Editing Lavender Line (section)

== History==

The Lavender Line was originally part of the [[Lewes]] to [[Uckfield]] Railway opened to the public on 18 October 1858.<ref>Railway Magazine September 1969 p496-500</ref> This independent company became part of the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] (LB&SCR) in 1864 to safeguard that company's interests east of its [[London]] to [[Brighton]] main line. Ten years from its opening, Isfield saw through workings from Brighton to [[Royal Tunbridge Wells|Tunbridge Wells]] and later [[Tonbridge]], via a new [[Wealden Line|Uckfield&ndash;Groombridge link]]. The Uckfield to Lewes section was doubled at this time,<ref>OS 6inch map surveyed 1874-1874</ref> though the extension north of Uckfield was single track until 1894.

Prior to 1868 trains from Uckfield travelling south to Lewes joined the Keymer Junction to Lewes line north of Lewes at Hamsey, latterly called the "Hamsey Loop". In order to avoid reversal of trains to Brighton at Lewes the 1868 works included abandoning the Hamsey Loop with the heavily engineered new line entering Lewes from the east. In Lewes the new line traversed a bridge over the River Ouse then a bridge over Cliffe High Street and some sidings to Lewes Station via a number of embankments and there were two other substantial new bridges further north. The mileage of the line also changed following this route alteration, with the zero milepost now at Brighton, Isfield's location was now  {{convert|13.6|miles}}.

The [[East Grinstead]] line, opened in 1882 and closed in 1958, part of which now forms the [[Bluebell Railway]], branched off the line at Culver Junction, near Culver Farm between Lewes and Barcombe Mills (the next station south of Isfield).