West Grinstead railway station

West Grinstead railway station
General information
Location	West Grinstead, Horsham, West Sussex England
Grid reference	TQ184225
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
16 Sep 1861 [1]	Opened
7 March 1966	Closed

West Grinstead railway station was a railway station on the Steyning Line which served the village of West Grinstead. It had a goods yard with a cattle loading bay and facilities for handling horse boxes. With the hunt kennels and national stud based in the area, the station saw substantial horse traffic. ^[2]

The station closed as a result of the Beeching Axe in 1966 and now forms part of the Downs Link footpath. The main station building and station worker's cottages, although now privately owned, remain, as do the station platforms. ^[3] The old stationmaster's house is now a base for the WSCC Low Weald Countryside Rangers. ^[4] The local parish council have erected a replica station sign in the vicinity, and an old railway signal has also been installed. ^[3] A British Railways Mark 1 railway carriage has also been placed on rails in the former goods yard. ^{[5] [6]}

At the south end of West Grinstead station, the Downs Link runs beneath the A272 in an underpass tunnel. It was built in 1987, when the original humpback road bridge over the railway was replaced by the current structure. ^{[7] [8]}

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Southwater		British Rail Southern Region Steyning Line		Partridge Green

Gallery

• 
  Station remains as part of the Downs Link.
• 
  West Grinstead station remains.

See also

• List of closed railway stations in Britain

References

1. "Index". Archived from the original on 17 June 2002. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
2. West Sussex County Council Press Release, 6 June 2000
3. d'Enno, Douglas (2016). Sussex Railway Stations through time. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. pp. 9–10. ISBN   978-1-44-564876-7.
4. "The station where leaves on the line are never a problem". West Sussex Gazette. No. 7797. 23 September 2004. p. S5.
5. "Information point for Downs Link walkers". West Sussex Gazette. No. 7471. 2 July 1998. p. 6.
6. "Plea for more volunteers". West Sussex County Times. 19 July 2002. p. 20.
7. "Work on bridge". West Sussex County Times. 31 October 1986. p. 13.
8. "Work to lower bridge". West Sussex County Times. 20 February 1987. p. 19.

50°59′22″N0°18′51″W / 50.9895°N 0.3143°W / 50.9895; -0.3143