Eridge - August 1988

By the summer of 1988, however, Eridge had not only lost its status as a junction station, but with the East Grinstead electrification scheme in October 1987, it also lost almost its entire direct service to London.

Now, instead of being able to travel through to London, with Uckfield and East Grinstead trains joining at Oxted, passengers were forced to change to an electric service from East Grinstead.

Here an Oxted to Uckfield train approaches Eridge, passing the now rusty platform loops that used to accommodate the Tonbridge trains.

Note that the train bears a small Network SouthEast logo beneath its headcode box. One of the major 'might have beens' of the Eridge - Tunbridge Wells closure is whether it would have gone ahead at all if Chris Green's Network SouthEast business sector had been in existence at the time.

In notable contrast to all his BR predecessors (and successors), Green was a forward looking manager who was even prepared to put up money to reopen the Lewes - Uckfield link. He believed that along with the Mid-Hants (Alton - Winchester) line, it should never have been closed in the first place. Sadly his proposals were thwarted by a total lack of interest on the part of East Sussex County Council.

In any case, by the time Network SouthEast was launched in mid-1986, the Eridge - Tunbridge Wells line had been closed for nearly a year.