10 hours Ago
Argus Camera Club snappers have captured a special Christmas steam train on its route through Sussex. To celebrate the festive season, the Sussex Belle travelled from London Victoria on Wednesday, November 20 to the Sussex coast, crossing the North and South Downs and passing through the beautiful countryside of the Weald. The train was steam hauled by an LMS Black 5 locomotive which regularly works the Jacobite in Scotland, also known as Hogwart’s Express.
The Sussex Belle passing through Plumpton on it's way to Eastbourne (Image: Keith Duke) After leaving London Victoria, the steam train journeyed south along the main line towards Brighton before hurtling across the Weald, an ancient area of woodland scattered with farms and villages. The train passed through Cooksbridge to Lewes before joining the East Coastway Line which runs from Brighton to Eastbourne, Hastings and Ashford. Next passengers were taken through the South Downs.
The stream train chugging past Balcombe station (Image: Malcolm Thomason) The train attracted plenty of attention with many people crowding platforms and bridges to get pictures. The train evokes the time of the Southern Belle Pullman Express, which once ran between Brighton and London Victoria in 60 minutes and billed itself as “The most luxurious train in the world”..
