Always a moot point. The Middleton wasn't actually a "preserved railway" when it operated its first diesel-hauled tramcar. However the correct/agreed wording is that Bluebell was the first to reopen a standard gauge passenger line. But also the Bluebell held its first meeting as a preservation society in March 1959, a year before Middleton. Other lines are now celebrating their anniversaries based on the date of the founding of their societies, rather than first trains!
No. 263 looks particularly impressive with the vintage coaches there at3:25.
But it wasn’t the first standard gauge railway really!
Always a moot point. The Middleton wasn't actually a "preserved railway" when it operated its first diesel-hauled tramcar. However the correct/agreed wording is that Bluebell was the first to reopen a standard gauge passenger line. But also the Bluebell held its first meeting as a preservation society in March 1959, a year before Middleton. Other lines are now celebrating their anniversaries based on the date of the founding of their societies, rather than first trains!