Cooksbridge - 1983

Althought they spent much of their time when not in service at Tunbridge Wells West, the fleet of DEMUs serving the Uckfield and East Grinstead routes at this time were officially based at St Leonards depot near Hastings.

With the substandard tunnels on the Hastings line precluding use of the direct route, stock was rotated to the depot for servicing via the Brighton line and Eastbourne - a very long way round. Although some of the workings were as empty stock, one of them carried passengers as the 09.41 East Croydon - Eastbourne service for part of its journey.

In this view, the three units which usually comprised this working are seen as they slow for the stop at this quiet country station between Lewes and Wivelsfield; as might be expected, passenger numbers were derisory.

Ironically, by the time the Hastings line modernisation of 1986 had made that route available to standard width rolling stock, the link to the Uckfield line via Tunbridge Wells West had been closed for nearly a year.

Subsequently, the residual DEMU fleet serving the Uckfield line was based at Selhurst, just to the north of East Croydon - which is also the base of the current Turbostars.