Since the story of the Bluebell Railway is a remarkable one of overcoming obstacles and succeeding against all the odds, a mere pandemic stood little chance of scuppering the 60th birthday party of this famous Sussex attraction.
And so a sizeable socially distanced crowd gathered in the glorious sunshine as the first train since lockdown pulled slowly out of Sheffield Park on 7 August to signal the resumption of service and the commencement of the diamond anniversary celebrations.
Six-year-old Alex Venton from Petworth was given the honour of blowing the whistle to get the wheels rolling as a thank you for emptying his moneybox to help the not-for-profit railway deal with the financial crisis brought about by COVID-19. Alex’s mother said: “He read about the appeal in the railway’s newsletter and asked if he could give the £6.10 in his money box.”
Alex’s glorious gesture was replicated by thousands of supporters from the UK and around the world eager to help at a time of crisis. Trevor Swainson, funding governor of the Bluebell Railway Trust, explained: “We ran a pilot fundraising appeal to test the willingness of people to support the railway. The target was £25,000 but this was soon passed. We then set an ambitious target of £300,000.
We feared the worst. Would people be prepared to support us in the face of incomes reduced through furloughing and other pressures?” He need not have worried as the total raised reached a staggering £400,000. And money is still coming in.
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