The Dyke Terminus

 

The one really daft thing about the Dyke Branch line and (I suspect) what may have ultimately led to the decline in the Line’s popularity, was the fact that the railway ended  ½ mile from the Dyke proper and in this ½ mile, patrons still had to climb 200ft in order to reach the vantage point. Almost as a result of this, by 1932, most people had forsaken the poor railway in favour of cars and buses and this was really deemed the beginning of the end. For some time the powers that be had viewed the Dyke Branch as little more than “an expensive line, little more than a glorified mountain railway, with rapidly diminishing traffic prospects”. The line closed on New Year’s Eve 1938, amidst much sadness and melancholia.


It is interesting to note that, although the Dyke Station has been closed since 1938, it appears to be in remarkably good condition in the present day. Geoff Marshall and I recently walked the route of the Dyke Railway (8th November 2008) and found that the majority of the platform was totally intact and that the high cliffed bowl that the station sat in is still very much a recognisable feature.

It is difficult to provide an overall commentary of this area, so it is best to present our findings as an array of new pictures with links to old pictures for comparison, along with comments specific to each particular view.




ABOVE: This photo shows the terminus in the present day (8th November 2008).

ABOVE: Other parts of the platform are not quite so well preserved and not easily spotted! This is more or less where the signal box once stood.


ABOVE: Panoramic shot of the majority of the station platform. The brickwork and stone are in surprisingly good condition.



ABOVE: This is the view from opposite the platform, looking back roughly South-East. The edge of the platform is on the extreme left of the photo. The barn is roughly where the path up to the "Dennett's Corner" Tea Rooms and the main path up to the Dyke would have joined the end of the station platform. The station building would have been just opposite the caravan. It is very rare that I make it into a photo, but here I am, standing on the original track bed!

photo by Geoff Marshall


ABOVE: This photo shows an overview of the station area looking from almost the top of the North-Eastern corner of the bowl that the station originally sat in. The track bed runs diagonally alongside the two caravans.
photo by Geoff Marshall

ABOVE: This view of the platform is not all it seems. We originally thought that the large pile of granite chippings were from the track bed. The farmer (Chris Martin) later informed us that it was dumped there when Hove Station was rearranged in the late 90's! It's a forgery!!
photo by Geoff Marshall

 ABOVE: This "Pandrol" baseplate did immediately sow seeds of doubt in our minds over the authenticity of the granite chippings; 1971 is clearly visible on the casting, but Loz (wishing to keep the dream alive no doubt!) postulated that it could be a part number and not a date. As stated in the comment for the previous photo however, our subsequent discussion with the farmer soon shattered our illusions!

photo by Geoff Marshall

ABOVE: This road was the original path which would have led passengers out of the station and up to the summit. In the present day it is still perfectly in situ, but serves only as a main entrance to the Dyke Farm.

ABOVE: No, it's not an amusing cowpat! This is actually a base for a signal post. This would have stood at the station mouth and was particularly important as the entire Branch Line was single line working throughout. Whilst the signal post has long since gone, the base is still well visible. I am under the impression that there has been a lot of effort made by both the farmer and conservationists to keep the areas around these little artifacts clear so that they remain visible.
photo by Geoff Marshall

ABOVE: This view is looking back towards the terminus from just outside the station throat. Me mid shot again, I'm afraid, photographing some items of lineside fencing, which are covered in more depth elsewhere on this site.


 
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