Three Bridges To Tunbridge Wells Central Line - Three Bridges To East Grinstead

Three Bridges To East Grinstead

By the mid-nineteenth century East Grinstead, then a small market town, found itself excluded from the development of the railway network in the south-east; the nearest town, Godstone, was connected to the South Eastern Railway's (SER) London to Dover line, whilst the London and Brighton Railway's (LBR) Brighton Main Line had linked in Three Bridges as well as the supposedly less important towns of Haywards Heath and Horley. As the town began to lose custom to places with railway facilities, the East Grinstead traders began to clamour for a connection; some landowners and gentry pushed for an extension from Godstone, whilst others were in favour of a branch line from Three Bridges. In 1845 the SER and LBR promoted rival bills for lines through the town, but these both came to nothing: the local townspeople withdrew their support for the SER proposal once it moved the terminus of its line from London Road to a point outside East Grinstead where St Margaret's Junction is now situated. The LBSCR's bill was passed; however, due to a sudden economic crisis this scheme was abandoned.