Hailsham railway station

Infobox UK disused station
name = Hailsham


gridref = TQ589093
manager = London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
owner = Southern Railway
Southern Region of British Railways
locale = Hailsham
borough = Wealden
platforms = 2
start =
years = 14 May 1849
events = Station opened
years2 = 1 September 1880
events2 = Station rebuilt
years3 = 8 September 1968
events3 = Station closed to passengers

Hailsham Railway Station was on the Cuckoo Line between Polegate and Hellingly serving the town of Hailsham. Originally built in 1849 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. it was a terminus station serving both passengers and livestock for the nearby market. It remained a terminus until 1880 when it was connected with Eridge on a single line railway.

On 14 June 1965 the station became a terminus again when the line northward closed to passenger traffic. Freight continued northwards as far as Heathfield until 26 April 1968 when a lorry damaged a bridge at Horsebridge, north of Hailsham. The line never reopened to Heathfield - the northern section had already been earmarked for closure on the 7 May , and as such it was not deemed economic to repair the bridge.

On 8 September 1968, the last passenger train left Hailsham at 10:30pm and the station has remained closed ever since.

Present Day

The station site is now a housing estate and all that remains is a concrete wall on the west side of the site that held the embankment up. A bridge north of the station site also survives and now carries the Cuckoo Trail public footpath.

References

The Cuckoo Line, A.C. Elliot - Wild Swan Publications