Latest news/blog:
5th July 2008:
Had a week off work to do some filming and had cracking weather for it. I've managed to gather enough footage to create the following:
- Midhurst to Chichester old railway
- Midhurst to Hardham junction old railway
- Baystone Bridge to Christ's Hospital station
- Hardham canal tunnel
These are all at the editing stage currently, but should be available in the next two or three weeks.
Midhurst to Chichester was tremendously exciting to do, what with all the deep cuttings and tunnels through the Downs. Some of the cuttings at the tunnel mouths are terrifying with large chalk overhangs and plenty of evidence of major rockfalls at the bottom of the sheer sided slopes. I was also given permission to roam around the enormous layout of Singleton station, but sadly not around Cocking station. I will be including some old footage of the tunnels as I have some of Cocking tunnel before it was fenced off and I will also be using footage from a couple of years ago for the trip south of Singleton as I cycled it and it came out quite nicely, including Lavant station.
Midhurst to Hardham junction was a longer trawl than I had anticipated, but a very rewarding trek. Got a look inside Midhurst tunnel when the lock was broken ! Much of it was cyclable on the way to Selham. Managed to sneak onto the edge of the polo field at Ambersham to get a good look at the lovely embankment in their field. Also got a look at the earthworks where they started to build a station near Ambersham common, but left unfinished. A sneaky peek at Selham station, then a full on filming session at Petworth station where the owner is a great supporter of mine, may he live forever. Hard going and very overgrown towards Fittleworth and only a passing glance of the station there as permission was not granted and it is well shrouded in trees. East of Fittleworth saw some overgrown patches, but then a lovely open stretch to the finish at Hardham junction.
Baystone bridge to Christ's Hospital has only recently been opened up after some years of legal wrangles. Technically you're only allowed up to the boundary of the station, but naturally Dumpman Films went in boots an' all and had a good shufty. A variety of goodies to see along the way, including some old signal rodding, track and even some LBSCR railchairs that I'm sure won't be there for long. Of course the old platforms are the thing of greatest interest and I filmed them from as many different angles as possible, great fun and well worth a visit.
Hardham canal tunnel is a fascinating structure. I think it dates back to 1790 and looking at it, you'd have to be fairly tired of life to crawl into it. I managed to get good shots of it from both ends with a 5,000,000 candle power torch that really lit it up along it's length. The footpath bridge that crosses the current Pulborough to Arundel line that used to be used for the towpath horses was being re-built at the time of my visit so I included some footage of that too.
All in all, a fairly busy few days filming !
27th June 2008:
Just been for walk down the newly cleared stretch of Downs Link, between Baystone Bridge and Christ's Hospital station, very exciting ! After a hotly contested legal battle between the local authority and landowner, this last stretch has been opened up as a bridleway. It is a delightful stretch with some interesting relics along the way. Technically you are not allowed into the remains of Christ's Hospital station, but it's the easiest thing just to stroll in, very well worth it. I will be making a short film of this in the next week or so to compliment my Guildford to Christ's Hospital film.
6th June 2008:
I am planning to film a number of locations in early July with a view to releasing new titles later that month. All the lines that used to serve Midhurst will be the main focus, but I hope to take in some other lines too, such as the Crowhurst to Bexhill West one. Watch this space...
3rd May 2008:
Great to be back in the saddle ! I visited Lyminster today and re-traced the stretch of coastal mainline that was abandoned in the late 1800s when they diverted it to make the triangle junction. (Check your OS map). Although there is not an enormous amount to see, it was possible to re-create the exact course of the track. Most interesting and challenging was struggling through the dense undergrowth in the area known as the "triangle". Again a quick look at the map will show you why this is so. True to his word, the landowner allowed me full access and provided me with some home cine footage from 1975 showing the demolition of a brick access bridge. This will be included in the film that should be available this week.
13th March 2008:
My wife gave birth to our first child today, called Emily. Both mother and daughter are doing well, consequently filming escapades are on hold for a while ! Hoping to get to the little disused stretch at Lyminster and do a job at Hellingly station in April, will get back to you then.
9th March 2008:
I now have a slide show on the website featuring some of my favourite views, taken from stills from all the films; running time is around six and a half minutes. They were taken by photographing the laptop while the films were in pause mode, so the quality is pretty grainy, but the idea is just to represent some of the views. Enjoy !
5th March 2008:
Never got to Hellingly, was laid up in bed with flu ! Hope to get there in April sometime. I will be off filming for a while as I am just about to become a parent for the first time, so don't expect too much filming news here for a little while !
1st March 2008:
Very happy to have been invited to film at Hellingly station today. Having already done a little feature on the Hellingly Asylum branch line, I know the area quite well, but an opportunity to film the station thoroughly is very welcome. This will be included in the Disused Stations of Sussex film that I am working on.
5th February 2008:
All future copies of Sheffield Park to Lewes now to include the Barcombe station footage.
27th January 2008:
I've had a lovely afternoon at Barcombe Cross station on the old Bluebell line. Having written to the owner I was invited to film to my heart's content and I did just that. Fabulous weather and light gave me great views of the building all round, in particular the platform side. Interesting to see the now bricked up road bridge, which was shored up from falling down earlier last year. I will include this footage in future copies of Sheffield Park to Lewes and also in the Disused Railway Stations of Sussex dvd that I am currently working on. My sincere thanks go to the owner of Barcombe station.
26th January 2008:
Happy news ! Having posted a friendly letter to a variety of locations and landowners, along with a free film, I received a delightful phone call this morning inviting me to go and film around the junctions of Lyminster (as mentioned last week below). The farmer has lived there all his life and remembers playing in the cutting as a child. He even reckoned he had video footage (converted from Super 8) of the brick hump back access bridge to his farm being demolished at the time the cutting was filled in in the mid 70s. If I am allowed to use it I will include it in a film about this fascinating, quiet little backwater of the railway system.
Also had a quick look at the entrance to Steyning Royal Observatory Bunker and decided that I'd have to nip back there soon and film it. Its in a lovely location and apparently is in excellent condition inside.
20th January 2008:
Today I drove over to the Lyminster area of Littlehampton in the hope of filming a variety of things. I wanted to get the site of the old Lyminster station, the site of the old rolling bridge over the river Arun and in particular the abandoned trackbed that runs through the middle of the triangular junction just east of the river crossing, check your OS map if you're in doubt.
Nothing much left to see of Lyminster station, just an area that's been cleared with a pile of rubble; land about to be sold by the railway ? The bridge over the Arun is of course still there, but the only evidence of the original bridge is a couple of Victorian brick piers. The disused trackbed just east of the river that used to carry the main line before re-alignment is fairly hard to ascertain. The stretch east of the triangular junction can be just about worked out, although a gruff landowner informed me that any sign of it had been filled in by him 25 years ago and that it was private land. This made it somewhat tricky for me to wander into the area inside the triangular junction as it involved crossing more of his land. I have no doubt that there is still an embankment in there and with luck in the future I will get a shot of it.
On my way back through Shoreham I saw that the embankment at the end of the Downs Link had been completely stripped of vegetation, so naturally hopped up on to it to get some shots. I guess it must be in connection with all the building that's going on there; I will keep my eye on it and film any further developments.
Finally, nearing home, I heard on the radio that the huge timber cargo of a stricken cargo ship was washing up on the coast, so I nipped down to Shoreham harbour and then Hove beach to get some shots, couldn't believe my eyes !
January 2008:
Uckfield to Lewes film is now available ! See film catalogue for details.
10/12/07:
A man called Stephen Lewis contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in doing a swap; some of my dvds for his book, which is called "Boots on the line; walking 1000 miles of dismantled railway". I have to say I think I may have done better than him out of it as his book is superb. I've waxed lyrical about it and dedicated a page to it elsewhere on the site, highly recommended and I can assure you I'm not being paid to say this. Have a look at the page on this site that mentions the book and get in touch with him for more details.
December - I've been contacted by the Railway Ramblers association which is a nice surprise. Apparently a happy customer who is also a member gave me a favourable mention in their magazine for which I'm most grateful. Kindly, one of their members sent me a copy of Railway Ramblings, their publication, so I could see the Dumpman Films bit in it.
Interestingly, I also read in there that East Sussex County Council are spending £140,000 on a feasibility study to re-open the Uckfield-Lewes line. Even to those who remember the line running, it must be almost impossible to imagine certain bits of that line running again now. I'm very glad to have shot footage of the various bits of it, especially the Hamsey Loop, although clearly a re-instatement would take ages to implement. I will hurry up and finish filming the Uckfield to Barcombe end; probably bump into some boffin doing his feasibility study while I'm there ! Now that would make good television, if anyone knows when these guys are due down there then let me know and I'll go and see what they're up to...
November:
28th November - Sheffield Park to Lewes released today, its a whopping 4 hours and 43 minutes long ! See Film Catalogue for more.
16th November - Views of Hellingly Mental Asylum has just been released which is now in the Film Catalogue.
18th November - Hellingly Hospital Branch Line has been released, also in Film Catalogue.
The Hamsey Loop Line has also been released.
Extra footage has been added to Offham Chalkpits.
Volk's Seagoing Tramway (Daddy Long Legs) has been almost doubled in length with additional footage.
Just started working on Uckfield to Lewes. Anyone who collects railchairs should get on down to Uckfield's old station. There are piles of the things ! The local kids make camps and have fires, burning the piles of old sleepers, which in turn leads to big piles of old railchairs ! Makes an impressive doorstop, but at 20kg, they're quite hard work to cart back to the car (I imagine !)
It's been a busy few weeks !