In 1877 an Act was passed to construct the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway (L&EGR). The line was sponsored by a number of local landowners including the Earl of Sheffield. A year later, the 1878 Act then enabled the London, Brighton and South Coast Company (LB&SCR) to obtain and run the new line.

The line had six stations, but only the station at Barcombe, was within walking distance of an existing village. Of the remaining, five, these were located in thinly inhabited areas. Chailey parish had two stations, one at Sheffield Park with the other at Newick and Chailey. It was traditional, at that time, for a rural railway line, that was supported by a private company or notable individuals to have a station sited within close proximity to the residences of the sponsors. Thus Sheffield Park was for the Earl of Sheffield and Newick and Chailey for the residences of both Newick Park and Reedens, the latter being the residences of two additional sponsors. The other stations on the line were at Kingscote , West Hoathly and Horsted Keynes the latter had a branch line to Ardingly and Haywards Heath .

Curiously, the details enshrined in the 1877 and 1878 Acts included the following words in a clause stating that: "Four passenger trains each way daily to run on this line with through connections at East Grinstead to London, and stop at Sheffield Bridges, Newick and West Hoathly". Indeed, this clause locked the railway company into a legal commitment of providing a permanent service and the only was out of this was by another Act of Parliament to rescind it!

The new line opened in 1882 with the usual pomp and ceremony and a great deal of celebration. The whole line from East Grinstead was built to take double track, which was laid between East Grinstead and Horsted Keynes,however south of Horsted Keynes only single track was laid. The exception was that the stations had passing loops.

Like a number of rural branch lines, of that era, besides the conveying of passengers, a substantial quantity of local produce was transported: milk, farm products, coal and latterly, timber both to and from Albert Turner & Son, a local sawmill. Curiously, the only time Sheffield Park station received a substantial number of passengers was when Lord Sheffield was entertaining the Australian Cricket Team with the inevitable match between them and his Lordships own team!

Dr Richard Beeching

Shortly after the closure, a local resident of Chailey, Miss Margery Bessemer, discovered that within both the wording of the 1877 and 1878 Acts there was a clause relating to the "Statutory Line" (as mentioned above) and at once demanded that British Railways should honour this legal obligation, and reinstate the services according to the Acts. What followed was that on 7th August 1956 British Railways was forced to re-open the line and so began the "Sulky Service," with the trains only stopping at the stations mentioned in the Acts. In the meantime, in 1957 , British Railways then took the case to the House of Commons resulting in a Public Inquiry. Indeed, British Railways were sternly censured, but later the Transport Commission was able to persuade Parliament to repeal the special section of the Act, which they ultimately did, and in doing so, the line was again, and this time, finally closed on 17th March 1958 .

Spring 1959 saw the formation of the Lewes & East Grinstead Railway Preservation Society, (the forerunner of today’s Bluebell Railway Preservation Society). Their initial aim was to re-open the whole line from East Grinstead to Culver Junction near Lewes and to run it as a commercial service. This was envisaged using a diesel railcar, with a two-car DMU, as soon as funds allowed! Plans like these, sadly, came to nothing, mainly for two reasons: firstly the Society failed to purchase the whole section of the line and secondly, local residents were not that interested in the idea. So, in the interim, the re-opening of the section of line, that was initially leased and finally purchased from British Railways which ran from Sheffield Park to Bluebell Halt, just south of Horsted Keynes as both a steam railway and museum was planned and approved.

Present and future

Looking North, towards Horsted Keynes, from Sheffield Park

It is hoped that in the future this spur will also reconnect with the main London to Brighton line at Copyhold Junction, restoring a major bypass of the main London–Brighton line. During the Second World War the signal box at Horsted Keynes was manned day and night to provide a second route for troop trains.

The station at Sheffield Park has been restored to a generally Victorian ambience, as close as possible to how it would have appeared during the time of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (up to 1922). Horsted Keynes tries to emulate the style of the Southern Railway (1922–1948), and Kingscote echoes the early British Railways period (1950s).

Christmas is a peak time for bookings, as the Santa Special is very popular with families. Complimentary Clown entertainment, a children's visit from Father Christmas , Mince Pies and refreshments are served during the journey.

Stations

    Sheffield Park
    Horsted Keynes
    West Hoathly (closed)
    Kingscote
    East Grinstead (extension under construction)

Claims to fame

The Bluebell Railway has been used as the location for several films and television programmes. In October 1999 the film The Railway Children based on the book by E Nesbit was filmed at the railway.

Looking South, towards the former line to Newick and Chailey and to Lewes, from Sheffield Park

The Bluebell Railway is also featured in The Railway Series written by the Rev. W. Awdry . The book was called