The Bluebell Railway is pleased to announce the purchase of former Southern Region DEMU No. 1305, which will become part of the Bluebell Railway fleet. No. 1305 has been owned and cared for by the Coulsdon Old Vehicle & Engineering Society, whose dedicated team have themselves worked hard to restore this unit to working order before being purchased by The Bluebell Railway. The unit will move to the railway in due course.
This class of unit, introduced in 1962 after the success of the Hastings and Hampshire units, was built for use on the Southern Region, specifically for use along the Oxted Line to East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells West. Built as No. 1305, its allocation in BR days was at St Leonards and Eastleigh, ending its days at Selhurst, before being passed into preservation. Amongst its many passenger duties, this class of DEMU used to regularly work out of London Bridge or London Victoria to East Grinstead passenger services and may well have ventured on to Imberhorne Viaduct prior to Bluebell ownership.
