Spa valley Railway cerebrates 200 years of rail in the United Kingdom with The Cuckoo Line Gala The Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells will be running a special event between Friday 13 and Sunday 15 June 2025 to celebrate the 200-year anniversary of rail in the United Kingdom. Visitors can join volunteers as everyone steps back in time to the 1960s when steam still ruled supreme. The event commemorates 60 years since the closure of the famous Cuckoo Line, which once ran between Tunbridge Wells West via Eridge and Hailsham to Polegate. This event is part of countrywide celebrations of 200 years of rail in the United Kingdom. The Wealdsman Rail Tour will take place on Friday 13 June 2025. 31806 and 34050 will carry replica headboards of the very tour that was the last steam-hauled train along the Cuckoo Line! The Cuckoo Line Gala will see one of the most interesting timetables ever to operate on the Spa Valley Railway line between Tunbridge Wells West and Eridge, incorporating early morning and late evening services with the following locomotives.
• Southern Railway U Class 31806 – Courtesy of the Swanage Railway and JMB Locomotive Services
• Southern Railway Bulleid Pacific 34050 'Royal Observer Corps'
• British Railways Ivatt 2MT Tank 41313 – Courtesy of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway
• British Railways Standard 4MT Tank 80078 – Courtesy of Stewart Robinson
• Class 33/0 D6566 – Courtesy of the DEPG
• Class 207 DEMU 1317 Brake van rides in the Queen Mary Brake Van will be available all weekend.
Additional visiting locomotives will be announced soon and there will be an decision in early May, subject to safety inspections, as to whether one of the original tunnels on the Cuckoo Trail will be reopened for the public to walk through for this event only. Tickets are available online and are discounted when purchased in advance. Tickets allow passengers to travel on any train throughout the day. Adult 1 Day Rover – £32.00, Child 1 Day Rover – £19.50, Family 1 Day Rover – £69.00 (2 Adults + 2 Children) Adult 2 Day Rover – £59.00, Child 2 Day Rover – £34.50, Adult 3 Day Rover – £86.00, Child 3 Day Rover – £48.50 Members of the Tunbridge Wells & Eridge Railway Preservation Society and HRA Privilege Pass Holders can obtain a 25% discount on tickets purchased on the day. Timetable: Trains will be running from early morning until late evening; evening dining trains can also be booked for Friday 13 or Saturday 14 June 2025 including for Fish & Chip Suppers on the Real Ale Train. The railway is currently fundraising and has an emergency appeal to raise £300,000 to replace the vital Broom Lane Bridge between High Rocks and Groombridge. History of the Cuckoo Line The Cuckoo Line is the name for the now-closed railway line that joined Polegate to Eridge from 1880 to 1968. Drivers nicknamed it the Cuckoo Line from a tradition observed at the annual fair at Heathfield, a station on the route. At the fair, which was held each April, a lady would release a cuckoo from a basket, it being supposedly the 'first cuckoo of spring'.
The Cuckoo Line was built by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in two sections, starting with the branch from Polegate to Hailsham, which opened to traffic on 14 May 1849. It diverged from the Eastbourne to London line at Polegate and ran northwards to the market town of Hailsham, which was the terminus for 31 years until the line through to Eridge was completed and opened in September 1880. The line then passed through the villages of Hellingly (where the electric Hellingly Hospital Railway once operated), Horam, Heathfield, Mayfield, Rotherfield & Mark Cross, then joined the Oxted Line at Redgate Mill Junction before arriving at Eridge. The route continued what is now the Spa Valley Railway, leaving the Oxted Line at Birchden Junction, heading for Groombridge, High Rocks Halt and eventually Tunbridge Wells West. Following the famous Beeching Report in 1963, the line was recommended for closure. The section from Eridge to Hailsham was closed to passenger traffic on 14th June 1965, with the section between Heathfield and Hailsham remaining open for freight until 1968. The remaining stub of the branch line from Polegate to Hailsham remained open until 8thSeptember 1968. The line between Eridge and Tunbridge Wells West remained open until 1985 and, of course, was reopened in 1997 as the Spa Valley Railway. We’re delighted to be hosting this event to commemorate 60 years since the closure of this famous line! To find out more about the railway visit www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk
Adult 1 Day Rover – £32.00, Child 1 Day Rover – £19.50, Family 1 Day Rover – £69.00 (2 Adults + 2 Children) Adult 2 Day Rover – £59.00, Child 2 Day Rover – £34.50, Adult 3 Day Rover – £86.00, Child 3 Day Rover – £48.50 Members of the Tunbridge Wells & Eridge Railway Preservation Society and HRA Privilege Pass Holders can obtain a 25% discount on tickets purchased on the day.
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Spa valley Railway cerebrates 200 years of rail in the United Kingdom with The Cuckoo Line Gala
Neville Terrace
TN2 5QY
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