Paid a visit to my colleague at Lewes signal box Saturday afternoon. It was right in front of the box that BR and East Sussex County Council colluded between them to close 7 miles of railway to Uckfield - an act of utter vandalism they would probably never have gotten away with a year or two later when opposition groups had got their acts together - such as the one my old economics teacher at Rye was part of that prevented BR from shutting Hastings Ashford in 1970.
Signalmen seem to be unofficial museum keepers at various locations - Lewes no exception and some of the photos were fascinating. The blurred shot of the frame with all those white levers is actually most evocative - taken, of course, after trains ceased running to Uckfield. The B&W shot of a train coming in from Lewes is also a Lewes SB "museum" exhibit and I managed to get a decent then and now shot from platform 5. The compo views from the air of Lewes pre and post 69 are exhibits too.
Included in the Lewes museum were NR diagrams from the 2008 study into a possible reopening. A fascinating look at what might have been.
The digital shots are all mine and involved a muddy trek along what remains of the Uckfield line through the town towards the River Ouse. There was actually rather more infrastructure left than I expected once I found it after asking for directions several times.
One final project - the old shunter's cabin at Uckfield that I photographed back in the late 80s is now a bird watcher's hide and can be found alongside the railway near Southerham Junction. My colleague at Lewes SB told me it was restored by inmates at Lewes Prison. Sadly I ran out of day light to go and see it in it's new location - on my "to do" list.
Finally - the irony was delicious - no trains to London from Lewes due to engineering blocks - having the route via Uckfield available would have been more than useful but then that's a big mistake that's now into it's 46th year of waiting to be put right.
Signalmen seem to be unofficial museum keepers at various locations - Lewes no exception and some of the photos were fascinating. The blurred shot of the frame with all those white levers is actually most evocative - taken, of course, after trains ceased running to Uckfield. The B&W shot of a train coming in from Lewes is also a Lewes SB "museum" exhibit and I managed to get a decent then and now shot from platform 5. The compo views from the air of Lewes pre and post 69 are exhibits too.
Included in the Lewes museum were NR diagrams from the 2008 study into a possible reopening. A fascinating look at what might have been.
The digital shots are all mine and involved a muddy trek along what remains of the Uckfield line through the town towards the River Ouse. There was actually rather more infrastructure left than I expected once I found it after asking for directions several times.
One final project - the old shunter's cabin at Uckfield that I photographed back in the late 80s is now a bird watcher's hide and can be found alongside the railway near Southerham Junction. My colleague at Lewes SB told me it was restored by inmates at Lewes Prison. Sadly I ran out of day light to go and see it in it's new location - on my "to do" list.
Finally - the irony was delicious - no trains to London from Lewes due to engineering blocks - having the route via Uckfield available would have been more than useful but then that's a big mistake that's now into it's 46th year of waiting to be put right.
