Cranleigh Railway Line:
The Guildford and Horsham Direct Railway. ~ 1865 to 1965
Cranleigh Station Totem
 

Signal Post
About Cranleigh Railway Station About Cranleigh Railway Station
Maps of the Cranleigh Railway Line Maps of the Cranleigh Railway Line
Cranleigh Railway Line History Cranleigh Railway Line History
Cranleigh Railway Line Photos - Then & Now Cranleigh Railway Line Photos - Then & Now
Re-Opening the Cranleigh Railway Line Re-Opening the Cranleigh Railway Line
Cranleigh Railway Line Ephemera Cranleigh Railway Line Ephemera
Cranleigh Railway Line Rolling Stock Cranleigh Railway Line Rolling Stock
Articles about the Cranleigh Railway Line Articles about the Cranleigh Railway Line
Signal Post
Signal Post
 
  
WEBSITE BUILT BY
CHEESE MEDIA

 

 

LINE HISTORY:
Guildford & Horsham
Plans to Join the two towns
Delays & Problems
HGDR & LBSCR - 'Whose line is it anyway!'
Building the Line
Changes Over the Years
Dr. Beeching and the Closure of the Branch Line
The Railway's Effect on Population
 


Dr. Beeching and the Closure of the Branchline

After railway nationalisation in 1948 British Railways began to make heavy losses, and by the mid 1950's there were plans for many line closures and much modernisation.

During the railway strike of 1955 all services stopped on the branchline. This seriously affected the freight traffic on the line, which never recovered and the line started losing money.

Timetabling also didn't help. Guildford bound trains were leaving Horsham a few minutes before trains with potential passengers arrived there, yet these trains then waited for 15 minutes at Cranleigh because Guildford couldn't accommodate them at "busy times" which meant that there were no connections of any use when the train did arrive at Guildford.

The HGDR was the only line in the whole of the county of Surrey to be closed during the reign of BR.

In the Beeching Report of 1963 all the five stations on the line were listed for closure. The report showed that it had less than 5,000 passengers per week, less than 5,000 tons of freight per week. Cranleigh & Bramley ticket offices received between £5,000 & £25,000 per year, where as the other 3 stations received less than £5,000 per year. At this time the line was loosing about £46,000 a year, and the intention to close the line was posted at all the stations and reported in local papers in September 1963. The date for closure was set for 11th November 1963 unless any objections were made.

Objections were made!

Click here to continue to: 'The Railway's Effect on Population'