Cuckoo Line

Cuckoo Line
Cuckoo Line
Overview
Status	Disused
Owner	LB&SCR;; Southern Railway ; British Railways
Locale	East Sussex and Kent.
Termini	Polegate ; Eridge ;
Stations	8
Service
Type	Branch Line
System	National Rail Network
Services	Eastbourne to Tonbridge
Depot(s)	Eastbourne Depot;; Tunbridge Wells West
History
Opened	1880
Closed	1965-1968
Technical
Number of tracks	Single
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
	Legend
	Hastings line
	to Tonbridge
	Hastings line
	to Hastings
	Oxted line
	to London Victoria
	Three Bridges–Tun. W. Central Line
	to East Grinstead
	Oxted line
	to Uckfield
	265 yd
	242 m
	Ouse Valley Railway
	to Bulverhythe
	Ouse Valley Railway
	to Balcombe
	East Coastway line
	to Lewes & Eastbourne

Last updated May 29, 2023

50°49′52″N0°15′11″E / 50.831°N 0.253°E

The Cuckoo Line^[1]^[2] is an informal name for the now defunct railway service which linked Polegate and Eridge ^[3] in East Sussex, England, from 1880 to 1968. It was nicknamed the Cuckoo Line by drivers, from a tradition observed at the annual fair at Heathfield, a station on the route. At the fair, which was held each April, a lady would release a cuckoo from a basket, it being supposedly the 'first cuckoo of spring'.^[4] The railway line served the following Sussex communities: Polegate, Hailsham, Hellingly, Horam for Waldron, Heathfield, Mayfield, Rotherfield and Eridge. Services continued through Eridge and onward via Groombridge to Tunbridge Wells.

The Hailsham-Eridge section closed in 1965, the Polegate-Hailsham branch surviving until 1968. Eridge-Tunbridge Wells closed in 1985, and this line has been resurrected as the Spa Valley Railway.

History

The Cuckoo Line was built by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in two sections, starting with the branch from Polegate to Hailsham which opened to traffic on 14 May 1849. It diverged from the main Eastbourne to London line at Polegate, and ran northwards on a single track to the market town of Hailsham, which was the terminus for 31 years until the line through to Eridge had been completed by Frederick Banister; which opened to traffic to Heathfield on 5 April 1880^[5] and to Eridge in September 1880.^[6] The station buildings were designed by Banister's son-in-law, Thomas Myres.^[7]

The line then passed through the villages of Hellingly (where a link to the Hellingly Hospital Railway joined the route, worked by overhead electric traction), Horam, Heathfield, Mayfield, Rotherfield & Mark Cross, then via Redgate Mill Junction to join the Oxted Line for Eridge. The route continued north-eastwards, leaving the Oxted Line at Birchden Junction heading for Groombridge, High Rocks Halt and eventually Tunbridge Wells West. Through trains could continue on the single-track connection through Grove Tunnel to join the Hastings Line (heading towards Tunbridge Wells Central) at Grove Junction

Horam station was originally built as Horeham Road. In 1900 it was renamed Waldron & Horeham Road.^[8] Over the years, Horeham changed to Horam as the hamlet grew around the station, prompted by growth including an Express Dairies depot, and the name changed again in 1935, before becoming simply Horam in September 1953.

The line from Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells (via East Grinstead High Level and Groombridge) opened on 1 October 1866, with the connecting line from Uckfield via Eridge opening on 3 August 1868. The connection between the LBSCR station at Tunbridge Wells West and Tunbridge Wells Central opened on 1 February 1876. This single-line section passed through the short Grove Tunnel to Grove Junction, sited a little south of the South Eastern Railway station on its Hastings Line.^[9] In 1881 a new track alignment was built between Polegate and Hailsham allowing trains to run into Polegate at the west end of the station and direct to Eastbourne.

At the 'Grouping' in 1923, the railway passed into the control of the Southern Railway. When the Southern Railway was nationalised in 1948, the line became part of the Southern Region of British Railways.

Incidents

The line had a good safety record: there was only one reported accident on the line. On 1 September 1897 at Tooth's Bank, 2 miles north of Heathfield, the 08:18am service from Eastbourne was running around 4 minutes late and was trying to pick up time in order to meet a connecting train at Groombridge. As the train entered the curve at around 40 mph it left the tracks. Driver James McKinlay was killed and Fireman Lewis Minns seriously injured, whilst 30 passengers suffered minor injuries.^[6] At the subsequent inquiry, Lt. Col. G. W. Addison reported that the main cause of the accident was excessive speed as the driver was attempting to make up lost time in order to make a connection at Groombridge. The track itself was in poor shape with many rotten sleepers and "curves having irregular elevation" which contributed to the accident. Following the inquiry, much of the track was relaid and the train scheduling was altered.^[10]

In April 1968 a lorry collided with a low road bridge under the line at Horsebridge north of Hailsham damaging the bridge causing immediate closure of the line. As the freight train service between Hailsham and Heathfield was due to be withdrawn the following month it was not considered worthwhile repairing the bridge so the line was prematurely abandoned forthwith. Some wagons isolated at Heathfield goods yard were cut up on site.^{[ citation needed ]}

Closure

Following the Beeching Report in 1963, the line was recommended for closure. The section from Eridge to Hailsham was closed to passenger traffic in 1965 (the section between Heathfield and Hailsham remaining open for freight until 1968), whilst the short branch from Polegate to Hailsham remained open until 8 September 1968. The closure of this section was hotly disputed^[6]– even British Railways itself agreeing that Hailsham was a growing town and that buses would be unable to cope with the demands of the increasing population.

The line between Eridge and Tunbridge Wells West remained open until 1985. Despite having survived 'Beeching', no money was spent on the line and British Rail regarded a track and signalling upgrade to be unviable. Closure was announced in February 1985, and the last passenger trains ran on 6 July 1985. Grove Junction was removed the day after closure, but the depot at Tunbridge Wells West remained in use for another month.^[9]

Preservation

A footpath and cycleway known as The Cuckoo Trail runs uses much of the former railway between Polegate and Heathfield. Polegate retains a railway station, albeit on a different site to that formerly used by Cuckoo Line trains, whilst the site of the station in Hailsham is now occupied by a housing estate and a public car park. Hellingly station (used in the 1964 film Smokescreen ) survives as a private residence. At Horam the platforms are preserved including a nameboard. Heathfield station building is now a shop selling kitchen utensils but the site of the platforms is now occupied by industrial units. At Mayfield the station building survives as a private residence but the trackbed has now been removed and replaced by the A267 Mayfield bypass. Rotherfield and Mark Cross station is a private residence. Soon after closure of the Eridge to Tunbridge Wells West section, a preservation society was formed with the intention of reinstating the passenger service on the line. The Tunbridge Wells and Eridge Railway Preservation Society (TWERPS) acquired the line in March 1996 and by December 1996 had started to run a steam-hauled passenger service along part of the route. The line has been marketed as the Spa Valley Railway and it has gradually extended services with the most recent section to Eridge opening on 25 March 2011.

In January 2019, Campaign for Better Transport released a report identifying the line was listed as Priority 2 for reopening. Priority 2 is for those lines which require further development or a change in circumstances (such as housing developments).^[11]

Related Research Articles

Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book, where it is called Hamelesham. In one part yet, mentioned in other part of the same book as ‘’’Tilux’’’, the land of Ricard de Tunbrige. The town of Hailsham has a history of industry and agriculture.

The Spa Valley Railway (SVR) is a standard gauge heritage railway in England that runs from Tunbridge Wells West railway station in Tunbridge Wells to High Rocks, Groombridge, and Eridge, where it links with the Oxted Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polegate railway station</span> Railway station in East Sussex, England

Polegate railway station serves Polegate in East Sussex, England. It is on the East Coastway Line, 61 miles 39 chains (99.0 km) from London Bridge, and train services are provided by Southern.

Eridge railway station is on the Uckfield branch of the Oxted line in southern England and serves a rural district around Eridge in East Sussex. It is 35 miles 53 chains from London Bridge. The station is managed by Southern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wealden (UK Parliament constituency)</span>

Wealden is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Nus Ghani, a Conservative. Ghani is the first Muslim woman to be elected as a Conservative member of Parliament.

The Cuckoo Trail is a 14-mile (23 km) footpath and cycleway which runs from Hampden Park to Heathfield in East Sussex. It passes through the towns of Polegate and Hailsham, as well as the villages of Hellingly and Horam.

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.

Hellingly was a railway station on the now closed Polegate to Eridge line in East Sussex. It served the village of Hellingly.

Rotherfield and Mark Cross is the name of a closed station on the Eridge - Heathfield - Polegate railway in East Sussex. The station was built by London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and closed with the line in 1965.

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.

Hailsham Railway Station was on the Cuckoo Line between Polegate and Hellingly serving the town of Hailsham. Originally built in 1849 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway it was a terminus station serving both passengers and livestock for the nearby market. It remained a terminus until 1880 when it was connected with Eridge on a single line railway.

Heathfield railway station was on the Cuckoo Line between Horam and Mayfield, serving the market town of Heathfield.

Horam railway station was on the Cuckoo Line between Hellingly and Heathfield, serving the village of Horam.

The Three Bridges–Tunbridge Wells line is a mostly disused railway line running from Three Bridges in West Sussex to Tunbridge Wells Central in Kent via East Grinstead in West Sussex, a distance of 20 miles 74 chains (33.7 km). Opened in 1855, the main section of the line was a casualty of the Beeching Axe – the last train ran on 1 January 1967. The remaining section to Tunbridge Wells closed on 6 July 1985, although the section between Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells West was reopened in 1997 under the auspices of the Spa Valley Railway.

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.

The Hellingly Hospital Railway was a light railway owned and operated by East Sussex County Council, used for transporting coal and passengers to Hellingly Hospital, a psychiatric hospital near Hailsham, from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's Cuckoo Line at Hellingly railway station.

National Cycle Route 21 is part of the United Kingdom's National Cycle Network. It runs from Greenwich in South-East London south to Crawley, then east to Groombridge and south to Eastbourne, with a short final loop northwards again to its end at Pevensey.

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.

References

↑ Baker, S.K. (1980). Rail Atlas of Britain (3rd ed.). Oxford Publishing Company. p. 12. ISBN 0-86093-106-4.
↑ Conolly, W. Philip (1976) [1958]. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Ian Allan Ltd. p. 5. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3.
↑ "Cuckoo Line", GeoHack 50°50′13″N0°27′36″E / 50.837°N 0.460°E / 50.837; 0.460 ^{[ user-generated source? ]}
↑ "The Cuckoo Line". Villagenet. 2000. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
↑ Catford, Nick (21 May 2017). "Hellingly". Disused Stations.
1 2 3 Elliott, A.C. (1989). The Cuckoo Line. Wild Swan Publications Ltd. pp. 23, 33, 139. ISBN 0-906867-63-0.
↑ Green, Alan H.J. (July 2013). "The railway buildings of T. H. Myres". Newsletter of the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society (159): 12.
↑ Catford, Nick. "Horam Station". Disused Stations. Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
1 2 Catford, Nick. "Tubridge Wells West Station". Subterranea Britannica. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
↑ "Derailment at Tooth's Bank on 1 September 1897". The Sussex Motive Power Depots. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
↑ Campaign for Better Transport (January 2019). "The case for expanding the rail network" (PDF). p. 42.

External links

The History Files: Railway Walks - Polegate to Eridge

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[RAOB-1] Baker, S.K. (1980). Rail Atlas of Britain (3rd ed.). Oxford Publishing Company. p. 12. ISBN 0-86093-106-4.

[BRPGAG-2] Conolly, W. Philip (1976) [1958]. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Ian Allan Ltd. p. 5. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3.

[3] "Cuckoo Line", GeoHack 50°50′13″N0°27′36″E / 50.837°N 0.460°E / 50.837; 0.460 ^{[ user-generated source? ]}

[4] "The Cuckoo Line". Villagenet. 2000. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.

[5] Catford, Nick (21 May 2017). "Hellingly". Disused Stations.

[isbn0-906867-63-0-6] 1 2 3 Elliott, A.C. (1989). The Cuckoo Line. Wild Swan Publications Ltd. pp. 23, 33, 139. ISBN 0-906867-63-0.

[7] Green, Alan H.J. (July 2013). "The railway buildings of T. H. Myres". Newsletter of the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society (159): 12.

[8] Catford, Nick. "Horam Station". Disused Stations. Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 24 June 2007.

[SBTWW-9] 1 2 Catford, Nick. "Tubridge Wells West Station". Subterranea Britannica. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2007.

[10] "Derailment at Tooth's Bank on 1 September 1897". The Sussex Motive Power Depots. Retrieved 24 January 2015.

[11] Campaign for Better Transport (January 2019). "The case for expanding the rail network" (PDF). p. 42.

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