Hellingly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Hellingly, Wealden England |
| Grid reference | TQ584120 |
| 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 | |
| 5 April 1880 [1] | Station opened |
| 14 June 1965 | Station closed to passengers |
Hellingly was a railway station on the now closed Polegate to Eridge line (the Cuckoo Line) in East Sussex. It served the village of Hellingly.
The station was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway on 5 April 1880 It was on the line extension from Hailsham to Eridge. The station closed to passenger traffic on 14 June 1965 [2] but freight trains continued to pass through until 1968 when the line was closed completely.
There was also a separate platform for passengers visiting Hellingly Hospital by tram, until 1933, the passenger service via Tramcar being discontinued from 1931. The line, known as the Hellingly Hospital Railway continued in use for transporting coal wagons from Hellingly Station for use at the Hospital until 1959.
The station featured in the 1964 film Smokescreen. The two investigators visited the station and met the station master, who said that the whole line would be closed the following year. There are some excellent shots along the platform towards the road bridge. Also clearly visible is one of the 3-car stop marks put in on this line for the Class 207 'Oxted' diesel units.[ citation needed ]
The station building survives today as a private residence, complete with canopy. The "Cuckoo Trail" public footpath and cycleway now runs along the trackbed.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horam Line and station closed | British Rail Southern Region Cuckoo Line | Hailsham Line and station closed |
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 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.
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.
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. There are currently major improvement works improving access for the disabled.
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.
Hellingly is a village, and can also refer to a civil parish, and to a district ward, in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England.
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.
Mayfield was a railway station on the now closed Eridge to Polegate cross country line. It was built by London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and closed under the Beeching Axe in 1965. The station building is now a private residence. The trackbed and platforms have been removed and their site is now the occupied by the Mayfield by-pass (A267).
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.
There are 22 disused railway stations in the 75 miles (121 km) between Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter St Davids, 12 of which have structures that can still be seen from passing trains. Most were closed in the 1960s but four of them, especially around Weston-super-Mare, were replaced by stations on new sites. 13 stations remain open on the line today, but there have been proposals to reopen stations at Cullompton and Wellington.
There are eleven disused railway stations between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth Millbay, Devon, England. At eight of these there are visible remains. Of the eleven stations, South Brent and Plympton are subject of campaigns for reopening while Ivybridge station was replaced by another station on a different site.
There are seventeen disused railway stations on the Cornish Main Line between Plymouth in Devon and Penzance in Cornwall, England. The remains of nine of these can be seen from passing trains. While a number of these were closed following the so-called "Beeching Axe" in the 1960s, many of them had been closed much earlier, the traffic for which they had been built failing to materialise.
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.
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 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.
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.
Coordinates: 50°53′10″N0°15′05″E / 50.8860°N 0.2514°E
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