The Cuckoo Line

The Cuckoo Line

Although nominally independent at the outset, the Cuckoo Line owed its existence to both the offensive attitude of the SER and the defensive stance of the LB&SCR. Its intriguing story and absorption into the LB&SCR is accompanied by an illustrated description of each station with track plans and building drawings, operational details and pictures of trains at work through this attractive part of East Sussex. The author's interest in railways began during the war years with a daily train journey on the 'Horsham Flyer', to school in Steyning in Sussex. He lived in a house no more than a hundred yards from the South Coast main line and his bedroom overlooked a market garden and nearly a mile of that line. During those war years there was a constant procession of interesting 'specials' but the author's favourite memory is of the dash to get home by 5.31 every Tuesday in order to see new 'West Country' making its test run from Brighton to Worthing, with its tender still in undercoat grey.