THREE BRIDGES TO TUNBRIDGE WELLS CENTRAL LINE

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'Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central line' was a railway line in West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, England. It ran between Three Bridges (on the Brighton Main Line) and Tunbridge Wells Central (on the Hastings Line) via East Grinstead (on the Bluebell branch of the Oxted Line) and the Cuckoo Line / Wealden Line / Uckfield Branch of the Oxted Line Brief History Of The Three Bridges - Tunbridge Wells West Railway . The line opened on 9 July 1855, and the main section closed on 1 January 1967 as part of the Beeching Axe (ironically Dr Beeching himself lived and commuted from East Grinstead), while the section via Tunbridge Wells West was latterly closed on 6 July 1985, although it has recently reopened as the Spa Valley Railway, a heritage railway .
The railway served the following Surrey communities: Three Bridges, Crawley Down, East Grinstead, Forest Row, Hartfield, Withyham, Groombridge and Royal Tunbridge Wells.

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History

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History

In 1852 the 'East Grinstead Railway Company' was formed and received parliamentary approval (8 July 1853) to build a 6¾ mile branch from London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR)'s main line at Three Bridges to East Grinstead . The line opened on the 8 July 1855 with only one intermediate station at Rowfant (built solely for a local landowner), latterly on 2 April 1860 another station was opened at Crawley Down (Grange Road station) . The line was extended eastward under the "East Grinstead, Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells Railway Act" (7 August 1862) to Tunbridge Wells via running over the Brighton, Uckfield and Tunbridge Wells Railway's line . In January 1865 both companies were acquired by LBSCR and the extension was opened 1 October 1866 . On 1 February 1876 the single line Grove Tunnel was opened from Tunbridge Wells West to the South Eastern Railway's (SER) Hastings Line and its Tunbridge Wells Central .
The line was always lightly used and the later opening of several other lines, saw a significant drop in traffic . The Beeching Axe saw the main section between the Three Bridges and Groombridge close. The section between Three Bridges and East Grinstead has been turned into the "Worth Way", a footpath and cycleway Worth Way Route Guide , while the East Grinstead to Groombridge section is now the Forest Way cycle and footpath Forest Way .
The final section of the line between the Wealden Line / Oxted Line (at Eridge / Groombridge) and Tunbridge Wells Central remained open but starved of investment. In the early 1980s British Rail announced the closure of this last section citing expensive upgrades required to the track and signalling needed, exacerbated with the Hastings Line's electrification. The connection was severed on 6 July 1985 and but the rest of the line remained until 10 August 1985.
Preservation efforts followed shortly there after, with the 'Tunbridge Wells and Eridge Railway Preservation Society' and the 'North Downs Steam Railway' joining forces to reopen the 'Spa Valley Railway' during the winter of 1996 Spa Valley Railway .

References

See also

★ List of closed railway stations in Britain