East Grinstead Sussex England United Kingdom - This is the man who will drive the first Bluebell Railway train out of East Grinstead.
 
Russ Hubner will carry the first passengers from the town to Sheffield Park on the Bluebell line on Saturday morning.
 
It will mark a momentous return of steam trains to East Grinstead following a 55-year absence.
 
With a dwindling number of qualified drivers, Mr. Hubner was persuaded to complete a demanding practical test so that he was able to take on the role.
 
"I found out I would be the driver a couple of months ago," he said.
 
"It was a shock, but a nice shock."
 
"I never thought I would be the one controlling the first locomotive to depart from East Grinstead."
 
"I was proud, who wouldn't be? It is the biggest event in preservation for a long, long, time. One of the reasons I joined was to preserve the line."
 
Speaking to the Courier & Observer this week, Mr. Hubner explained that he will have an early start on Saturday, getting the engine ready from 4 a.m.
 
"The fireman will be lighting the fire and raising the steam, which he will do at a gentle pace," he said.
 
"While he does that I'll be preparing the engine by lubricating all of the moving parts, before undertaking a physical examination like checking the brakes, obviously things have to be safe."
 
"You get covered in oil, which is not very glamorous at 5 a.m. That takes between three and three-and-a-half hours and that is just enough time."
 
At about 7:30 a.m. Mr. Hubner will use the Birch Grove engine to push six empty carriages from Sheffield Park to the platform at East Grinstead, where it will wait for passengers to board.
 
There the train will be slowly heated to allow passengers on the 9:45 service to travel in comfort.
 

Mr. Hubner has worked on the Bluebell line since he was a teenager, starting in the workshop.
 
"I have been involved with the Bluebell for 26 years and counting. I started when I was 18-years-old and studying engineering. I had always tinkered with stuff when I was young," he said.
 
"I was reasonably interested in steam trains but I wasn't a train spotter, I was interested in the mechanical side."
 
"At about that time I volunteered in the Bluebell workshop and slowly progressed until, in 1993, I took my firing test, which made me a fireman on locomotives."
 
"I was happy to stay a fireman, they are difficult to recruit these days. But then I was persuaded to do the driving test which was a big step up because there are a lot of responsibilities. The driver is responsible not just for the locomotive but the people travelling too."
 
Describing the difference between driving the 115-year-old Birch Grove locomotive and a modern day train, Mr. Hubner, who lives in Henfield, said he relies on his instincts more.
 
"It is a lot more physical, certainly. The controls are heavy and there are no computers, no automatic systems, although the brakes have an automatic safety feature," the driver continued.
 
"On that particular engine you can't sit down and it is an altogether more involved experience. You use your senses to listen to the locomotive and smell the oil. You can hear if there is a problem before you see it."
 
Lewis Dean