took refuge at Horsted Keynes Station, where hot chocolate and pies from the King George VI buffet never tasted better. The final successful shot of the weekend came from Horsted House Farm Bridge, capturing the two Great Western locomotives together. What a sight it was, easily rivalling the time Erlestoke Manor and Wightwick Hall attempted the climb back in May last year.

A final attempt at Sharpthorne, my home village, proved a washout, the lens could barely focus through the driving rain. But despite the weather, the weekend ended with that familiar blend of exhaustion, satisfaction, and the anticipation of reliving it all again through the footage.

Final Thoughts

The New Build Giants of Steam gala was everything a Bluebell weekend should be, great locomotives, great company, and a few challenges from the British weather to keep us on our toes.

Between the laughs at Freshfield Bank, the camaraderie lineside, and those fleeting moments of perfect light, it was another memorable chapter in the history of Giant of Steam Galas.

I am looking forward to the next Bluebell gala’s, hopefully we will get a New Years Steam Up but if not it will be back for the Spring Gala in March, which will have a different atmosphere to branchline galas of previous years. Thank you once again for reading to the end and I hope you all have a fantastic end to this years gala circuit.