Hartfield railway station
Encyclopedia
Hartfield was a railway station on the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line
which closed in 1967, a casualty of the Beeching Axe
.
The station building is now divided between a day nursery and a private house. The route of the railway line is now a cycle path (the Forest Way). A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh
, lived in Hartfield.
The station appears in a delightful British Transport Film
entitled "Moving a farm" which recounted the moving of the entire farm stock of Sir Robert Ropner
by special train from Skutterskelfe Hall in Yorkshire
to Hartfield in December 1950. The entire move took 30 hours and was nine hours late in arriving at East Grinstead
on 15 December. The film is available on a BFI
DVD.
1) An industrial site currently occupies the former location of Forest Row railway station
as well as a small recycling centre to west.
2) The formation has been built across in several places notably in East Grinstead
where about one mile of the trackbed from Station Road to the Lewes Road tunnel has been taken over for a relief road (the A22
ironically named "Beechings Way" after Richard Beeching
whose recommendations
closed the railway line). As there is no feasible alternative route into the station, this road would need to be reconverted back to rail. Any such action would in all likelihood result in a cut in capacity on an already highly congested road network.
3) The site of Grange Road
has disappeared under a small parade of shops as well as housing which block 0.64 miles of the formation.
Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line
The Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line was a railway line running from Three Bridges in West Sussex to Tunbridge Wells Central in Kent via East Grinstead in East Sussex, a distance of . Opened in 1855, the main section of the line was a casualty of the Beeching Axe the last train ran on...
which closed in 1967, a casualty of the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
.
The station building is now divided between a day nursery and a private house. The route of the railway line is now a cycle path (the Forest Way). A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
, lived in Hartfield.
The station appears in a delightful British Transport Film
British Transport Films
British Transport Films was an organisation set up in 1949 to make documentary films on the general subject of British transport. Its work included internal training films, travelogues , and "industrial films" promoting the progress of Britain's railway...
entitled "Moving a farm" which recounted the moving of the entire farm stock of Sir Robert Ropner
Sir Robert Ropner, 1st Baronet
Sir Emil Hugo Oscar Robert Ropner, 1st Baronet 1838-1924, was a British shipbuilder, shipowner, and Conservative Member of Parliament. He was known simply as Robert Ropner....
by special train from Skutterskelfe Hall in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
to Hartfield in December 1950. The entire move took 30 hours and was nine hours late in arriving at East Grinstead
East Grinstead railway station
East Grinstead railway station serves the town of East Grinstead in West Sussex. The station was formerly divided into two levels: the higher level platforms serving the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line, whilst the lower level platforms received services from the Oxted Line 49 km ...
on 15 December. The film is available on a BFI
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
DVD.
Reopening
With regard to the possible reopening of the remaining section of the line from Tunbridge Wells to Three Bridges, number of obstacles would appear to stand in the way of such action, most notably:1) An industrial site currently occupies the former location of Forest Row railway station
Forest Row railway station
Forest Row was a railway station on the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line which closed in 1967, a casualty of the Beeching Axe....
as well as a small recycling centre to west.
2) The formation has been built across in several places notably in East Grinstead
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
where about one mile of the trackbed from Station Road to the Lewes Road tunnel has been taken over for a relief road (the A22
A22 road
The A22 is one of the two-digit major roads in the south east of England. It carries traffic from London to Eastbourne on the East Sussex coast...
ironically named "Beechings Way" after Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
whose recommendations
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
closed the railway line). As there is no feasible alternative route into the station, this road would need to be reconverted back to rail. Any such action would in all likelihood result in a cut in capacity on an already highly congested road network.
3) The site of Grange Road
Grange Road railway station
Grange Road was a railway station on the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line which closed in 1967, a casualty of the Beeching Axe.The original proposal to construct the railway line drew objections from one J.H. Wilson, the owner of "The Grange" house, who refused to allow a station on...
has disappeared under a small parade of shops as well as housing which block 0.64 miles of the formation.