Great Bush Railway & Tinker's Park

Imagine all the traditional types of clanking, puffing and whirring machines that a person might like, add the patina of age and assemble a huge collection on a farm in the beautiful verdant Sussex countryside. Tinker’s Park is just that.

Started around the 1950’s by Claude & Joyce Jessett (part of the Brasher/ Braysher family) and at a time when the farms, quarries and scrap merchants were overrun with an excess of interesting machinery, the collection steadily grew. Claude was evidently very keen; he even chopped the tail off of a Dakota fuselage and mounted it on wheels, making a touring caravan for his honeymoon. The collection includes everything from Welsh slate wagons, a green godess, the Dakota tail, bren gun carrier, Daimler ‘Dingo’(?) armoured car, ploughs, one or two Matador trucks, one or two sentinel steam trucks, many traction engines and fairground organs, plus all of the railway items - too much to list, and lots of brambles and bushes hiding even more stuff. Transport buff heaven.

Joyce Jessett succeeded her husband and set up the Claude Jessett Trust just before her death a few years ago.

Several little diesels (two of these being the sole surviving diesel locos from the Penrhyn quarry lines), and the O&K 0-6-0WT steam loco (11784 of 1928), operate on the 2’ gauge Great Bush Railway. The Ruston (183744/1937) and several of the Hudson skips are Ex-APCM Rodmell which link into my earlier days inasmuch as they were my first intro to narrow gauge back in 1975. The majority of the images in this collection are of a visit which I organised on 19th July 2008 for twenty members of the East Surrey 16mm Group (16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers Association); the first private charter of the Great Bush Railway. Other oddments are dated appropriately.

Remnants of old NG between Bulverhythe & Crowhurst, E.Sussex. 31st July 2010 017.jpg	Remnants of old NG between Bulverhythe & Crowhurst, E.Sussex. 31st July 2010 018.jpg	Statfold Barn's visiting quarry Hunslet 'Jack Lane'. TP Rail Gala 1st Aug 2010 019.jpg	Statfold Barn's visiting quarry Hunslet 'Jack Lane'. TP Rail Gala 1st Aug 2010 020.jpg
Statfold Barn's visiting quarry Hunslet 'Jack Lane'. TP Rail Gala 1st Aug 2010 021.jpg	Statfold Barn's visiting quarry Hunslet 'Jack Lane'. TP Rail Gala 1st Aug 2010 022.jpg	Main yard area, looking east 023.jpg	Main yard area 024a.jpg
Main yard area 025a.jpg	June 2004 026 ScannedPrint.jpg	June 2004 027 ScannedPrint .jpg	Ex-APCM Rodmell Ruston. 183744 of 1937. June 2004 028 ScannedPrint.jpg
Ex-APCM Rodmell Ruston. 183744 of 1937. July 2008 029a.jpg	Here's Ruston 183744 with another at APCM Rodmell. 22nd Aug 1975 (The second 4WDM Ruston No:177604/1936 is currently at Leiston Transport Museum, Suffolk) 030.jpg	APCM Rodmell on 22nd Aug 1975 with two Rustons, one of which is the Tinker's Park 183744 031.jpg	1702.jpg
O&K behind the great bush 1704.jpg	O&K 0-6-0WT 11784/1928. This worked for the Empresa Carbonifera de Douraro at their coal mines in Northern Portugal 1707.jpg	Vital ingredients 1712a.jpg	1714a.jpg
Main yard area; moving the Ex-Penrhyn diesel 1721a.jpg	Tea & homemade cake for club members. Spiffing elevenses 1739a.jpg	Welsh slate wagon made by De Winton 1742a.jpg	Original Dakota-tail caravan 1743a.jpg
Restoration workshop 1745a.jpg	Top of the bank 1752a.jpg	1762a.jpg	Main yard area 1773a.jpg
At the top of the bank 1775a.jpg	O&K 0-6-0WT 11784/1928. This worked for the Empresa Carbonifera de Douraro at their coal mines in Northern Portugal 1779a.jpg	Climbing the bank 1782a.jpg	1784a.jpg
Ex-APCM Rodmell Ruston (183744 of 1937) takes the single coach down the gradient 1796a.jpg	Interesting items everywhere 1797a.jpg	At the top of the bank 1803a.jpg	O&K 0-6-0WT 11784/1928. This worked for the Empresa Carbonifera de Douraro at their coal mines in Northern Portugal 1812a.jpg