The Blackie Fund 

This fund exists to raise money to compete the repairs to the firebox and boiler of our Hunslet 0-6-0. The locomotive has resided at Isfield for the past 15 years and was in traffic until early 2004 when it was withdrawn due to a wasted firebox. 

Our engineering staff are already undertaking a large amount of the dismantling work which involves removal of all the tubes and detaching the foundation ring and inner firebox from the firebox end of the boiler. The boiler will then have to be inspected by experts and partially rebuilt with new plate-work to the inner and outer fireboxes sections and then reassembled.

We are unable to do the rebuilding work at Isfield and the estimated costs of this large repair currently stand at about £60,000 which to a society of our size is a colossal sum.

On the 31st May Blackie's boiler is due to be loaded onto a lorry and dispatched to Mcewan's Boilerworks in Keighly to begin the restoration work. At first the boiler will be stripped for examination to find out exactly what is required to effect a long lasting repair to ensure the boiler and firebox are good for another 50 years or so. However will only be the start of of what we know will be an expensive process and our limited funds will soon be depleted and so  we are looking to raise another £60,000 over the next two years to complete the work. 

We now have a dedicated fund for the restoration of Blackie - i.e. any money donated will not be diverted to other causes. Donations towards this project are much needed so if you feel you would like to help, please contact Rod Peters on 01273 548221 - your reward will be to see this powerful locomotive action once again and all persons donating a significant sum will be eligible for a cab ride once the locomotive is back in traffic.

Having obtained the best working DEMU from the national railway we now have to maintain it. Alas it was not is as good a condition as it should have been and we are already finding that the lack of regular maintenance and care has already taken its toll. We require therefore funds for the following causes

1) Two new battery sets (80cells in total) approx £4,000 

2) Re-skinning many of the doors approx £5,000

3) Obtaining spare electrical and mechanical parts £5,000

4) Repair and repainting of the outer skins £2,500

4) The eventual disposal of the unit £7,000

If you would like to help our with the costs of any of these projects, please contact Chris Chaimberlain our chief mechanical engineer at the railway at weekends on 01825 750515 or write to him at the railway.

We are trying all the time to improve our facilities for visitors and to that end have plans to extend our facilities on platform 2 to build a new shop and museum complex. Our current facilities are primitive and in sore need of upgrading.

This project will always come second best to other more prestigious ones and so is all the more in need of funds.

If you feel you could help, please contact our treasurer Rod Peters on 01273 548221.

Since completing our northern extension, our attention has now turned to working on our current running line and extending the current long siding into a second running line. 

The eventual aim is to have two parallel lines running at least until the top crossing and possibly until the end of the current line and with the main line running until its current limit. The work will cost many thousands of pounds for sleepers, ballast and rail as well as for point work needed to complete the project. 

If you feel you would like to contribute to these costs, please contact Barry Monk at the railway on 01825 750515 on most Sundays and railway operating days .