Hastings line
The Hastings line is a secondary railway line in Kent and East Sussex, England, linking with the main town of, and London via and. Although primarily carrying passengers, the railway also serves a gypsum mine which is a source of freight traffic. Southeastern Trains operates passenger trains on the line, and it is one of their busiest lines.
The railway was constructed by the South Eastern Railway in the early 1850s across the difficult terrain of the High Weald. Supervision of the building of the line was lax, enabling contractors to skimp on the lining of the tunnels. These deficiencies showed up after the railway had opened. Rectifications led to a restricted loading gauge along the line, requiring the use of dedicated rolling stock.
Served by steam locomotives from opening until the late 1950s, passenger services were then taken over by a fleet of diesel-electric multiple units built to the line's loading gauge. Diesel locomotives handled freight, also built to fit the loading gauge. The diesel-electric multiple units served on the line until 1986, when the line was electrified and the most severely affected tunnels were reduced from double track to single.
Background
The South Eastern Railway completed its main line from London to Dover, Kent in 1844, branching off the rival London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's line at. Construction of a single line branch from to Tunbridge Wells, a fashionable town where a chalybeate spring had been discovered in 1606, began in July 1844. At the time, Parliament had not given assent for the railway. The Act of Parliament enabling the construction of the line had its first reading in the House of Commons on 28April 1845. The bill completed its passage through the House of Commons and the House of Lords on 28July, following which royal assent was granted on 31July by Queen Victoria.The engineer in charge of the construction was Peter W. Barlow and the contractors were Messrs. Hoof & Son. In April 1845 the SER decided that the branch would be double track. A tunnel was required after leaving Tunbridge. This was named "Somerhill Tunnel" after the nearby mansion. A mile and 54 chains after leaving Somerhill Tunnel, a viaduct was required. Southborough Viaduct stands high and has 26 arches. A temporary station was built at Tunbridge Wells as the Wells Tunnel was still under construction. It was from Tunbridge. The temporary station subsequently became a goods station. The first train, comprising four locomotives and 26 carriages, arrived at Tunbridge Wells on 19September. Trains from Tunbridge had to reverse before starting the climb to Somerhill Tunnel, as there was no facing junction at Tunbridge. This situation was to remain until 1857, when a direct link was built at a cost of £5,700. The old link remained in use until 1913.
The SER was granted permission to build a line from Ashford in Kent to St Leonards, East Sussex in 1845. The LBSC reached St Leonards from the following year. This gave the LBSC a shorter route to than the SERs route, then still under construction. The SER sought permission to extend their branch from Tunbridge Wells across the High Weald to reach Hastings. Authorisation for the construction of a line to Hastings was obtained on 18June 1846, Parliament deemed the line between Ashford and St Leonards to be of military strategic importance. Therefore, they stipulated that this line was to be completed before any extension was built from Tunbridge Wells. The extension into Tunbridge Wells opened on 25November 1846 without any public ceremony. In 1847, the SER unsuccessfully challenged the condition that the line between Ashford and St Leonards be completed first. That line was opened in 1851, passing through Hastings and making an end-on junction with the LBSC line from Lewes.
Construction
The Hastings line is built over the difficult, forested, and hilly terrain across the High Weald and sandstone Hastings Beds, necessitating the construction of eight tunnels between Tonbridge and the south coast seaside resort of Hastings. The SER was anxious to construct the line as economically as possible, since it was in competition with the LBSC to obtain entry into Hastings and was not in a strong financial position in the mid-1840s.The construction of the line between Tunbridge Wells and Robertsbridge was contracted to Messrs. Hoof & Wyths, subcontracted to Messrs. H. Warden. By March 1851, the trackbed had been constructed as far as Whatlington, East Sussex, a distance of. All tunnels had been completed and a single line of railway had been laid for a distance of from Tunbridge Wells. When the section from Tunbridge Wells to Robertsbridge opened on 1September, a single line of track extended a further to Whatlington. On the section between Whatlington and St Leonards, out of had been excavated. Construction of the line between Tunbridge Wells and Bopeep Junction cost in excess of £500,000.
Deficiencies in the construction of the tunnels
Supervision of the construction was lax, which enabled the contractors to skimp on the lining of the tunnels. This manifested itself in March 1855 when part of the brickwork of Mountfield Tunnel collapsed. An inspection of Grove Hill, Strawberry Hill and Wells tunnels revealed that they too had been constructed with too few layers of bricks. Grove Hill Tunnel had been built with just a single ring of bricks and no filling above the crown of the brickwork. The SER took the contractors to court and were awarded £3,500 in damages. However, rectifying the situation cost the company £4,700. Although the contractors had charged for six rings of bricks, they had only used four. Due to the cost of reboring the tunnels, this had to be rectified by the addition of a further two rings of brickwork, reducing the width of the tunnels by. The result of this was that the loading gauge on the line was restricted, and special rolling stock had to be built, later becoming known as Restriction 0 rolling stock. This problem would affect the line until 1986.Wadhurst Tunnel collapsed in 1862 and it was discovered by the SER that the same situation existed there too. Rectification cost £10,231. By 1877, only one train was permitted in Bopeep Tunnel at a time. The tunnel was partly widened in 1934–35. In November 1949, serious defects were discovered in the tunnel. Single-line working was put in place on 19November, but the tunnel had to be closed completely a week later. The tunnel was partially relined with cast iron segments. It reopened to traffic on 5June 1950. Mountfield Tunnel was underpinned in 1938–39, remaining open with single-line working in operation. It partially collapsed on 17November 1974, resulting in single-line working until 31January 1975. The line was then closed until 17March whilst the track was singled through the tunnel.
Openings
The line was opened by the SER in three main stages: Tunbridge–Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells–Robertsbridge and Robertsbridge–Bopeep Junction. A temporary station was opened at Tunbridge Wells on 19September 1845 while Wells Tunnel was completed. The temporary station later became the goods depot. Tunbridge Wells station opened on 25November 1846. The Tunbridge Wells–Robertsbridge section opened on 1 September 1851, with the Robertsbridge–Battle section opening on 1 January 1852. The Battle–Bopeep Junction section opened on 1 February 1852.Description of the route
The line climbs steeply out of the Medway Valley at gradients of between 1 in 47 and 1 in 300 to a summit south of Tunbridge Wells, the line undulates as far as at gradients between 1 in 80 and 1 in 155 before descending into the Rother Valley, which it follows as far as at gradients between 1 in 48 and 1 in 485. The line then climbs at gradients between 1 in 86 and 1 in 170 before a dip where it crosses the River Brede. This is followed by a climb to Battle with gradients between 1 in 100 and 1 in 227 before the line falls to Hastings at gradients of between 1 in 100 and 1 in 945.Bopeep Junction is the junction of the Hastings line with the East Coastway line. It lies east of Bopeep Tunnel. There is a pub in Bulverhythe called The Bo Peep. The name was a nickname for Customs and Excise men.
Tunnels
There are eight tunnels between Tonbridge and Hastings. In order from north to south they are:| Name | Length | Tracks | Details | Photograph |
| Somerhill | Single | Somerhill Tunnel is between Tonbridge and stations. It was reduced to single track from 19January 1986. | ||
| Wells | . | Double | Wells Tunnel is between High Brooms and Tunbridge Wells stations. | |
| Grove Hill | Double | Grove Hill Tunnel is between Tunbridge Wells and Stations. | ||
| Strawberry Hill | Single | Strawberry Hill Tunnel is between Tunbridge Wells and Frant stations. It was reduced to single track from 21April 1985. | ||
| Wadhurst | Single | Wadhurst Tunnel is between and stations. It was reduced to single track from 8September 1985. | ||
| Mountfield | Single | Mountfield Tunnel is between Robertsbridge and stations. It was reduced to single track from 17March 1975. | ||
| Bopeep | Double | Bopeep Tunnel is between and stations. | ||
| Hastings | Double | Hastings Tunnel is between St Leonards Warrior Square and Hastings stations. |
Stations
The original stations on the Tunbridge Wells to Hastings section of the line are mostly in the Gothic or Italianate styles. These were designed by William Tress. Frant, Wadhurst, Witherenden, Etchingham and Robertsbridge stations opened on 1September 1851. Other station openings are detailed below. Stations are listed under their original names.- Tunbridge
- Southborough
- Tunbridge Wells
The building on the up side of the station was built in the Italianate style. A new building by A. H. Blomfield was constructed on the down side in 1911. The station was renamed Tunbridge Wells Central on 9 July 1923 with the ex-LBSC station being renamed. Following the closure of the Tunbridge Wells– railway on 6 July 1985, the name reverted to Tunbridge Wells. The station is from Charing Cross.
- Frant
- Wadhurst
- Witherenden
- Etchingham
- Robertsbridge
- Mountfield Halt
- Battle
- Crowhurst
- West St Leonards
- St Leonards Warrior Square
- Hastings