A video I've put together using some original film footage kindly supplied by SouthernRailwayFilms along with some black and white photos reproduced with permission from the Middleton Press publication "Branch Lines to East Grinstead".
It was my 4 X Great Grandfather Curtis Lampson who wanted Rowfant built because he owned a lot of land that they initially built the railway on. It’s incredible to see trains actually running there. Thanks for Sharing!
Circa 1960, as a ten/eleven year old, I used to love travelling over the Three Bridges-East Grinstead line as part of my train-spotting adventures. I still can't believe that East Grinstead station wasn't given historic building status.
The so called Beeching Axe only claimed one line in Surrey that was the Guildford to Horsham route, no others as Surrey CC put money into their railways. Also Cornwall CC put money into their railways thee were the only two County Councils that found a way to finance railways in their counties that were schedule for closure as being unremunerative.
Fantastic film, thank you! I was but a small child back then unable to do anything to save these lines, if only, once again thank you for the memory!! Pete
Wow, such an amazing video. I grew up 10 minutes walk from the Grange Road site, I had a Saturday job there at Martin's, cycled along the worth way to get to my first full time job across the car park (St Margaret's Loop) across the footbridge at EG station and down the steps to work on the High street near the EG high level site. The transformation from then to now bring these places alive again. Thank you very much for sharing.
Just come to this video 7 years after posting. I've used the Worth way (Three Bridges - East Grinstead) for many years and it's a lovely route. The construction of the M23 and all the housing in Crawley Down have safely ensured that this line would be very expensive to reopen.
Excellent quality video although rather depressing to see the results of Dr. Beeching's axe. Interesting to see the steam engines working as a sort of multiple unit with a `DVT' carriage at the front. Thanks for posting this important piece of railway history.
Very well put together! For more graphic exposition for East Grinstead's high and low level station's - Tony Hancock's film "The Rebel" has a magnificent sequence.
Just stumbled on this. Great video and, oh such memories for me. I grew up in Crawley and Three Bridges was our local station. Dad had made friends with the signalman at Rowant and Sundays we either walked or got the train to the station. The signalman showed me how to pull the levers, close the level crossing gates, send the bell signals and get the single line staffs from the machine. Other kids had train sets, Sundays I had the real thing. Dad and I sometimes got a ride back in the cab of the dmu. Truly magical memories. My daughter did a large framed pencil drawing of the Rowant signal box and I have a (fake) station name plate in the spare room. I was gutted when Beeching closed the line. I have a few photos and a snippet of cine film of those times. Thank you so much for re-awakening some happy memories of my childhood.
What a fantastic story, thank you for sharing. Even though I'd have loved to see these lines running I think the sadness of the closure would have been immense so in a way I'm glad I never saw them in use
@@ipcress1066 In a way I knew it had to happen Paul. The service was never profitable. Rowfant in particular was hardly used. I remember one Sunday going on the train with dad to Rowfant. The signal man wasn't bothered about collecting our tickets so I kept them. A fortnight later we returned and the serial numbers on our new tickets were the next in the series from our old ones. I believe the Rowfant station was only built so the lord of the local manor could get to London. There's a strange brick built "sentry box" on the end of the station building that was there so that the lord's coachman could keep out of the rain whilst waiting for the lord's train. It was a simpler time. Thanks again Paul.
Beeching did not close the line. He was the joint author of the reshaping of British Railways report issued in 1963. Colloquially called the Beeching 1 report, it was based on a survey done on the railways in April 1961 IIRC; it identified the unremunerative lines that were candidates for closure, as they did not make a profit as per the 1962 Transport Act. Closures were were undertaken by the Minister after a due process. Beeching had left office as BRB chairman in May 1965, and closure was instructed by the Minister of the time Barbara Castle.
There is a lovely drawing by Norman Thelwell showing a tramp walking along an old track bed while an S of cars que waiting to proceed. This we have reached sooner than people thought. Oh I love the M4 car park in the morning just by Reading. David.
Used to watch out on trainspotting days (platform ticket), for the Diesel powered train departing from platform 6 at 3 Bridges to East Grinstead back in the 60s. All the other tracks were 3rd rail electric. Memories......
My family used this line to get from Burgess Hill to Goudhurst every year for hop-picking at Finchcox. Burgess Hill to Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells, then to Tonbridge, then to Paddock Wood and on to the Hawkhurst branch. A 45 minute drive now but took all day in 1955. Sometimes the stock used from Three Bridges was red and looked pre-grouping with elaborate light fittings and strap windows. The permanent way was in a dreadful state and you were thrown about even at 25 mph.
Thanks! I was last there on a SRUBLUK tour from Waterloo (now the Branchline Soc.). I have not been back since. I loved those SE&CR H1 tanks. I can see that it's not worth going back...Still got the tickets and the one I picked up from the ground at Rowfant.
excellent video👍 i am disgusted that these rural stations have disappeared they served these villages and now some may not have a bus service this may not have happened if beeching had not been around to many railway lines have been lost to him😡
The thing i really don’t understand about this line closure was the fact that both Crawley & Gatwick were growing rapidly when the closure was implemented. Knowing this coupled with the fact that there was no arterial road between Tunbridge Wells & Crawley it seems obvious that the underused railway would have become very well used if it had been spared from the cuts. Now today, we have terrible daily congestion on the A264 & still no good direct Crawley to West Kent route.
Today I've just purchased two tickets online to go to Brighton. I will get these from the vending machine in Lingfield, drive to Three Bridges and catch the train from there. When I was a kid in the 60's we could catch the train from Dormans (one station down from Lingfield), change at East Grinstead for the short run to Three Bridges, then catch a train to Brighton. Thanks to Beeching there is no logical rail connection to the coast from here, unless you're prepared to go 19 miles up to East Croydon to come back about 19 miles to Three Bridges?
I don’t know what sort of time you’re looking at but I believe at one time you could get a train from East Grinstead to Lewes in Sussex, the Bluebell line
I was only a little boy when the line closed between East Grinstead and Three Bridges but I can remember the Demu trains running through Grange Road. This is the first time I've seen actual footage along the line. Thanks ! They should reinstate the line again and on to Tunbridge Wells, creating an east/west route from Kent to Gatwick. Imagine how busy that line would be now. All buildings on route should be compulsorily purchased and the current owners fairly recompensed. I hear UKIP are very "pro railway". Come on !
Much of the line is still viable, with one exception: Crawley down... Quite how we'd get a line through there now with it being entirely built-on i have no idea :(
@@cyrilthefish A section at East Grinstead is now a road, Beeching Way, and other short sections have been built on, most of the rest is open to walkers and cyclists. It is still possible to do almost the same journey, slightly south of the railway, on the 291 bus, which passes the ends of several Station Roads. It’s a nice ride, but to be honest other than at school turning out times there are few passengers. Strangely, it’s normally operated by double deckers. There’s no way that it would justify building a railway, even if that were possible.
My compliments on the excellent "then and now" reconstructions. I can't really feel any element of progress in the "now" developments. Forest Row seems to have lost its railway entirely.
It was a line that was un-remunerative in the 1963 Beeching report. It was closed in iirc January 1967 by Castle who was the Minister of Transport at the time. Railways at that time had to operate in profit otherwise they would be candidates for closure. Beeching had left office a Chairman of the BRB in 1965.
The m23 cut thru the old line After it was closed Then traffic increased dramatically The working class had access to cheap mass produced cars so That was the decline of the railways Death toll on roads greater than any rail accidents!
