A Brief History of the Ouse Valley Railway
The line from Whimsey Hill to Uckfield is the only remaining piece of track on the Ouse Valley Railway that used to run between Uckfield and Haywards Heath. The line was closed in 1955 however the line to and including Whimsey Hill station was kept open as a 'turnback facility' to clear Uckfield of terminating trains during busy periods, since it was found more viable to run trains from London to Uckfield, than all the way to Lewes. As a result of this truncation, Piltdown and Maresfield stations were closed, Whimsey Hill being chosen to remain open as it had the most revenue earning businesses around. The station was then finally closed in 1963.
The Ouse Valley Railway was devised as a plan by the LBSCR, a plan unlike all other railways to transport passengers or goods from a to b, but instead to stop the LBSCR's competitors' from getting a foothold in this part of rural Sussex. Authorisation for the building of the "Ouse Valley Line" was given in 1864 and the line was eventually built for serving the local farms and market with goods, newspapers and mail. In its latter days the line, the railway saw an hourly return service to East Grinstead High Level, and trains to and from London during commuting hours, and a couple of services to Polegate as well as Haywards Heath trains, and when the line was truncated a daily service from Haywards Heath ran via East Grinstead.
The route of the Ouse Valley Railway begins just north of Haywards Heath where the line splits off at a road bridge, the butresses of which remain. The line ran east from the station in a gentle 2 mile curve near to Haywards Heath golf club, towards Lindfield. This section was quite substantially built, in some places 60ft high embankments were constructed. The line passes through Kenwood Farm where some deep cuttings were built, now made into a lake. Some three miles from the London-Brighton Main Line junction the line approaches the site of Lindfield Station where the line crossed the London turnpike, the bridge abutments still visible but the deck removed long ago. Once in sight of the town of Lindfield the curve switches to head north, and a long straight section was constructed before heading east again into Walstead station, the next along from Whimsey Hill. Once leaving Walstead, the line curves gently to the south east and enters Waspbourne Wood, and onto Sheffield Park Saw Mills. The station here was constructed to serve the mills as well as the Lord of the Manor at Sheffield Park House. The line then follows the river down to Whimsey Hill (now opened as part of the WHR), so named after the large house here, the station being built to serve neighbouring villages of Nutley, Fairwarp and Fletching, and also serve the prosperous Funnels Farm, which provided much income and goods for the station. From here the line heads south and runs under where the A22 now stands. Shortly after the A22 the line sharply heads south west to the station of Five Ash Down; this was the main stop for passenger and also horse traffic being the nearest to the Ashdown Forest. The line again follows a gentle curve to the south again through Piltdown, where the gentle curve then tightens as the line enters Uckfield, now running underneath the A22 again and into the old station sight, with Network Rail across the road with a 1 platform halt. The old station is now occupied by WHR as the headquarters of the line.
The preservation society was set up in the early 1980's with the aim of running trains along the stretch of line between Uckfield (old station site) and Lindfield. The society was based in the old goods shed at Uckfield since the 80's and took over the yard when BR abandoned it, running a steam engine and a few carriages from the Goods Yard to the A22 By-pass. The group soon had their chance to shine when BR moved site in 1991 and Uckfield soon became sole ownership of the OVRPS. The society then joined forces with Wonder Rail in 2001 to help operate the line, as well as provide approapriate rolling stock, the partnership being beneficial for both sides as WR wished a central HQ to store its items and OVRPS needing rolling stock. The partnership finally extended over the A22 to Five Ash Down and to Whimsey Hill in 2006 with the future aim to extend further to reach the societies goal of reaching Lindfield via Walstead now a reality, with the line having recently extended. The extension of the line to Lindfield presents more of a challenge, with 2 bridges in need of much repair work and the station site has been largely converted into a house but since put up for sale in need of large repairs. WR are currently funding to purchase the site and restore it to future railway use as the long term terminus.
Meanwhile, to the East, Network Rail occupy the line to Buxed, Crowborough and Oxted. With the Ouse Valley Line operating out of the original station site, and NR using a single platform on the other side of the road, with a mainline link installed across the Uckfield High Street giving us connection to the wide world of the mainline, it is expected the Britannia 70004 William Shakespeare will be the first engine across the divide. However, as our line does not currently have turning facilities, any tours would have to be top and tailed until such facilities are provided, however also the infrastructure of the line cannot accept trains the length of normal tours. The connection is intended as access for rolling stock and stabling of mainline locomotives in the south, with 70004 to be operated on the Mainline by Wonder Rail on behalf of the Britannia Society.
We wish to make it known that Roberts tone in his "warning" is not appreciated as it comes across very abrupt and making us out to sound like bad guys, bordering on suggesting we are trying to embellish his "hard" work with fiction information purposefully, along with coming across as if he has exclusive rights to recording the history of the real Ouse Valley Railway, in our opinion.
