The Ardingly Branch Line -46 years after closure

[@psycotria]

===== You all have been very successful at rebuilding scrapped rail lines, and I have little doubt that this section will see traffic again one day. =====

[@Ingramdumpkiss]

Congrats to the Bluebell. Their success is long overdue and well deserved. WHen the East Grinstead extension is complete and proves itsefl to be a massive success, thoughts can turn to reconnecting this line to Haywards Heath and a second mainline connection. As far as I know Horsted Keynes will then be the only preserved station anywhere with 3 separate route destinations!

[@bluebellsalmon]

@easta007 There is no possibility of connecting the line at Ardingly whilst the aggregates terminal is still used and needs the land there. There is an agreed route through the site protected from building, but that would not be available to the Bluebell unless the stone terminal were scaled back and needed less land. The important thing is that a route through to Haywards Heath is protected for the future.

[@carlrapson]

Thanks for that. I used to live at Avins Bridge Farm and I'd take the dogs for a walk through that tunnel

[@bluebellsalmon]

@Ingramdumpkiss Getting to East Grinstead is the first priority. Returning track between Horsted Keynes and a temporary terminus at Ardingly is some years away, since the railway must concentrate its efforts on other things for serveral years after reaching EG, which will have taken 39 years to achieve - the first land purchase and planning application for a northern extension was made in 1974! So there's no hurry for a Westwards extension. It'll all happen in its own time.

[@HenryPage]

What needs to be aimed at now is the reconnection of the service between Horsted Keynes to Haywards Heath, followed by reconnecting Sheffield Park to the reconnected Uckfield to Lewes line. I hope I am alive to see at least that being accepted as the achievable goal of the Bluebell Railway. That would be a rail network!

[@aveedub7403]

Theres a problem at Newick, my old home village, the Lewes direction track ran under the A272, with a bridge. That's all gone, houses are built on and around the old Station building, and track bed so it would take a huge, huge budget and will to connect Lewes back to Sheffield Park. Similar if not worse problems in and around Barcombe. As another commentator already mentioned the development of track bed etc was, I'm sure, was done deliberately I suspect to prevent future redeployment. I would also suspect a lot of money passed by back hand to ensure that would never happen! A massive mistake with hindsight!

[@glurbpot]

Ref willygrant1971's comment about allowing the Imberhorn cutting to be used as a tip; I'm pretty sure that when the railways were owned nationally; every obstacle possible that would prevent the re-opening was allowed as the then owners wanted to raise as much revenue as possible from rendering the land useless apart from building and road projects. This is evident at Barcombe where houses were built on the track bed! This was very short sighted, as with a growing population and re-instatement of the old tracks would have provided an extensive and useable rail network. Yes people have cars to travel in now, but I'm sure many would happily use trains if it was possible. The other problem of using trains being the lack of car parking at railway stations. What could have been a very useable rail network has been systematically vandalised over the years.

[@riverhuntingdon6659]

+Grizwald Dinglebat Yes, the spitefull Beeching and the Marples of this world made sure of that, blowing up viaducts, as on the Crowhurst to Bexhill west branch of the SECR as was. It was Lunacy to shut the Uckfield to Lewes line too. I was told that they were planning a fleet of MK2 - based DEMU's, similar to those used in Northern Ireland, for a Brighton to Cardiff service, surely more could've been built for use in East Sussex. But no, stifled at birth. The Northern Ireland MK2 based 80 class are all but gone, swept away in a "let's have loads of plastic souless trains " as done so well on the former SR lines due to the elf'n'safety Nazis. Better yet electrify the Uckfield - Lewes line. But nope, it was never done and the line will never reopen. It was, ironically, only the number of Tory Big Wig twats living along the Tonbridge - Hastings line that saved that. Not that they'd ever admit to it !

[@johntcashdown1363]

@@riverhuntingdon6659 Cars we’re becoming more the norm but rail connectivity was still regarded as widely important. However, after nationalisation in 1948, British Rail and the government were faced with the reparations of WW2 and upgrading of the tracks, stock and signals..they just didn’t want to spend the money for every single line. So they cleverly started to run down services, reduce timetables to drive people onto the already overcrowded roads to weaken the business case of every line they wanted to close from the 1950’s. Then the real damage was done from 1963. It makes me laugh when people today say let’s re-nationalise the railways…as it was just that that gave the joint vested interests of motorway Marples and his raw materials man from ICI, Dr Beeching, the very platform (no pun intended) to do what they did in the first place.

[@aveedub7403]

Let's hope that this line will one day be open and linked to Bluebell somehow?

[@bluebellsalmon]

@thomasbosscat Most of the closed section is now owned by the Bluebell Railway. There is a permissive footpath over part of it. The last 200 yard section before the Ardingly aggregates terminal is used by the terminal. The tunnel is still owned by the old BR property / residuary board or whatever it's now called.

[@nathan83699]

cool

[@Harrison1420]

What would happen when they reach Ardingly? Would they use the original station?

[@ThatCoalSoul]

It's a concrete processing plant ...I think the compremize is that Ardingly won't reopen, they may not even be able to put a straight track under the bridge. Having the branch would be great - The Bluebell would end up Sussex's answer to The Churnet Valley - but at least 5 dreamers with more money than sense would need to step forward and open their wallets. Also yes ...I do live in East Grinstead.

[@thomasbosscat]

So, Is this a private line or can it be walked??

[@MyRonnierocket]

You can walk it as far as the old avins bridge.

[@andrewbarrett42]

Thats what I love about this country,there is miles of disused railway,Beeching was,nt all that bad.

[@dellybellylyons9700]

Tatsu Viper he was a cnut!

[@angloaust1575]

The government employed him Also people were buying cars Which caused loss of revenue On railways If only they knew more deaths on road than rail!