The Cuckoo Line 43 Years After Closure - Redgate Mill Junction to Mayfield

43 years after closure -The Redgate Mill Junction to Mayfield section . At Redgate Mill Junction ( a mile south of Eridge Station) the Cuckoo Line left the Oxted to Lewes line and ran south to Polegate.The section from Redgate Mill to Hailsham closed to passengers on 14th June 1965 a victim of the Beeching Cuts.Much of the Heathfield to Redgate Mill section of the line was sold off in a piecemeal fashion with only a few short sections remaining in local authority ownership.At Mayfield the course of the old railway is now a by-pass with the station building marooned above the road.The southern section from Heathfield to Polegate is now the "Cuckoo Trail" with access for walkers and cyclists.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Disused
• Railway
• The
• Cuckoo
• Line
• Argos
• Hill
• Tunnel
• Rotherfield
• Mayfield
• East
• Sussex
• LBSCR
• Southern
• Industrial
• Archaeology
• Beeching
• Cuts

[charade97]

Well, well, well! I used to attend Mayfield College and caught the 3.52pm from Victoria Station at the beginning of term in the 1950's. How well I remember travelling on the steam train and how sad I was when Beeching axed this line along with countless others. Thank you so much for showing the old route. I remember Groombridge and Rotherfield and Mark Cross and there were others I have forgooten-perhaps you could mention them in a reply? Thank you. (Old Boy)

[steamhauled68]

After Groombridge came Eridge (still open),then an interchange station for Brighton and London, next after Redgate Mill Junction was Rotherfield & Mark Cross followed by Mayfield,Heathfield,Horam,Hell­ingly and Hailsham,trains then continued on to Eastbourne

[AECRoutemaster]

Fantastic! Were the old pictures yours as well? Are those sections open to the public or are they strictly private ground? Brilliant stuff, thanks!

[steamhauled68]

Thank you.Yes the photo's were mine taken just before closure in June 1965 and in 1967 & 1968 before and after track lifting.The two sections shown north of Rotherfield and Argos Hill are still owned by East Sussex C.C. no official right of way though. The southern part of the old Cuckoo Line from Heathfield to Polegate is a dedicated right of way.

[bretfrisd]

it's so nice to feel the history of it

[MrGuvEuroman]

There are loads of places round me like this cumbria is covered! old mine lines and public transport lines. There is one house i worked in that used to be the station at Fletcher town.

The old station house still has the massive lead water tank built into the loft to fill the locos.

Some of the carved tunnels thru the massive stone from threlkeld to keswick even has soot still on the tunnel roofs.

[alSation81]

soulless highways and sound-proofed cars are the order of the day ... unfortunately

[freqeist]

absolutely no point closing this line

[CHESEABUN]

As a Hailsham resident. I would love to see this line reinstated!

[charade97]

Thank you-that was most helpful. I remember the girl on the tannoy at Victoria saying 'Hellingly' but that was the only one!!

[AECRoutemaster]

Sort of. Probably more destroyed by WW2 and the pre-war depression more than Beeching. After the war the Government could not afford to repair the railways and nationalisation was the only option. There was still no money though. And by the 60s folk didn't want to use the railways. They wanted the American dream of private transport. Beeching was merely a pawn in a wider game.