Steyning’s Lost Station - Steyning Museum Archive April 16

It was on 6th March 1966 that the last train pulled out of Steyning station on its way back to Shoreham and Brighton at 11.05 that Sunday night.  It had reached Steyning 12 minutes earlier announcing its arrival with a series of explosions as the remaining stock of fog detonators, which had been placed on the line between Bramber and Steyning, were crushed by the advancing train.   It was also greeted by one hundred and fifty jostling well-wishers who came down to the station that late winter's evening to mark the passing of the Steyning Flyer - sometimes known as the Steyning Stinker when it had been carrying livestock from the market and had been swabbed down with disinfectant.  The crowd threw coloured streamers over the carriages as they came to a halt and Charlie Batten played the "General Salute" on his bugle.    

Everybody had to get out on the up platform, in accordance with regulations, so that the train could trundle up to the end of the station and come back down ready for its last run down the Adur valley.  Many then re-embarked for the final journey.  A wreath was placed on the front of the engine together with a large sign saying R.I.P.  Charlie Batten picked up his bugle again to play the "Last Post", the station master briefly announced that the train was for Bramber, Shoreham and Brighton and it then pulled out of Steyning and rumbled into the misty valley, leaving the crowd singing "Auld Lang Syne" on the moonlit platform.  The crowd dispersed; the Victorian gas lamps (one of which has been rescued and is displayed at the Museum) were turned off for ever; and the ticket office was locked up for the last time.

Within a few months most of the line had been taken up and demolition of the station buildings had begun.  It was not what had been hoped for when the opening of the first passenger service on the line had been celebrated on a summer's day in 1861.  Vast and enthusiastic crowds gathered to see the first train, bedecked with flags, draw into the station - a strange and unique experience for many.  The town band led a procession to the White Horse where a dinner for 75 people toasted success to the London Brighton and South Coast Railway and to the people who had built the line, with "champagne of the finest vintage".

The part played by the station in Steyning life was demonstrated time and again during its 105 year existence.   In 1901, for instance, William Blaber, who had been besieged for 118 days at Ladysmith (during the Boer War), arrived back in Steyning.  With less than two hours notice of his arrival some two hundred people converged on the station together with the band.  The moment Blaber descended from the train he was cheered continuously and carried shoulder high to the Norfolk Arms where the band played "Auld Lang Syne" and the National Anthem - though "it was noticed by many that he looked fatigued and worn, which was hardly to be wondered at".

The route of the old railway may have been taken over by the Steyning by-pass making it entirely unlikely that the Steyning Line will ever be one of those revived by enthusiasts, and the weekly market may not have survived for more than a few years after the closure, but many people still recall the Steyning Flyer with affection.  Knowing this the Museum has put together a file of additional information about the line which visitors can dip into.

www.steyningmuseum.org.uk

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