Railways of East Sussex

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Dominated by the lines inherited by the Southern Railway from the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway combined with those of the South East & Chatham and Kent & East Sussex railways, there was an intricate network of railway lines that served the area of Sussex to the east of the London to Brighton main line. In the immediate post-war years and the first decade of British Railways, and this network was to remain largely intact. By the end of the 1950s, the first closures were threatened and, by the time of the Beeching report of 1963, the first lines in the area had controversially closed. Although the major destinations – Newhaven, Eastbourne and Hastings – remain open, many of the secondary routes have now closed. Fortunately preservation – in the guise of the Bluebell, Kent & East Sussex, Lavender and Spa Valley railways – has seen some of these lost lines survive to remind visitors of the county’s railway heritage. Featuring some 60 rare or unseen images, Railways of 1948-1968 portrays the railways of the region in a period of change.