Railway 2/3

Feb 9, 20231 min read

1865: Porter prevents suicide at Haywards Heath Station

Chichester express and West Sussex journal-Tuesday 11 April 1865 Cuckfield - another attempt at suicide.-on Tuesday a young woman named...

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Jan 25, 20233 min read

1901: Paris could be four hours by train

Future of railway travelling We shall fight them tooth and nail, so Mr William Forbes is reported to have told an interviewer who met him...

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Jan 15, 20232 min read

1839: Inquests into deaths of London to Brighton Railway Workers

Sussex Advertiser - Monday 17 June 1839 CUCKFIELD. Fatal Accident. —An inquest was held at the Half Moon Inn, Balcombe, on Wednesday...

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Jan 12, 20232 min read

Stage-coaches for falling in love - not rail

Writing in in the mid 1850s, Samuel Shergold, observed that coach travellers were more likely to find love on a stage coach rather than...

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Dec 20, 20221 min read

1840: Fatal viaduct fall of young railway worker

Sussex Advertiser - Monday 15 June 1840 CUCKFIELD. Fatal Accident.—An inquest was held on Saturday last, the 13th instant, before F. H....

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Dec 3, 20221 min read

1841: Shareholders preview Brighton line

A party of the shareholders in this undertaking went down the line on Tuesday morning as far as Hayward's-heath, near Cuckfield, about 15...

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Nov 25, 20223 min read

1985: Hospital deals with 50 injured

50 injured as two trains collide near new £130m signalling centre by Michael Hornsell and Michael Bailey British Rail and the Department...

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Oct 25, 20224 min read

1938: Haywards Heath Inquest into railway death

Mid Sussex Times - Tuesday 22 November 1938 KILLED WHILE LEANING OUT OF TRAIN WINDOW. Verdict of “Misadventure” at Haywards Heath Inquest...

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Sep 26, 20221 min read

1841: Celebrating the completion of Balcombe Tunnel

On the finishing of the Merstham and Balcombe tunnel, which we named as having taken place last week, the workmen, to the number of 100,...

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Aug 11, 20221 min read

1840: Fatal fall by 15 year old

Fatal Accident An inquest was held on Saturday last, the 13th instant, before FH Gell, Esq, Coroner, on view of the body of William...

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May 21, 20223 min read

1838: Lawless railway workers

The Brighton line attracted a tough breed of construction workmen called 'navvies'. They inherited this name from the 'navigators' who...

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May 19, 20228 min read

1844: Fellow travellers - anything familiar?

Anyone who has commuted to London or Brighton from Mid Sussex will want to compare their experiences with this account from the very...

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May 15, 20222 min read

1840: Italian design on the Brighton line

There are two names associated with building and design of the London to Brighton railway line. While many will have heard of the name of...

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May 13, 20224 min read

1841: London / Brighton Railway the opening day

Brighton railway station opened in May 1840 but was initially only receiving trains to and from Shoreham-by-Sea and stations westwards...

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May 1, 20223 min read

1835: 'Utterly impracticable' Brighton line

I was recently shown a collection of researched material and came across a cutting of this uncredited article, which today will raise a...

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Apr 27, 20221 min read

1884: High drama mid-viaduct

On Friday Mr Labouchere's staghounds, from Warnham, Surrey, came sweeping across the country in pursuit of hind, passing by Slaugham,...

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Apr 19, 20222 min read

1844: Awestruck with the new local railway

Today we take travelling on a train - to and fro London - for granted. We overlook the engineering miracles performed with just primitive...

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Apr 11, 20224 min read

1881-1940: 'Cuckfield' a popular D1 workhorse

Cuckfield researcher Fred Wheatland recently drew our attention to a photograph (3rd photo below) of this ‘Cuckfield’ locomotive and of...

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Apr 5, 20221 min read

1841: Early local rail accident

Early rail travel on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) was a much slower, less reliable and even hazardous form of...

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Mar 2, 20221 min read

1841: Historic first timetable for trains to and from Hayward's Heath (near Cuckfield)!

Brighton Gazette - Thursday 15 July 1841 [graphic of timetable]

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Cuckfield Connections

A personal journey of discovery