Barcombe | |
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General information | |
Location | Barcombe, Lewes District, East Sussex England |
Coordinates | 50°55′24″N0°00′56″E / 50.9234°N 0.0155°E Coordinates: 50°55′24″N0°00′56″E / 50.9234°N 0.0155°E |
Grid reference | TQ416157 |
Platforms | 1 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Pre-grouping | London, Brighton and South Coast Railway |
Post-grouping | Southern Railway Southern Region of British Railways |
Key dates | |
1 August 1882 | Opened as "New Barcombe" |
1 January 1885 | Renamed "Barcombe" |
29 May 1955 | Closed |
Barcombe was a railway station serving the village of Barcombe in East Sussex. It was part of the East Grinstead to Lewes line, part of which now makes up the Bluebell Railway. The station was originally opened as "New Barcombe" to distinguish it from the nearby station of Barcombe Mills (then called 'Barcombe') and was changed to its more usual name on 1 January 1885. In 1897 goods sidings were installed at a cost of £1450. [1]
It was planned to close the line and the station on 13 June 1955, although they actually closed on 29 May due to a railway strike. The line closure was found to be illegal under the original acts authorising construction of the railway and British Railways were forced to reopen it in August 1956. However, the station was not reopened as it was not mentioned in the legislation.
After Parliament repealed the sections in question, the line was closed in March 1958 under the British Railways Branch-Line Report (prior to the Beeching Axe) and the track was lifted in 1960 from south of Sheffield Park to Culver Junction. Subsequently, Barcombe station building was sold and was converted into a private house. The platform edge is still visible but the trackbed has been infilled up to about one foot below platform level. [2]
Despite the re-opening of part of the East Grinstead-Lewes line by the Bluebell Railway, an extension south from its headquarters at Sheffield Park seems improbable in the short term as the intermediate station, Newick and Chailey is now covered by housing, and several overbridges would have to be rebuilt. [3]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Newick and Chailey Line and station closed | London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Lewes and East Grinstead Railway | Lewes Line closed, station open |
Bernard Holden, former president of the Bluebell Railway, was born in Barcombe Station in 1908. His father was the station master at the time. [4]
The Bluebell Railway is an 11 mi (17.7 km) heritage line almost entirely in West Sussex in England, except for Sheffield Park which is in East Sussex. It is managed by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. It uses steam trains which operate between Sheffield Park and East Grinstead, with intermediate stations at Horsted Keynes and Kingscote.
The Spa Valley Railway (SVR) is a standard gauge heritage railway that runs from Tunbridge Wells West railway station in Tunbridge Wells to High Rocks, Groombridge, and Eridge, where it links with the Oxted Line. En route it crosses the Kent and East Sussex border, a distance of 5 miles (8 km), along the former Wealden Line between Tunbridge Wells Central and Lewes. The railway headquarters is at Tunbridge Wells West railway station.
The Lavender Line is a heritage railway based at Isfield Station, near Uckfield in East Sussex, England.
The Oxted line is a railway in southern England and part of the Southern franchise. The railway splits into two branches towards the south and has direct trains throughout to London termini.
East Grinstead railway station is one of the two southern termini of the Oxted line in the south of England and serves East Grinstead in West Sussex. It is 30 miles 4 chains from London Bridge, although trains mostly run to and from London Victoria. The station is managed by Southern.
Barcombe is an East Sussex village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex. The parish has four settlements: old Barcombe, the oldest settlement in the parish with the parish church; Barcombe Cross, the more populous settlement and main hub with the amenities and services; the hamlet of Spithurst in the north east and Town Littleworth in the north west.
Newick is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located on the A272 road six miles (9.7 km) east of Haywards Heath.
Newick and Chailey was a railway station located in North Chailey and located near the villages of Newick and Chailey in East Sussex, England. It was part of the East Grinstead to Lewes line, part of which now makes up the Bluebell Railway.
Tunbridge Wells West is a railway station located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. It is one of two railway stations in Tunbridge Wells constructed by rival companies. The other, Tunbridge Wells Central was opened in 1845 by the South Eastern Railway (SER). Tunbridge Wells West was closed to mainline passenger services in 1985, but part of it still remains as a heritage railway line. Opened in 1996, it stands next to the original engine shed. The line is called the Spa Valley Railway.
Kingscote railway station is a preserved railway station on the heritage Bluebell Railway, located in West Sussex, England.
Ardingly was a railway station which served the West Sussex village of Ardingly in England. It was opened on 3 September 1883 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) closed eighty years later and is currently used as an aggregates depot. The Bluebell Railway owns the trackbed from just east of the station to Horsted Keynes and has long-term plans to rebuild the line.
Sheffield Park is the southern terminus of the Bluebell Railway and also the headquarters of the line. It is located on the southern bank of the River Ouse and is also situated on the Greenwich Meridian.
Groombridge railway station is a station on the Spa Valley Railway (SVR) in Groombridge, East Sussex, England. Once a busy station serving four directions, it closed in 1985 to British Rail services. A new station the other side of Station Road bridge was opened by the SVR in 1997 as part of a standard gauge heritage railway to Tunbridge Wells West.
Withyham was a railway station on the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line which closed in 1967, a casualty of the Beeching Axe. The station opened on 1 October 1866 and the buildings were designed by Charles Henry Driver. The station building survived the closure and is now a private residence named the "Old Withyham Station"; much of the trackbed as far as Groombridge and Three Bridges are part of the Worth Way and Forest Way cyclepath/footpaths.
The Wealden Line is a partly abandoned double track railway line in East Sussex and Kent that connected Lewes with Tunbridge Wells, a distance of 25.25 miles (40.64 km). The line takes its name from the Weald, the hilly landscape the lies between the North and South Downs.
Barcombe Mills is a disused railway station in the hamlet of Barcombe Mills, on the closed section of the Wealden Line. The station was opened in 1858 and closed in 1969.
Isfield is a preserved railway station on the closed section of the Wealden Line which served the East Sussex village of Isfield near Uckfield. Originally opened in 1858, the station closed in 1969 and was sold into private hands in 1983 to subsequently become the current centrepiece of the Lavender Line, a heritage railway.
Lewes Road railway station was a railway station in Brighton, East Sussex. It was located on the now closed Kemp Town branch line which first opened in 1869. The station opened on 1 September 1873 and was closed to passengers in 1933 but the line remained opened for goods trains until 1971.
Bernard John Holden MBE was an English railway engineer and manager with Southern and British Railways and a founding father of standard gauge railway preservation in the United Kingdom. He was President of the Bluebell Railway in Sussex for over twenty years until his death.
Thomas Harrison Myres FRIBA was an English railway architect who designed stations and ancillary buildings for the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway lines that were opened between 1880 and 1883, including several on what is now the Bluebell Railway. He was the son-in-law of the railway company's chief engineer, Frederick Banister. Although most of the lines for which Myres designed the buildings have been closed, many of his buildings survive as private residences. Several of the buildings designed by him are listed buildings, including the goods shed at Singleton in West Sussex which was declared Grade II in April 2013.
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