by Michael Miller // Main Photo: A Push-Pull loco arriving at Cranleigh railway station before closure © N. Hamshere
June 14th this year marks the 60th anniversary of the closure of our railway in Cranleigh. On Saturday 12th June the last regular service ran over the Horsham Line. At every station platforms were crowded with people taking photographs. On Sunday when there were no regular services, a special train organised by the Locomotive Club of Great Britain, had 9 coaches carrying 400 passengers. In Cranleigh signal box Mr. Bert Andrews was on duty: his great grandfather had been guard on the first train. On Monday the 14th there should have been no trains but it was found necessary to send a locomotive from Horsham to Baynards where a few wagons had been left in a siding.
The railway had served Cranleigh and other villages along the line for the best part of 100 years. In 1865 the line was due to open in September to coincide with the opening of Cranleigh School but it was inevitably delayed and the school opened with just a few pupils rather than the hundreds anticipated.
In 1867 the volume of posts carried increased but some of our letters were wrongly directed to Crawley. After many complaints the authorities decided to change the spelling of our village to its present form, Cranleigh, in order to avoid confusion.
Since it opened the line was single track through most of its length but in 1880 a passing loop was added so that Cranleigh became a terminus in its own right. The push/pull engines could transfer from one end of the train to the other in order to complete their return journey with the minimum of delay.
The line from Horsham was not well used and problems often occurred in the Baynards tunnel. The timetables were not well coordinated and passengers were often disappointed as they arrived in Guildford just in time to see the London train leaving.
Things finally came to a head in 1963 when Dr Beeching published his report on “The Reshaping of Britain’s Railways”. As a result of the low usage, particularly on the service south of Cranleigh, the line was scheduled for closure. Despite objections, the British Railways Board considered the provision of a single bus service would be sufficient to carry present and anticipated future traffic. All that remains today is the track-bed, now recycled as the Downs Link path and the raised loading bay behind the Stocklund Square shops which is part of the old platform level. The concrete sleepers at the entrance to Snoxhall were purchased but never used.
To mark the occasion a small exhibition of photographs and memorabilia will be held on Saturday June 14th in St Nicolas Church from 10.00am to 4.00pm. If you are new to the village and often wondered what the station looked like there will be a scale model on show.
It is to be hoped that some of older residents may be able to recall happy memories of travelling on the “Cranleigh Flyer”.
