Location: Sussex, England

Sussex is located along the South Coast of England, and is dominated by the Sussex Downs and the Weald which was originally a large iron mining and agricultural area. The Ashdown Forest known by most people is from the stories of Winnie the Pooh by A.A.Milne, which featured such places as Poohsticks Bridge near Hartfield (originally called Posingford Bridge).

Up until 1832, Sussex was one large Parliamentary Constituency but was then divided into the Western division of Sussex and the Eastern division of Sussex until both of these were abolished in 1885. Then in 1888 it was formed into two separate county administrations with the county town for the eastern area being Lewes whilst Chichester became county town for the western area.

For the purpose of this website, we make no distinction between West and East Sussex - in our eyes, they are both a part of Sussex, and hence the reason for our choice of domain name.

Until the closures of many branch railways in the 20th century, Sussex was well-served by rail, but after the second world war and with car ownership escalating, many railway lines were closed, so that today it is just main-line services that generally remain for public transport use. Since that time, railway preservation has forged ahead all over the country and in this area we have the Kent and East Sussex Railway operating from Tenterden in Kent to Bodiam in East Sussex; the Bluebell Railway from Sheffield Park to Kingscote; the Lavender Line at Isfield and the Spa Valley from Tunbridge Wells, Kent with plans to reconnect with the Oxted Line at Eridge in East Sussex.

Besides covering some of the above mentioned heritage railways, this site will also be covering the railways remaining in public ownership. Lines like the East and West Coastway lines; the Marshlink Line; London-Hastings line; plus the Oxted Line which has become the Hurst Green turnback siding since the line was severed between Lewes and Uckfield by the East Sussex County Council in 1969 so they could build a new road in Lewes. For the full story of that closure, please visit www.wealdenline.co.uk and for the campaign now currently under way to rebuild the line, a visit to www.wealdenlink.org.uk is a must.