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Cranleigh line
The Cranleigh line was a railway line in South East England that connected Guildford in Surrey with Horsham in West Sussex. It ran for 15 miles 48 chains (25.1 km) from Peasmarsh Junction on the Portsmouth Direct line to Stammerham Junction at Christ's Hospital station on the Arun Valley line. It served the villages of Bramley, Cranleigh, Rudgwick and Slinfold. The line was never electrified and was single track with passing loops at Bramley & Wonersh, Cranleigh and Baynards stations.
Construction of the line was started in 1860 by the independent Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway, which was acquired by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in June 1864. The first passenger services ran on 2 October 1865, although remedial works to ease the gradient north of the River Arun crossing delayed the opening of Rudgwick station until the following month. Christ's Hospital station was opened on 1 May 1902.
The railway was never financially successful and there were never more than nine return passenger services on weekdays. Freight services were suspended during the 1955 railway workers' strike and never recovered thereafter. The public goods yards closed in October 1962. The line was listed for closure in the 1963 Beeching report, and passenger services were withdrawn on 14 June 1965.
Platforms remain in situ at Bramley & Wonersh, Baynards and Christ's Hospital, but the stations at Cranleigh, Rudgwick and Slinfold were completely demolished. The 381 yd-long (348 m) Baynards Tunnel, where the line crossed the county boundary between Surrey and West Sussex, was bricked up at both ends and the cutting on the north side was infilled. Much of the route now forms part of the Downs Link path, which connects the North Downs Way at St Martha's Hill to the South Downs Way near Shoreham-by-Sea.
The Cranleigh line was a standard-gauge railway line in South East England. It ran for 15 miles 48 chains (25.1 km) from Peasmarsh Junction on the Portsmouth Direct line to Stammerham Junction at Christ's Hospital station on the Arun Valley line. The line was single track throughout and, on its opening in 1865, there was only one passing loop at Baynards station, the approximate half-way point. Additional passing loops were added at Bramley & Wonersh and Cranleigh stations in 1876 and 1880 respectively.
By the end of 1865, there were five operational stations on the line—at Bramley & Wonersh, Cranleigh, Baynards, Rudgwick and Slinfold. Initially only Baynards had two platforms, with the remainder having only one each. Bramley & Wonersh and Cranleigh each gained a second platform when their passing loops were installed. Christ's Hospital station opened in 1902 to serve the school of the same name and an expected local housing development. It was provided with five platform roads and seven platform faces, of which two roads and three faces served the Cranleigh line. The route was never electrified, although an outline proposal to install third rail on the section north of Cranleigh was put forward by the Southern Railway in the early 1930s.
The Cranleigh line diverged from the Portsmouth Direct line at Peasmarsh Junction, around 1+3⁄4 mi (2.8 km) south of Guildford station, on a 1⁄4 mi (400 m) curve with a minimum radius of 12 chains (790 ft; 240 m). When it opened, the junction was controlled by a signal box operated by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and had two diverging tracks, which merged into one at a second signal box, operated by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). In 1926, Peasmarsh Junction was altered to a single lead, allowing the abolition of the LB&SCR box, with the former LSWR box controlling all movements between the branch and the main line.
At Stammerham Junction, the Cranleigh line diverged from the Arun Valley line via a 1⁄2 mi (800 m) west–north curve with a minimum radius of 26 chains (1,700 ft; 520 m). On opening in 1865, a west–south spur was also provided, described by the railway historian, J. T. Howard Turner, as the "Itchingfield South Fork", which allowed trains to run from Guildford to the Sussex coast without the need for a reversal. No regular scheduled services were timetabled over the spur and the track had been lifted by August 1867. The embankment over which the Itchingfield South Fork ran was levelled by ploughing in the mid-20th century and its course is only visible as a field boundary and drainage ditch.
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Cranleigh line
The Cranleigh line was a railway line in South East England that connected Guildford in Surrey with Horsham in West Sussex. It ran for 15 miles 48 chains (25.1 km) from Peasmarsh Junction on the Portsmouth Direct line to Stammerham Junction at Christ's Hospital station on the Arun Valley line. It served the villages of Bramley, Cranleigh, Rudgwick and Slinfold. The line was never electrified and was single track with passing loops at Bramley & Wonersh, Cranleigh and Baynards stations.
Construction of the line was started in 1860 by the independent Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway, which was acquired by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in June 1864. The first passenger services ran on 2 October 1865, although remedial works to ease the gradient north of the River Arun crossing delayed the opening of Rudgwick station until the following month. Christ's Hospital station was opened on 1 May 1902.
The railway was never financially successful and there were never more than nine return passenger services on weekdays. Freight services were suspended during the 1955 railway workers' strike and never recovered thereafter. The public goods yards closed in October 1962. The line was listed for closure in the 1963 Beeching report, and passenger services were withdrawn on 14 June 1965.
Platforms remain in situ at Bramley & Wonersh, Baynards and Christ's Hospital, but the stations at Cranleigh, Rudgwick and Slinfold were completely demolished. The 381 yd-long (348 m) Baynards Tunnel, where the line crossed the county boundary between Surrey and West Sussex, was bricked up at both ends and the cutting on the north side was infilled. Much of the route now forms part of the Downs Link path, which connects the North Downs Way at St Martha's Hill to the South Downs Way near Shoreham-by-Sea.
The Cranleigh line was a standard-gauge railway line in South East England. It ran for 15 miles 48 chains (25.1 km) from Peasmarsh Junction on the Portsmouth Direct line to Stammerham Junction at Christ's Hospital station on the Arun Valley line. The line was single track throughout and, on its opening in 1865, there was only one passing loop at Baynards station, the approximate half-way point. Additional passing loops were added at Bramley & Wonersh and Cranleigh stations in 1876 and 1880 respectively.
By the end of 1865, there were five operational stations on the line—at Bramley & Wonersh, Cranleigh, Baynards, Rudgwick and Slinfold. Initially only Baynards had two platforms, with the remainder having only one each. Bramley & Wonersh and Cranleigh each gained a second platform when their passing loops were installed. Christ's Hospital station opened in 1902 to serve the school of the same name and an expected local housing development. It was provided with five platform roads and seven platform faces, of which two roads and three faces served the Cranleigh line. The route was never electrified, although an outline proposal to install third rail on the section north of Cranleigh was put forward by the Southern Railway in the early 1930s.
The Cranleigh line diverged from the Portsmouth Direct line at Peasmarsh Junction, around 1+3⁄4 mi (2.8 km) south of Guildford station, on a 1⁄4 mi (400 m) curve with a minimum radius of 12 chains (790 ft; 240 m). When it opened, the junction was controlled by a signal box operated by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and had two diverging tracks, which merged into one at a second signal box, operated by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). In 1926, Peasmarsh Junction was altered to a single lead, allowing the abolition of the LB&SCR box, with the former LSWR box controlling all movements between the branch and the main line.
At Stammerham Junction, the Cranleigh line diverged from the Arun Valley line via a 1⁄2 mi (800 m) west–north curve with a minimum radius of 26 chains (1,700 ft; 520 m). On opening in 1865, a west–south spur was also provided, described by the railway historian, J. T. Howard Turner, as the "Itchingfield South Fork", which allowed trains to run from Guildford to the Sussex coast without the need for a reversal. No regular scheduled services were timetabled over the spur and the track had been lifted by August 1867. The embankment over which the Itchingfield South Fork ran was levelled by ploughing in the mid-20th century and its course is only visible as a field boundary and drainage ditch.