The Spa Valley Railway is holding The Cuckoo Line Gala from Friday to Sunday, June 13-15 this year. The railway is working with Wealden District Council and Heathfield Parish Council to open the Cuckoo Line Tunnel (between Station Approach and Millennium Green) to make this possible.
The gala commemorates 60 years since the line between Eridge and Hailsham closed and is also a contribution to the national celebration of 200 years of railway travel in the UK.
There will be celebrations at the tunnel itself which is set to There will be displays of photographs and artefacts from the Cuckoo Line, historic tours along the disused railway, including (we hope)Heathfield Tunnel plus lots more for you to enjoy as we recreate the past of this historic and much-loved former branch line.
A Spa Valley Railway spokesman said: "Step back in time to the 1960’swhen steam still ruled supreme and join us as we commemorate 60 years since the closure of the famous Cuckoo Line which once ran between Tunbridge Wells West via Eridge and Hailsham to Polegate and we jointhe countrywide celebrations of 200 years of rail in the United Kingdom."
The Cuckoo Line is the name for the now closed railway line which joined Polegate to Eridge from 1880 to 1968. It was nicknamed the Cuckoo Line by drivers, from a tradition observed at the annual fair at Heathfield. At the fair, which was held each April, a woman would release a cuckoo from a basket, it being supposedly the 'first cuckoo of spring'. (This tradition was upheld until recently although the' cuckoo' was replaced by a homing pigeon!)
The Cuckoo Line was built by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in two sections, starting with the branch from Polegate to Hailsham which opened to traffic on 14th May 1849. It diverged from the main Eastbourne to London line at Polegate, and ran northwards to Hailsham, which was the terminus for 31 years until the line through to Eridge had been completed which opened in September1880.
The line then passed through Hellingly (where the famous electric Hellingly Hospital Railway once operated) Horam, Heathfield, Mayfield ,Rotherfield & Mark Cross, then joined the Oxted Line at Redgate Mill Junction before arriving at Eridge. The route continued on what is now the Spa Valley Railway leaving the Oxted Line at Birchden Junction heading for Groombridge, High Rocks Halt and eventually Tunbridge Wells West.
Following the famous Beeching Report in 1963, the line was recommended for closure. The section from Eridge to Hailsham was closed to passenger traffic on June 14, 1965 with the section between Heathfield and Hailsham remaining open for freight until 1968. The remaining stub of branch line from Polegate to Hailsham remained open until September8, 1968.
The spokesman continued: "Whilst it is early days yet, expect to see a range of steam and diesel locomotives in use, along with some visitors appropriate to the Cuckoo Line too! There will be displays of photographs and artefacts from the Cuckoo Line, historic tours along the disused railway, including Heathfield Tunnel plus lots more for you to enjoy as we recreate the past of this historic and much-loved former branch line."
--Susan King Senior Reporter Sussex Express
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