I was on the last up train on the Horsham to Guildford line- Saturday 12th June 1965. One of the things I can remember travelling on the line was being overtaken by a small tortoiseshell butterfly as I leaned out of the carriage window. The track was pretty bad towards the end and the trains did not go very fast! The locos- the Ivatt 2-6-2 tank engines kicked out plenty of cinders and I got quite a bit in my eyes leaning out. That carriage looks as though it came from one of the BR electric trains that ran on the Kent coast lines out of Victoria- they got those new windows towards the end of their lives.
It is rather harrowing that this was the fate of a lot lines all over the UK, but finding all of this stuff is always so nice. My town has an old viaduct still stood in the middle of a valley.
Hello Steyning, is pronounced, "Stenning" I used the downslink for bike riding and stopped for a break at west grinstead often as I used to live in Burgess Hill. Lovely to see my old cycling ground and county, miss it like hell!!!!😢😢😢😢s
My wife used to go to school in Horsham from Partridge Green on this line, in the early 1960's. The old goods yard at Partridge Green was just behind our house when we lived there a few years later.
It’s quite nice when you find a bit of old railway just walking around your local area. Sadly most of my town’s quite significant railway heritage has vanished. I had a brainwave the other day Max: if making a Guide Rail on each Terrier would take too much time, why not rank all ten preserved Terriers based on how interesting their history is? Eg Boxhill for its early preservation and brief stint as a 2-4-0, Freshwater for its time as an LSWR loco, Martello for being preserved by Bultins. That would be quite interesting.
Theres a walking trail near me that follows a railway line that has a coach near it (just an MK1, they keep it in good condition!) its owned by the council for activities and stuff. Tbh tho the use of the coach in this video is better.
Great video. For your future information It's pronounced 'Stenning' not 'Staining'. The line was double track all the way to Christ's Hospital and in the late 1930's was on the SR electrification plan. However, WWII intervened. Had it been electrified back then I feel it would have opened up this little Sussex backwater and a lot more people would have moved there. No chance that it would have closed. Both Steyning and Henfield were important local market towns. The Steyning market was just near the station. Up above the station was the Railway Hotel which kept going for a few years after closure. I was glad of this as it had a pinball machine and my mates and I would get in there to play. We moved to Steyning in 1968 after the line had closed, and of course, the promises of an equivalent bus service never really materialised and my father had to catch a very early bus to get to Shoreham for his train to London Bridge. There was no real connection for a bus from Shoreham to Steyning and often he had to wait in the pub for an hour for the next bus. Back in the day, before moving to Steyning we lived in Lancing, so if we were going to London it was a Brighton stopper to Shoreham before catching the Littlehampton - Victoria train. In between arrival of the stopper and the express, the 'Steyning stinker' would drop passengers for London off before heading on to Brighton. Similarly on arrival of the Littlehampton express from London, the stinker came through before the West Worthing stopper taking us home to Lancing. I caught a school bus from Lancing to Steyning everyday from 1963 to 1968 with the big excitement being the cement works. In the early 60's until their withdrawal K class 2-6-0s handled the cement works, but then it became a Q1 and very occasionally a Q class 0-6-0. Happy days.
Of course, by the mid-60s there was no real opposition to the closure because West Sussex County Council had already unveiled plans for a Steyning by-pass to be built on the trackbed, so that the cutesy Steyning High Street could be preserved forever, without all those nasty trucks going through the town. Today the by-pass starts at a roundabout built where the cement works marshalling sidings were, and follows the trackbed through Bramber and the deep cutting just before Steyning station, and leaves the trackbed a few hundred meters after the station to join up with the original route of the A283 to Washington, Storrington and beyond. In 1967 or 68 I walked the trackbed from Steyning to Henfield, the track had not been lifted as yet. The bridge across the Adur before Henfield was a bit scary from memory, in fact I just remembered we walked as far as Partridge Green and hitched a lift back.
@@fanofeverything30465 The empty cattle trucks were sometimes washed out with disinfectant causing a distinctive smell. Now, it's also the name of a local smoked beer.
It's pronounced 'Stenning' not 'Stay-ning' and the carriage isn't 'abandoned' but part of the historic interpretation. I first walked the line long before the official 'Downslink' footpath was established, when the trackbed was full of mature trees and the platforms almost invisible under brambles. It's a great walk for a day out and very well used.
The Shoreham to Horsham section would be quite busy these days if it had been kept and electrified. It would shorten the present diversionary route via Littlehampton. The coach looks as if it came from a clasd 411
Yep, Southwater, the next station up, is growing massively with all the new building going on right now. Sadly, they have build the new houses, and Health Centre, slap over the former track formation. I don't know what has happened to it but there was/is a proposal for a new village to be build just south of the A272 on or next to the formation of the line as it left West Grinstead. I can understand the closure of the unremunerative lines from the Beeching's time, but if only they had kept open the option of reopening by preserving the old formation. We just seem utterly unable to think ahead in this Country, well that and the fact that Horsham District Council seem utterly obsessed with building more and more houses on farmland.
@@Downsman517 Horsham to Guildford was always quieter than southwards to Shoreham. Apart from the Steyning by pass, reinstatement could be fairly easy.
Interesting history lesson this one was. Reminds me a lot of the Waterford greenway which has a similar setup: old closed down branch line now turned into a large walkway/cycle route with all the old platforms and even a signal box still intact Intriguing that they have a coach out there!
That coach once belonged to the failed " Travelling College" train, one of 12 mk1s converted. 25853 was student dormitory TCL 99164, later bought by Bluebell railway when the college train folded.
Nice little reminder of my boyhood association with the double track line from Shoreham through Bramber to Steyning (and beyond). My gt gt uncle was ticket collector at Henfield for many decades (he died around 1905). Steyning by the way is actually pronounced by us locals as "Sten-ning". Oh, I see Phil Barker commented on that!
I've seen this carriage when I walked part of the trail a few years ago. Didn't know about about the track left off to the side. I need to go back to walk more of it, hopefully this summer. Subbed :)
Brilliant video, it's nice to see the old West Grinstead station is preserved, I actually want to go there now seeing as there's a signal you can operate.
when I read about the Beeching Cuts I think it was a big fat mistake to abandon 1000s of miles of tracks good thing quite a few are being restored & put back in service yay
I remember coming across one at random while cycling with my family, I thought it was a modern electric locomotive that had been hidden where no railway would ever find it.
It's pronounced "stenning", not "staining". Also, there is no easy route from Steyning to newhaven. You could also have mentioned that west Grinstead is alongside the main A272 and hence easily accessible. Other than those minor gripes, very good. Oh yes , "very unique"? Tut tut.
@@LoaftheProtogen Beeching got almost everything right. Even the lines he recommended for development and were later closed are now being reopened eg The varsity line.
They were used by track gangs to store tools and materials needed to repair or maintain the line, otherwise known as the permanent way. Hope this helps.
true story so about 2 years my local preserved railway the yorkshire wolds railway got call from housing redevolment company asking if we would like a diesel loco for free as it been abound for around 12 years after company that owned it went bust as you can image been a small line we happy took it and it been slowing be restored back into working order so it not the frist or last time that lost railway item will turn up.
First of all at Christ's Hospital the platforms have been uncovered with a sign similar to the one here and there time flooring near the fence that separates the platforms in the downlink to the up platform. Secondly why are there morons who need to comment first there is no prize and it's just a video
CH was much larger than necessary as it was built in anticipation of urban development. I was behind two Q1s on the Sunday after official closing. The bunting was strung across the line at Baynards from the previous day.
@@johnjephcote7636 they were also expecting the school to not be a boarding school from what I remember as well. More importantly what was it like travelling behind 2 Q1s being 35 I have never had the opportunity to travel behind a single Q1
I was just thinking how interesting things were but then you showed your ignorance by stating it was "VERY UNIQUE". Things can only be either, "VERY UNUSUAL", meaning there are other examples, i have photos, or something is UNIQUE, meaning there is only ONE. It cannot be as you wrongly stated. On the strength of this, i will NOT be subscribing as you obviously do not know how to be technically proficient at what you are trying to say, whilst not knowing all the salient facts.
Donald And Douglas: So THAT’S what happened to the missing coach
😂 best thing i’ve heard all day!
True
☠️
Thomas: *i W I L L S E N D Y O U T O J E S U S*
Good point
I was on the last up train on the Horsham to Guildford line- Saturday 12th June 1965. One of the things I can remember travelling on the line was being overtaken by a small tortoiseshell butterfly as I leaned out of the carriage window. The track was pretty bad towards the end and the trains did not go very fast! The locos- the Ivatt 2-6-2 tank engines kicked out plenty of cinders and I got quite a bit in my eyes leaning out. That carriage looks as though it came from one of the BR electric trains that ran on the Kent coast lines out of Victoria- they got those new windows towards the end of their lives.
It is rather harrowing that this was the fate of a lot lines all over the UK, but finding all of this stuff is always so nice. My town has an old viaduct still stood in the middle of a valley.
We've lost a lot of lines in Canada and the biggest reason for that is the car.
Hello Steyning, is pronounced, "Stenning" I used the downslink for bike riding and stopped for a break at west grinstead often as I used to live in Burgess Hill. Lovely to see my old cycling ground and county, miss it like hell!!!!😢😢😢😢s
Thanks for the correction! It's a lovely area.
My grandfather was Station Master at West Grinstead Station and still lives in one of the station cottages at the top of the hill
He's done very well to help upkeep the site. Must have many memories of it back in the day. Thanks for sharing.
@@Terrier55Stepney that he dose
My wife used to go to school in Horsham from Partridge Green on this line, in the early 1960's. The old goods yard at Partridge Green was just behind our house when we lived there a few years later.
It’s quite nice when you find a bit of old railway just walking around your local area. Sadly most of my town’s quite significant railway heritage has vanished.
I had a brainwave the other day Max: if making a Guide Rail on each Terrier would take too much time, why not rank all ten preserved Terriers based on how interesting their history is? Eg Boxhill for its early preservation and brief stint as a 2-4-0, Freshwater for its time as an LSWR loco, Martello for being preserved by Bultins. That would be quite interesting.
Its great living so close to the downs link, getting to go West Grinstead so often and see this random coach
Very nice video, love how West Grinstead has been preserved
Theres a walking trail near me that follows a railway line that has a coach near it (just an MK1, they keep it in good condition!) its owned by the council for activities and stuff. Tbh tho the use of the coach in this video is better.
Great video. For your future information It's pronounced 'Stenning' not 'Staining'.
The line was double track all the way to Christ's Hospital and in the late 1930's was on the SR electrification plan. However, WWII intervened. Had it been electrified back then I feel it would have opened up this little Sussex backwater and a lot more people would have moved there. No chance that it would have closed. Both Steyning and Henfield were important local market towns. The Steyning market was just near the station. Up above the station was the Railway Hotel which kept going for a few years after closure. I was glad of this as it had a pinball machine and my mates and I would get in there to play. We moved to Steyning in 1968 after the line had closed, and of course, the promises of an equivalent bus service never really materialised and my father had to catch a very early bus to get to Shoreham for his train to London Bridge. There was no real connection for a bus from Shoreham to Steyning and often he had to wait in the pub for an hour for the next bus.
Back in the day, before moving to Steyning we lived in Lancing, so if we were going to London it was a Brighton stopper to Shoreham before catching the Littlehampton - Victoria train. In between arrival of the stopper and the express, the 'Steyning stinker' would drop passengers for London off before heading on to Brighton. Similarly on arrival of the Littlehampton express from London, the stinker came through before the West Worthing stopper taking us home to Lancing. I caught a school bus from Lancing to Steyning everyday from 1963 to 1968 with the big excitement being the cement works. In the early 60's until their withdrawal K class 2-6-0s handled the cement works, but then it became a Q1 and very occasionally a Q class 0-6-0. Happy days.
Of course, by the mid-60s there was no real opposition to the closure because West Sussex County Council had already unveiled plans for a Steyning by-pass to be built on the trackbed, so that the cutesy Steyning High Street could be preserved forever, without all those nasty trucks going through the town. Today the by-pass starts at a roundabout built where the cement works marshalling sidings were, and follows the trackbed through Bramber and the deep cutting just before Steyning station, and leaves the trackbed a few hundred meters after the station to join up with the original route of the A283 to Washington, Storrington and beyond. In 1967 or 68 I walked the trackbed from Steyning to Henfield, the track had not been lifted as yet. The bridge across the Adur before Henfield was a bit scary from memory, in fact I just remembered we walked as far as Partridge Green and hitched a lift back.
Why was it called the Steyning Stinker
@@philbarker8219 I prefer to pronounce it "Staining."
@@fanofeverything30465 The empty cattle trucks were sometimes washed out with disinfectant causing a distinctive smell. Now, it's also the name of a local smoked beer.
@@PreservationEnthusiast Thank you 😊
A really nice video, many thanks.
What a nice video to watch while eating my dinner! Great job
Thank you!
The brickyard siding like the coal sidings at Hassocks were not on BR property so were not torn up with the rest.
Really interesting video, and very well put together. Thank you
Thank you for watching!
RIP Devon and cornwalls branchlines
R.I.P Devon branch
R.I.P Cornwall branch
I wish they could open it back up somehow i think it would be a nice heritage railway
It's pronounced 'Stenning' not 'Stay-ning' and the carriage isn't 'abandoned' but part of the historic interpretation. I first walked the line long before the official 'Downslink' footpath was established, when the trackbed was full of mature trees and the platforms almost invisible under brambles. It's a great walk for a day out and very well used.
The Shoreham to Horsham section would be quite busy these days if it had been kept and electrified. It would shorten the present diversionary route via Littlehampton.
The coach looks as if it came from a clasd 411
Yep, Southwater, the next station up, is growing massively with all the new building going on right now. Sadly, they have build the new houses, and Health Centre, slap over the former track formation. I don't know what has happened to it but there was/is a proposal for a new village to be build just south of the A272 on or next to the formation of the line as it left West Grinstead.
I can understand the closure of the unremunerative lines from the Beeching's time, but if only they had kept open the option of reopening by preserving the old formation. We just seem utterly unable to think ahead in this Country, well that and the fact that Horsham District Council seem utterly obsessed with building more and more houses on farmland.
@@Downsman517
Horsham to Guildford was always quieter than southwards to Shoreham. Apart from the Steyning by pass, reinstatement could be fairly easy.
@@Downsman517 I'm sure there are some of us who are capable of thinking ahead
There is also an abondoned railway in the North east called Thrope thules.
went there not long ago near where in used to live didn't know it was there when i lived there my dad used to travel along that line
Interesting history lesson this one was. Reminds me a lot of the Waterford greenway which has a similar setup: old closed down branch line now turned into a large walkway/cycle route with all the old platforms and even a signal box still intact
Intriguing that they have a coach out there!
It's astonishing how much from closed lines is still just out there in the wild. Always satisfying to uncover it!
@@Terrier55Stepney Hey there, dude.
That coach once belonged to the failed " Travelling College" train, one of 12 mk1s converted. 25853 was student dormitory TCL 99164, later bought by Bluebell railway when the college train folded.
This is the first I've heard of the travelling college. Thanks for sharing!
When did it acquire the class 411 style hopper windows?
@@physiocrat7143 Not sure, it would have had the usual mk1 windows originally. Are the hopper windows from a scrap 4CEP?
@@vickielawless
I think there might have been a supply of hopper windows. One driving trailer vehicle of a CIG was fitted with hoppers.
@@physiocrat7143 Thanks! I'm not 100% au fait on the details of Southern region mk1s, even so it's quite a sight to see a lone mk1 in the woods!
Nice work!
There's also a train to nowhere in thailand, JNR C56 53 In the middle of nowhere with two ex-SRT Coaches
I've found this series to be really informative
That's really reassuring to hear, thank you!
Yo I've been to West Grinstead before and seen this carriage!
Talk about a *Great Discovery*
I used to go here as a kid for bike rides all the time with my grandad…good times.
Nice little reminder of my boyhood association with the double track line from Shoreham through Bramber to Steyning (and beyond). My gt gt uncle was ticket collector at Henfield for many decades (he died around 1905). Steyning by the way is actually pronounced by us locals as "Sten-ning". Oh, I see Phil Barker commented on that!
I am surprised that a full sized model of the locomotive and a carriage is not built at the East Grinstead Station.
I've seen this carriage when I walked part of the trail a few years ago. Didn't know about about the track left off to the side. I need to go back to walk more of it, hopefully this summer.
Subbed :)
Amazing 👏.
Brilliant video, it's nice to see the old West Grinstead station is preserved, I actually want to go there now seeing as there's a signal you can operate.
Great video as always!
Nice job.
Coaches can be found in the craziest places.
Could you do the doon valley railway next?
"The Missing Coach"
when I read about the Beeching Cuts I think it was a big fat mistake to abandon 1000s of miles of tracks
good thing quite a few are being restored & put back in service yay
I remember coming across one at random while cycling with my family, I thought it was a modern electric locomotive that had been hidden where no railway would ever find it.
It's pronounced "stenning", not "staining". Also, there is no easy route from Steyning to newhaven. You could also have mentioned that west Grinstead is alongside the main A272 and hence easily accessible. Other than those minor gripes, very good. Oh yes , "very unique"? Tut tut.
Amazing video! I HATE THE GUY WHO DESTROYED RAILWAYS-!
Lmao chill
That would be Dr Richard Beeching, he did it to lower costs and it probably worked since British Railways lasted for 30 years after the cuts
@@LoaftheProtogen Beeching got almost everything right. Even the lines he recommended for development and were later closed are now being reopened eg The varsity line.
a rare one for me, I actually knew exactly where you were from the photo 😆😆
The mk 1 was sold to west Sussex county council by the bluebell railway
Not from south Wales
Coach? What coach?!
Lol best comment, made my day.
Hi,
What was a permanent way hut used for please?
They were used by track gangs to store tools and materials needed to repair or maintain the line, otherwise known as the permanent way. Hope this helps.
Thank you, similar to a plate layer’s hut then, I suppose.👍
@@kevlandy They were used for the rail workers to have a few beers and a smoke away from the eyes of the foreman.
It’s like Thomas and Victoria but in real life!
Good video
true story so about 2 years my local preserved railway the yorkshire wolds railway got call from housing redevolment company asking if we would like a diesel loco for free as it been abound for around 12 years after company that owned it went bust as you can image been a small line we happy took it and it been slowing be restored back into working order so it not the frist or last time that lost railway item will turn up.
Lucky them! That worked out well then. Good it's in good care now.
@Terrier55Stepney hoply it should be traffic by Christmas this year
Stenning, not staining.
Yo Stepney can you make a thomas trainz remake?
Something can not be very unique. Unique means there is only one of it. If there are two, it is not unique, therefore the word very is not required.
I wonder what an indie horror game bassed on this concept would be like.🤔
Pity it closed 🤔🚂🚂🚂
The only way to travel is by train
Steyning is pronounced 'Stenning' btw 🤓
Lovely video. Not wishing to nitpick but Steyning is pronounced as in Sten gun.
Clickbait. How can it be abandoned if it is upkept, opened to the public on occasions and has a model railway in it? Oh and picnic tables outside!
Truly an unsolved mystery.
Unique is unique - one only (it's Latin). No such thing as "very unique".
First of all at Christ's Hospital the platforms have been uncovered with a sign similar to the one here and there time flooring near the fence that separates the platforms in the downlink to the up platform. Secondly why are there morons who need to comment first there is no prize and it's just a video
CH was much larger than necessary as it was built in anticipation of urban development. I was behind two Q1s on the Sunday after official closing. The bunting was strung across the line at Baynards from the previous day.
@@johnjephcote7636 they were also expecting the school to not be a boarding school from what I remember as well. More importantly what was it like travelling behind 2 Q1s being 35 I have never had the opportunity to travel behind a single Q1
Noice
First also nice
Nobody really cares who is first
@@potatosspilled6621 ok and?
I was just thinking how interesting things were but then you showed your ignorance by stating it was "VERY UNIQUE". Things can only be either, "VERY UNUSUAL", meaning there are other examples, i have photos, or something is UNIQUE, meaning there is only ONE. It cannot be as you wrongly stated. On the strength of this, i will NOT be subscribing as you obviously do not know how to be technically proficient at what you are trying to say, whilst not knowing all the salient facts.
You're very unique, Frank.
Why am I stuck in the [ EAST GRINSTEAD ] mind groove? Probably thanks to the late great comedian, Tony Handcock.
If I'm correct that's a southern railway coach or a different railway passenger car
Br mk1