The Three Bridges–Tunbridge Wells line is a mostly disused railway line running from Three Bridges (on the Brighton Main Line) in West Sussex to Tunbridge Wells Central in Kent via East Grinstead in West Sussex (East Sussex pre-1974), a distance of . Opened in 1855, the main section of the line was a casualty of the Beeching Axethe last train ran on 1 January 1967. The remaining section to Tunbridge Wells closed on 6 July 1985, although the section between Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells West was reopened in 1997 under the auspices of the Spa Valley Railway.
Three Bridges–East Grinstead By the mid-19th century East Grinstead, then a small market town, found itself excluded from the development of the railway network in the south-east; the nearest town, Godstone, was connected to the South Eastern Railway's (SER) London to Dover line, whilst the London and Brighton Railway's (LBR) Brighton Main Line had linked in Three Bridges as well as the supposedly less important towns of Haywards Heath and Horley. As the town began to lose custom to places with railway facilities, the East Grinstead traders began to clamour for a connection; some landowners and gentry pushed for an extension from Godstone, whilst others were in favour of a branch line from Three Bridges. In 1845 the SER and LBR promoted rival bills for lines through the town, but these both came to nothing: the local townspeople withdrew their support for the SER proposal once it moved the terminus of its line from London Road to a point outside East Grinstead where St Margaret's Junction is now situated. The LBSCR's bill was passed; however, due to a sudden economic crisis this scheme was abandoned.
The East Grinstead Railway In July 1852 a public meeting took place in East Grinstead to discuss the setting-up of a railway company which would build a line to Three Bridges. The majority of landowners affected were in favour and a contractor, a Mr Hale, agreed to carry out the works for £40,000. Unfortunately, he was killed in accident shortly afterwards. A company, the East Grinstead Railway Company (EGR), was incorporated in November to promote a bill authorising a railway between Three Bridges and East Grinstead. The bill was not opposed by the LBR which was more than happy for a third party to bear the construction costs; furthermore, the LBR ensured that a provision was inserted in the bill allowing it to purchase the line at any time within ten years of construction, and until then to pay the EGR an annual rental of £2,000 while it worked the line on their behalf.
The EGR's bill received royal assent on 8 July 1853 and passed into law as the (16 & 17 Vict. c. lxxxviii). It authorised a single track line covering a distance of . Before the act was passed the route underwent a late change necessitated by a landowner's objections: a Mr J. H. Wilson who occupied "The Grange" in Crawley Down. He refused to allow a station on his land and demanded the line be deviated through a tunnel. The EGR's directors were not willing to go to the expense of building a tunnel, and so it was agreed that the route of the line would be changed to deviate through what was to become Grange Road railway station.
Construction The first post-authorisation EGR board meeting was held at the Crown Inn in East Grinstead on 6 October 1853. Present were the company's directors, all prominent local businessmen, led by John Dorrien Magens (Chairman), George Head, William Stenning, Charles Tooke and Frederick Cayley Worsley. The costs of construction were estimated at £50,000 – the same amount which the LBR had proposed to pay for the line when it was ready. George Wythes of Reigate agreed to construct the line for £43,700, and the ceremonial cutting of the first sod was carried out on Tuesday 22 November.
By September 1854 the works had advanced sufficiently for the EGR's joint company secretary, Mr W. Pearless, to report that "rapid progress" had been made and that nearly all the necessary land purchases had been made. Only Mr Wilson of The Grange was stubbornly refusing to part with his land and required the matter to be taken to arbitration under the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. 18). Before the arbitrator Wilson demanded £5,500 compensation, but only received £1,400. The EGR's engineer, Robert Jacomb-Hood (also the LBR's chief engineer), confirmed the progress of works: only three cuttings remained to be completed, a public road bridge needed to be built and only of permanent way was ready.
Mid-May 1855 saw last minute works on the line before the scheduled inspection by the Board of Trade's Lt.-Col. George Wynne on 22 June. The station at East Grinstead was in its final stages and the line from Three Bridges was ready. Wynne found no fault with the line, requiring only an undertaking from the EGR to the effect that the line would only be worked by a single engine.
Opening The line was officially opened on Monday 9 July 1855. A public holiday in East Grinstead marked the occasion which was celebrated by over 200 guests and a "railway band". Among those present was local landowner the Earl de la Warr who commented that although the line was not long, "its importance was not to be measured merely by its length." The total amount expended on the line's construction was £48,721.
Initial passenger services consisted of six trains each way on weekdays, with two services on Sundays. Total journey time was 20 minutes each way. A passenger wishing to catch an onward connection to London could take the first train from East Grinstead at 06:55, but had to wait 43 minutes in Three Bridges for a connection which would arrive in London at 09:15. The last Down train was the 18:00 service from London which would connect with a service from Three Bridges scheduled to arrive in East Grinstead at 19:40. A 0-4-2 saddle tank locomotive No. 22 was built in 1855 to work the line and remained in service until 1866. The fare up to London was six shillings for first class travel, and three shillings for third class.
Early years The early years were regarded as a success for the line by the EGR's directors, and by 1859 eight passenger services were run daily in each direction, with four trains on Sundays. A new station, "Grange Road", opened in March 1860 and, at first, it only saw three trains each day, but with effect from 2 April 1860 it became a 'request stop', with all trains calling there if required.
The LBR – now the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) – went ahead with its purchase of the line in January 1865, a sum of £53,000 being paid to the EGR which was not, however, enough for the EGR's shareholders to have their capital back in full.
Route of the line Departing Three Bridges station on a curve, the line passed under the London to Brighton road before climbing at 1 in 88, passing over a level crossing known as "Compasses Crossing" and, just before arriving at Rowfant station, crossed Wallage Lane on the level. The line then climbed again at 1 in 80 passing through a deep cutting in J.H. Wilson's land and Grange Road station, travelling through an arable and wooded landscape before arriving at East Grinstead station which was in Swan Mead, off the London Road.
Extension to Tunbridge Wells
As with the initial connection between Three Bridges and East Grinstead, the impetus for an extension to Tunbridge Wells came from local landowners who, as early as 1855, had enquired as to the possibility of an extension east. The (25 & 26 Vict. c. ccvii), passed on 7 August 1862, authorised this extension and a company of the same name oversaw the scheme. Just one year previously, the Brighton, Uckfield and Tunbridge Wells Railway Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. clxxiv) had been adopted, sanctioning an extension of the Wealden Line from its terminus at Uckfield to Tunbridge Wells. Construction works were already underway.
Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells Railway The East Grinstead, Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells Railway (EGGTW) was incorporated by the East Grinstead, Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells Railway Act 1862 and its first directors were the Earl de la Warr, his son Lord West, C.B. and John Pryce. These three were also shareholders together with a fourth person, Edward Parker. The company's capital was £75,000 divided into 7,500 shares and when all these shares had been subscribed for, the company was authorised to borrow up to £25,000. Included amongst the powers of the company was the power to "construct and thereafter maintain a convenient siding at Withyham for the use of the Earl de la Warr." In addition, it was required to cross a private carriage road to Ashdown House via a bridge under the road and not a level crossing. In fact, it was not authorised to alter the level of any roads except one near East Grinstead station, which could only be raised by seven feet.
As with the first section between East Grinstead and Three Bridges, the extension would be single tracked throughout except at a re-sited East Grinstead station. The station was to be relocated north at a lower level to enable the line to pass under London Road. The old station would then become a goods yard.
Construction The ceremony of cutting the first turf took place in the Fair Field, off Lewes Road, just outside East Grinstead on Saturday 18 July 1863. Lord West and Leo Schuster, chairman of the LBSCR, took part in the ritual.
John Watson & Co. of 47 Parliament Square was chosen as the line's contractor, with the LBSCR's chief engineer Frederick Banister as designer, surveyor and engineer. The station buildings on the line were designed by Charles Henry Driver. The construction itself was not straightforward; a deep cutting had to be driven through the Fair Field, with brick-lined tunnels under College Lane () and Lewes Road (). Powder was used by the contractor in the digging out of the cutting and a navvy, a James Bourne, was killed on 11 April 1865 when, following an explosion, he was buried up to his neck in the clay which was thrown up. His was not the only death in the line's construction, the Tunbridge Wells Gazette reported on 9 September 1864 that a man had died following injuries sustained when he was run over by a wagon on the line near Withyham. The storage of the powder by the contractor also raised other problems. Locals complained when the powder was stored in a wooden shed near a school in East Grinstead and the contractor was fined two shillings by East Grinstead magistrates in April 1865.
By March 1866 the line still had not been opened and questions were raised as to how much longer it would take. As reported in the Sussex Express, "nearly everyone in the town [of East Grinstead] is now looking anxiously for news about our new line, which is to make this town a large city and the centre of attraction to all this side of the Thames." In fact, the line was still incomplete and Groombridge station remained unfinished by June.