Some beautiful looking stations have been rep-purposed as shops or homes, some are abandoned and derelict and the sites of others remain only as a patch of countryside where you would never know that a station existed.
In some cases whole lines have disappeared, such as the Cuckoo line, which ran from Polegate to Uckfield and the line from Bexhill West Station that ran through Bodiam and then into Kent.
Britain’s railways came as a result of the industrial revolution and helped to create the wealth of the country. The first steam railway locomotive which was introduced by Richard Trevithick in 1804.
During the 1960’s, the increasing number of motor cars saw people looking toward the roads rather than the railway. A landmark report by then head of British Rail, Richard Beeching, led to the closure of many stations and whole branch lines in the 60s. Many architectural treasures, and the memories they contained, have been lost forever.
13. Mayfield Station
Mayfield was a railway station on the now closed Eridge to Polegate cross country line (the Cuckoo Line). It was built by London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. It opened in 1888 and closed under Beeching in 1965. The station building is now a private residence. The trackbed and platforms have been removed and their site is now the occupied by the Mayfield by-pass (A267). Photo: supplied
14. Mountfield Halt
Mountfield Halt opened in 1923 and closed in 1969. was situated on the Hastings Line between Robertsbridge and Battle. Both platforms were built of sleepers. The station stood just east of Battle Road (A2100) level crossing. There are no remains of the halt today. Photo: supplied
15. Newhaven Marine railway station
Newhaven Marine railway station was a station in Newhaven, East Sussex, England, at the end off a short branch off the Seaford branch line near Newhaven Harbour. It was the last station to open in Newhaven in 1886 following redevelopment and expansion of the Port of Newhaven and served cross-Channel boat trains to Dieppe, France. The station went into decline after the ferry terminal was moved away from it in 1984, and boat train services declined generally after the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994. It was closed to passengers in 2006 on safety grounds, but remained legally open, serving inaccessible parliamentary trains until it was formally closed in 2020. Photo: supplied
16. Newick and Chailey railway station
Newick and Chailey was a railway station located in North Chailey and located near the villages of Newick and Chailey. It was part of the East Grinstead to Lewes line, part of which now makes up the Bluebell Railway. It opened in 1882 and finally closed in 1958. The track was removed in 1960 and the station buildings were demolished around 1967–8. The site of the station platforms in a cutting was subsequently infilled and covered by housing. Short sections of the platforms have been excavated and preserved in the gardens of the houses on the former station site. Photo: supplied