Groombridge | |
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Station on heritage railway | |
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General information | |
Location | Groombridge, Wealden, East Sussex England |
Coordinates | 51°06′43″N0°11′16″E / 51.11194°N 0.18778°E |
Grid reference | TQ533372 |
Owned by | Southern Railway Southern Region of British Railways Spa Valley Railway |
Managed by | London, Brighton and South Coast Railway |
Platforms | new station 1 (original station 3) |
Key dates | |
1 October 1866 | Opened |
4 November 1968 | Goods facilities withdrawn |
8 July 1985 [1] | Closed to passengers |
August 1997 | Reopened by Spa Valley Railway |
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.
The first Groombridge station was opened in 1866 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) when it extended its Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line to Tunbridge Wells.
Two years later, the station's importance increased with the completion of the line from Lewes. At that time, trains from Lewes and Uckfield could only reach East Grinstead by reversing at Groombridge.
In 1878, authority was obtained to lay a single-track spur south of Ashurst Junction, which would enable services to bypass Groombridge. Although completed in 1888, this spur remained largely unused until 1914. It was eventually doubled to handle increased traffic on the Cuckoo Line and regular services to Uckfield. [2] This reduced the importance of Groombridge as a junction station, as direct Victoria - Crowborough/Uckfield services no longer had to reverse at there. The opening of the spur meant that more services were routed through Eridge, which became the point where London trains were divided for the two lines south. [3] To compensate for this loss, slip coaches were shed from some down trains at Ashurst. [4]
Upon the completion of the Cuckoo Line in 1880, which opened up a route to Eastbourne via Polegate, the line between Eridge and Groombridge was doubled. At the same time, a crossover was constructed on the western side of the station, together with associated signalling equipment, and later the Groombridge West signal box. [4] A second box, "Groombridge Junction", was provided on the opening of the Cuckoo Line, and a third, "Groombridge West" (the first box's name was changed to "Groombridge East"), was added in 1888 after the opening of the Oxted Line. Within 10 years of nationalisation, the three signal boxes had been closed by British Rail and replaced by a single box on 23 November 1958 when the Groombridge section was resignalled. [5]
Designed by Charles Henry Driver, [6] the Groombridge station building is located on the east side of Station Road, and is architecturally designed to be "the exact counterpart in miniature of Tunbridge Wells". [7] The building is made of red brick with string courses of blue and white brick, and features coloured brick reveals on the doors and windows. Originally, the stationmaster's residence was on the western side of the building, adjacent to a booking hall. A new goods and parcels office was added to the eastern end of the building, next to the gentlemen's toilets. [8]
The station was equipped with three platform faces, with the main station platform used for down trains, and the far side of the island platform served the up trains. A double track ran through the station, with a third line splaying out to the other side of the island before merging once again with the line to Tunbridge Wells. [9] A subway led from the main platform to the island platform, which previously had no passenger facilities until 1896; upon the urging of a passenger, a waiting room and buffet were added at a cost of £2,300. [8]
Four sets of goods sidings lay to the north of the main station, serving a carriage dock, blacksmith's shop, and stable. [9] The extensive goods yard and generous facilities did not, however, see much use, and the Southern Railway used the station as a collection point for empty wagons and, at one point, as a holding yard for Tunbridge-bound trains. [5]
A footbridge was installed in 1889 to the west of the station, replacing deep cutting steps that led down the embankment on either side of the footpath; the use of those steps was becoming more dangerous with the increasing traffic. By 1899, the levels of traffic generated from the Oxted Line prompted the LBSCR to invest in extending the island platform and re-aligning the track around it.
Prior to 1965, north-south train services ran in two sections: Victoria - Tunbridge Wells West, and Tunbridge Wells West - Brighton/Eastbourne; the two sections were interconnected at Groombridge, where Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells coaches were detached from London trains. [10] The traffic grew from around 80 trains per day in the 1900s to 120 in the 1930s and more than 200 per day in the 1950s. [11] However, the pattern of operations changed significantly in the wake of the Beeching Report, when the relative importance of Groombridge and Eridge as railway junctions diminished with the closure of one after another of the lines in the area. The Cuckoo Line was the first to go in June 1965, followed by the line from Three Bridges and East Grinstead in January 1967, and then the Uckfield line to the south of Uckfield in 1969. The line between Ashurst Junction and Groombridge was taken out on 5 January 1969. At the same time, the 1958 signal box was closed, leaving the block signalling section between Tunbridge Wells West and Birchden Junction. [12]
The section from Birchden Junction to Grove Junction remained open with an hourly off-peak 3-coach DEMU shuttle between Eridge and Tonbridge, with connecting services at Eridge provided for Uckfield line passengers. [13] By the 1980s, the section had been gradually run down with little maintenance and disruptions to service patterns. All of these factors took its toll on passenger numbers, although some commuter traffic remained. [14]
Groombridge station was staffed on the morning shift only by the wife of a railwayman at Tunbridge Wells West, who kept the station clean and . The 1958 signal box remained boarded-up, and the goods yard contained a moribund coal merchant's business. In 1985, the Department for Transport gave British Rail permission to close the line from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells with additonal alternative bus services being provided. It was announced that the last service would run on 6 July. Empty carriage stock trains continued to pass through the station until the last train on 10 August 1985, after which the line was closed completely. [14]
A private company called "Surrey Downs Ltd" proposed running a joint service with BR from Tonbridge to Uckfield, but this never materialised amid scepticism from BR that somebody outside the industry could make a loss-making line pay. [14]
The Spa Valley Railway obtained the trackbed between Tunbridge Wells West and Birchden Junction in March 1996. The first public services started in December 1996 running for under one mile from Tunbridge Wells West. In After much hard work, the public service from Tunbridge Wells West to Groombridge was reinstated in August 1997. [15] As the original Groombridge station building had been turned into a private residence, and the old ticket offices now serve as offices for a local financial adviser, a new station had to be constructed on the opposite side of the road bridge. Access to the new station is provided via the old main station platform, which has been extended. The new single track had to be laid to curve along the trackbed of the old up-loop line into the new station due to houses have been built on part of the former trackbed. [16]
Canopies have been erected on the station, using the former canopy supports from Gravesend West station. The signal box has been updated from the current picture, and the LBSCR signal frame (originally from the Birchden Junction signal box) has been installed, and was first operated on 1 August 2014. A new refreshment kiosk has also been constructed, selling local produce, hot and cold drinks, and ice creams. The section of line between Groombridge to Eridge reopened on 25 March 2011.
The Spa Valley Railway (SVR) is a standard gauge heritage railway in the United Kingdom that runs from Tunbridge Wells West railway station in Royal Tunbridge Wells to High Rocks, Groombridge, and Eridge, where it links with the Oxted Line.
The Lavender Line is a heritage railway based at Isfield Station, near Uckfield in East Sussex, England.
The Oxted line is a railway line in southern England. It runs from the Brighton Main Line at South Croydon in Greater London to Hurst Green Junction in Surrey, where its two branches diverge. The western branch continues via Lingfield to East Grinstead in West Sussex, whereas the eastern branch runs via Edenbridge in Kent and Crowborough in East Sussex to Uckfield. The line is named after the town of Oxted in Surrey and also serves parts of the London Borough of Croydon. The 18-mile-26-chain (29.5 km) South Croydon–East Grinstead section is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system and is double track throughout. The unelectrified Hurst Green Junction–Uckfield section is 24 mi 53 ch (39.7 km) in length and, south of Hever, is mostly single track.
The East Coastway line is a railway line along the south coast of Sussex to the east of Brighton, England. Trains to the west of Brighton operate on the West Coastway line. Together with the West Coastway and the Marshlink line to the east, the line forms part of a continuous route from Havant to Ashford. The Brighton Main Line route to Eastbourne and Hastings, via Plumpton and Cooksbridge, shares the East Coastway line east of Lewes station.
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.
Uckfield railway station is the southern terminus of a branch of the Oxted Line in England, serving the town of Uckfield, East Sussex. It is 46 miles 8 chains (74.2 km) from London Bridge.
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.
Hurst Green railway station is on the Oxted line in southern England and serves the Hurst Green neighbourhood of Oxted in Surrey. It is 21 miles 20 chains from London Bridge. The station is managed by Southern.
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.
Groombridge is a village of about 1,600 people. It straddles the border between Kent and East Sussex, in England. The nearest large town is Royal Tunbridge Wells, about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) away by road.
Tunbridge Wells West is a railway station located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. 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. A new station on part of the site has been opened as a heritage railway line opened in 1996. It stands next to the original engine shed which has been restored to use. The line is called the Spa Valley Railway.
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.
The Cuckoo Line is an informal name for the now defunct railway service which linked Polegate and Eridge 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'. 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 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.
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.
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.
The Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway (SSJR) was an abortive railway scheme to link Croydon to Tunbridge Wells, via Oxted. The company obtained powers to build the line, with the intention that it would be worked by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). The project was abandoned, before completion, in 1867. Much of the trackbed was used in the 1880s for the construction of the Oxted line.
Frederick Dale Banister MICE, was an English civil engineer, best known for his 35 years as the Chief Engineer of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR).
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.