It was one of the first preserved railways in England - it opened in 1960, shortly after the line from East Grinstead to Lewes was closed by British Railways.
The Bluebell Railway Preservation Society is working to re-instate the remaining two miles of line from Kingscote to East Grinstead, having completed the initial extension from Horsted Keynes to Kingscote in 1994.
The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers, and has a collection of steam locomotives, carriages and wagons which is unrivalled in the south of England. In addition to the 30 locomotives resident on the line, two more are on loan from the National Railway Museum.