Editing Lavender Line (section)

==Preservation Society==

Mr Milham's business failed in 1991 and the Lavender Line was put up for sale, initially for £1.3 million.<ref>'Pop Larkin takes to steam' The Independent 4 May 1991</ref>  This sale and a later auction seeking around £500,000<ref>'End of the line for a dream' The Argus 9 November 1991</ref> were not successful. Eventually, in November 1992, the railway (without the station house) was bought from Mr Milham's bankers by Lavender Line Ltd.<ref>Lavender Line Preservation Society AGM report 25 February 1994</ref> The Lavender Line Ltd is in turn controlled by the Lavender Line Preservation Society, a registered charity formed initially by volunteers who had helped Mr Milham.  The first public trains under the new owners operated on Sunday 30 May 1993 after significant track alterations required by the Railway Inspectorate.  The initial {{convert|1/4|mile}} has subsequently been extended to just under {{convert|1|mile}} with the line terminating at the first of two bridges over the river Uck.

[[File:Kitson-Austin1.JPG|380px|center|thumb|[[Kitson & Co.|Kitson]] 0-6-0ST "Austin I" built in 1932 on shed at Isfield]]