Cranleigh line

The Cranleigh line was a standard-gauge railway line in South East England. It ran for {{convert|15|mile|48|ch|km}} from Peasmarsh Junction on the Portsmouth Direct line to Stammerham Junction at Christ's Hospital station on the Arun Valley line.{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=147}} The line was single track throughout and, on its opening in 1865, there was only one passing loop at Baynards station, the approximate half-way point.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc=Fig. 23}}{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=60}} Additional passing loops were added at {{rws|Bramley & Wonersh}} and {{rws|Cranleigh}} stations in 1876 and 1880 respectively.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=60}}{{sfn|Welch|2001|p=38}}

By the end of 1865, there were five operational stations on the line—at Bramley & Wonersh, Cranleigh, Baynards, {{rws|Rudgwick}} and {{rws|Slinfold}}. Initially only Baynards had two platforms, with the remainder having only one each. Bramley & Wonersh and Cranleigh each gained a second platform when their passing loops were installed.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=60}}{{sfn|Welch|2001|p=38}} Christ's Hospital station opened in 1902 to serve the school of the same name and an expected local housing development.{{sfn|Quick|2023|p=133}}{{sfn|Oppitz|1987|p=46}}{{cite magazine |title= A Surrey–Sussex line: Horsham to Guildford – Part 1 |date= Autumn 2022 |magazine= Southern Times |issue= 3 |pages=70–75 |publisher= Transport Treasury |location= High Wycombe |isbn= 978-1-91-325134-5}} It was provided with five platform roads and seven platform faces, of which two roads and three faces served the Cranleigh line.{{sfn|Oppitz|1987|p=46}} The route was never electrified, although an outline proposal to install third rail on the section north of Cranleigh was put forward by the Southern Railway in the early 1930s.{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=3}}

File:Peasmarsh Junction - geograph.org.uk - 1157333.jpg tank engine turns onto the Cranleigh line at Peasmarsh Junction in 1964.]]

The Cranleigh line diverged from the Portsmouth Direct line at Peasmarsh Junction, around {{cvt|1+3/4|mi|km}} south of Guildford station, on a {{cvt|1/4|mi|m}} curve with a minimum radius of {{convert|12|ch}}.{{sfn|Welch|2006|p=38}}{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=146}} When it opened, the junction was controlled by a signal box operated by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and had two diverging tracks, which merged into one at a second signal box, operated by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR).{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Figs 7 and 8}} In 1926, Peasmarsh Junction was altered to a single lead, allowing the abolition of the LB&SCR box, with the former LSWR box controlling all movements between the branch and the main line.{{cite magazine |title= 232: The Cranleigh line |date= October 2024 |magazine= Steam Days|issue= 422|pages= 19–35 }}

File:Christ's Hospital School, aerial view - geograph.org.uk - 5664949 - cropped.jpg (upper centre)]]

At Stammerham Junction, the Cranleigh line diverged from the Arun Valley line via a {{cvt|1/2|mi|m}} west–north curve with a minimum radius of {{convert|26|ch}}.{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=146}} On opening in 1865, a west–south spur was also provided, described by the railway historian, J. T. Howard Turner, as the "Itchingfield South Fork", which allowed trains to run from Guildford to the Sussex coast without the need for a reversal.{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=146}} No regular scheduled services were timetabled over the spur and the track had been lifted by August 1867.{{sfn|Vine|1996|p=177}}{{sfn|Buckman|2002|pp=23-24}} The embankment over which the Itchingfield South Fork ran was levelled by ploughing in the mid-20th century and its course is only visible as a field boundary and drainage ditch.{{sfn|Buckman|2002|pp=23-24}}

On opening, the Cranleigh line crossed two navigable waterways. The Godalming Navigation, the stretch of the River Wey between Guildford and Godalming, was crossed at Peasmarsh. The Wey and Arun Canal, which the line paralleled from Peasmarsh to Cranleigh, was crossed on an iron girder viaduct at Whipley Manor.{{cite journal |last= Reilly |first= Callcott |date= 25 April 1865 |title= Uniform stress in girder work |journal= Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |volume= 24 |issue= 1865 |pages= 391–425 |doi= 10.1680/imotp.1865.23247}}{{sfn|Vine|1996|p=160}}{{efn|The Cranleigh line crossed the Wey and Arun Canal at an oblique angle on an iron girder viaduct designed by Callcott Reilly, who was working as Edward Woods's assistant at the time. Reilly presented a paper to the Institution of Civil Engineers about the bridge, and a similar structure on the Central Argentine Railway, and was awarded a Telford Medal as a result.{{cite journal |title= Professor Callcott Reilly |year= 1900 |journal= Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |volume= 142 |issue= 1900|pages= 376–379 |doi= 10.1680/imotp.1900.18806 }}}} The Wey bridge was demolished when the line closed, but was reinstated in July 2006 for the use of cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians.{{sfn|Vine|1999|p=45}}{{cite news |title= Bridge over River Wey |date= 14 July 2006 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 15784 |page= 7 }} The canal bridge was also dismantled in the late 1960s and was replaced by a causeway.{{sfn|Vine|1999|p=45}}

The line crossed the county boundary from Surrey to West Sussex inside the {{cvt|381|yd|m|adj=mid|long}} Baynards Tunnel, also called "Rudgwick Tunnel".{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=144}}{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc=Fig. 32}} The tunnel was built on a downhill gradient of {{Railway gradient|100}} from north to south{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=144}} and suffered from condensation and water ingress. Locomotives frequently experienced poor rail head conditions and there are several reports of freight trains being brought to a stand inside due to wheelslip.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Fig. 32}}{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=36}}{{cite magazine |last= Sillince |first= David |date= March 1966 |title= The Horsham & Guildford Direct |magazine= The Railway Magazine |issue= 779 |pages= 127–131 |url= https://sremg.org.uk/RlyMag/HorshamAndGuildfordDirect.pdf |access-date= 13 January 2025 }}

The original intention was for the railway to cross the unnavigable River Arun by a brick arch bridge, but an inspection carried out before the line opened determined that the {{Railway gradient|80}} gradient on the southern approach to Rudgwick station was too steep for trains to operate safely. The gradient was eased to {{Railway gradient|130}} by raising the embankment, requiring a plate-girder deck to be installed {{cvt|10|ft}} above the original brick arch. The works delayed the opening of Rudgwick station by one month.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Fig. 38}}{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=29}}

By 1911, signal boxes were in operation at all six stations on the Cranleigh line.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Figs 14, 18, 26, 39, 43, 45}}{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=33}} South of Baynards, the line was worked using the staff and ticket system, but the northern part of the line used electric tokens instead.{{cite magazine |last= Vallance |first= H.A. |date= September 1950 |title= The Horsham–Guildford Line, Southern Region |magazine= The Railway Magazine |issue= 593 |pages= 584–587 |url= https://sremg.org.uk/RlyMag/HorshamGuildfordLine.pdf |access-date= 22 January 2025 }}{{cite magazine |title= A Surrey–Sussex line: Horsham to Guildford – Part 2 |date= Winter 2023 |magazine= Southern Times |issue= 4 |pages=29–39 |publisher= Transport Treasury |location= High Wycombe |isbn= 978-1-91-325135-2}}

{{clear}}

The first proposal to link Horsham to Guildford by rail was presented to the board of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in September 1846, but the company declined to support the initiative.{{sfn|Williams|1973|p=59}}{{efn|The LSWR began operating passenger services to {{rws|Guildford}} on 5 May 1845.{{sfn|Williams|1968|pp=126, 132}}}} Over a decade later, in the summer of 1859, two separate schemes to link west Surrey and north-west Sussex were put forward. The first, promoted by an independent company, was to link Guildford and Horsham, while the second, conceived by a group associated with the Wey and Arun Canal, sought to link Guildford to Pulborough.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=7}} The latter scheme failed to make progress, but by February 1860, the increasing likelihood of the Guildford–Horsham line being constructed prompted the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) to formally oppose it.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=7}} The LB&SCR, which had begun operating trains from {{rws|Horsham}} in February 1848,{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=11}} feared that the new line would allow the LSWR to compete for traffic between Sussex and London.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=7}}

{{Infobox UK legislation

| short_title = Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway Act 1860

| type = Act

| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom

| long_title = An Act for making a Railway from the Mid-Sussex Railway to the Godalming Branch of the London and South-western Railway at Guildford, to be called "The Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway."

| year = 1860

| citation = 23 & 24 Vict. c. clxxx

| introduced_commons =

| introduced_lords =

| territorial_extent =

| royal_assent = 6 August 1860

| commencement =

| expiry_date =

| repeal_date =

| amends =

| replaces =

| amendments =

| repealing_legislation =

| related_legislation =

| status =

| legislation_history =

| theyworkforyou =

| millbankhansard =

| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/23-24/180/pdfs/ukla_18600180_en.pdf

| revised_text =

| use_new_UK-LEG =

| UK-LEG_title =

| collapsed = yes

}}

In spite of the LB&SCR's initial opposition, the promoters of the Guildford–Horsham scheme offered the company the rights to work the new line.{{sfn|Buckman|2002|p=22}} The arrangement was formally agreed on 21 June 1860 and, less than two months later, on 6 August, the {{visible anchor|Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway Act 1860}} (23 & 24 Vict. c. clxxx) was granted royal assent.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=7}}{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=143}} The act allowed the LB&SCR to contribute up to £75,000 (equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|0.075|1860|r=2}} million in {{Inflation/year|UK}}) to the capital requirements of the new line, which was to be built by the Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway (HGDR) company.{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=143}}

Later that year, the HGDR submitted a proposal to Parliament, requesting the right to work over the line between {{rws|Woking}} and {{rws|Godalming}}, which the LSWR opposed.{{cite news |title= Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway Amendment Act |date= 14 November 1860 |work= Daily News |issue= 4527 |page= 2 }} Following negotiations concluded on 7 May 1861, the HGDR withdrew its bill, agreeing not to seek rights to run beyond Guildford. In exchange, the LSWR granted access to Guildford station, on the condition that the HGDR paid a proportion of the cost of providing any additional platforms required for its services.{{sfn|Williams|1973|p=59}}

Over the next three years, the LB&SCR began to exert increasing control of the HGDR. Three new directors of the HGDR were appointed on 8 March 1862, all of whom had an existing connection to the LB&SCR. Robert Jacomb-Hood, the Chief Engineer of the LB&SCR, was invited to take up the same position at the HGDR and, on 28 April that year, the company administration was transferred to the LB&SCR's offices.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=11}} The two companies were formally amalgamated under the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1864 (27 & 28 Vict. c. cccxiv), with the merger taking effect on 29 June that year.{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=143}}{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=12}}

The slow progress of agreeing access to Guildford station with the LSWR, delayed the start of the construction of the Cranleigh line. An initial survey of the route was completed by Edward Woods, who had been appointed Company Engineer by the HGDR in July 1860.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=13}} Several changes were made to his scheme, including the construction of Baynards Tunnel, which was originally to have been a deep cutting. The board of directors was informed on 27 February 1862 that construction contracts had been let. Jacomb-Hood produced a second survey for the line that April, and Woods left the HGDR at around the same time.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|pp=14-15}}

The construction of the route was overseen by Frederick Banister, who was also an engineer working for the LB&SCR. On 12 February 1863, he raised concerns over slow progress and the following month he noted that the necessary land for the route between Guildford and Cranleigh had not yet been purchased.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|pp=14-15}} Nevertheless, track laying had begun by January 1864 and, in the same month, the contract for the construction of the five stations was awarded to John Perry for the cost of £3,698 (equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|3698|1864|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}).{{sfn|Hodd|1975|pp=14-15}}

File:Rudgwick double bridge, Cranleigh line, West Sussex.jpg south of Rudgwick station]]

As the line was nearing completion, an inspection was undertaken by the Board of Trade (BoT). Although the LB&SCR had hoped to begin public passenger services by 1 June 1865, the opening was delayed several times due to unfinished work.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=17}} The new railway finally opened on 2 October 1865, but William Yolland, the BoT representative charged with inspecting the route, insisted that Rudgwick station was to remain closed until the steep gradient of {{Railway gradient|80}} to the south was eased.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=17}} The remedial work included the raising of embankments and a second bridge deck was added {{cvt|10|ft}} above the original brick arch over the River Arun, reducing the gradient to {{Railway gradient|130}}.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Fig. 38}}{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=29}} Rudgwick station opened on 1 November 1865.{{sfn|Quick|2023|p=396}}{{cite news |title= The Horsham and Guildford Railway |date= 31 Oct 1865 |work= Sussex Advertiser |page= 6 }}

In his inspection reports, Yolland had also expressed dissatisfaction with the method of working for Cranleigh line trains at Guildford. A plan to enlarge Guildford station was agreed between the LB&SCR and LSWR on 24 October 1865;{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=17}} the LB&SCR also committed to pay the latter a proportion of its gross receipts for operating over the {{cvt|1+3/4|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch of line north of Peasmarsh Junction.{{sfn|Williams|1973|p=59}} However, over the next few years, disagreements over the LB&SCR's access rights grew. A permanent settlement was not reached until the late 1880s, when the company undertook to pay the LSWR an additional £600 per annum (equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|628|1889|r=-2|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}), effective from January 1889.{{sfn|Williams|1973|p=61}}

For much of its existence, the financial performance of the Cranleigh line was poor.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=33}} The initial passenger service in each direction was four trains per day on weekdays in each direction and two trains on Sundays,{{cite news |title= The Horsham and Guildford Railway |date= 30 September 1865 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 67 |page= 2 }}{{cite newspaper The Times |title= Horsham and Guildford |date= 3 October 1865 |issue= 25306 |page= 7 }} but in October 1867, the timetable was reduced to only three return trains on weekdays.{{cite news |title= Guildford & Horsham Railway (LB&SCR) |date= 26 October 1867 |work= Surrey Advertiser |volume= IV |issue= 175 |page= 4 }} In the same year, the west–south spur to the Arun Valley line, which had never been used by scheduled services, was closed, eliminating any potential that the Cranleigh line might have had as a through route between the Midlands and the Sussex coast.{{sfn|Turner|1978|p=146}}{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=24}}

North of Cranleigh, the line paralleled the Wey and Arun Canal,{{sfn|Vine|1996|p=160}} which had experienced a short-term increase in income in the early 1860s, when it was used to transport building materials for the railway.{{sfn|Vine|1999|p=11}}{{efn|The Wey and Arun Canal, which had opened on 29 September 1816, had been intended to provide a navigable inland route between London and the English Channel, by linking the River Wey to the River Arun.{{cite newspaper The Times |title= From the County Chronicle |date= 2 October 1816 |issue= 9955 |page= 4 }} For the most part, it was used to transport coal and agricultural produce, and through traffic from the capital to the south coast was negligible.{{sfn|Vine|1999|p=9}} It was never financially successful and within four years of its opening, the share price for the canal company had fallen to half its initial value. In the mid-19th century, dividends dropped from £1 per share in 1828 to 5s in 1852.{{sfn|Vine|1999|p=11}}}} Once the Cranleigh line had opened, the waterway became unprofitable and its gross receipts were reduced by 50%.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=61}} The final dividend, 6s per share, was paid in 1865,{{sfn|Vine|1999|p=11}} and the following year, the board recommended that the canal company should be liquidated.{{sfn|Vine|1996|p=178}}{{efn|The proposal to close the Wey and Arun Canal was contested not only by the waterway's shareholders, but also by the adjoining Godalming and Arun Navigation companies.{{sfn|Vine|1996|pp=179, 187}}}} The waterway was formally abandoned in July 1871, under the terms of the Wey and Arun Junction Canal (Abandonment) Act 1868.{{cite news |title= Bramley |date= 27 July 1871 |work= West Sussex Gazette |issue= 871 |page= 4 }}{{sfn|Vine|1999|p=13}}

File:Bramley and wonersh rail station 1884542 352a19aa.jpg in 1961]]

Towards the end of the century, developments on the northern half of the line prompted the LB&SCR to increase the service frequency. Two schools, Cranleigh School, Cranleigh, and St Catherine's School, Bramley, were established in 1865 and 1885 respectively.{{cite news |title= Bramley: St Catherine's Schools |date= 26 September 1885 |work= The West Surrey Times |issue= 1604 |page= 5 }} Passing loops and second platforms were installed at Bramley & Wonersh in 1876 and at Cranleigh in 1880,{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=60}}{{sfn|Welch|2001|p=38}} allowing up to seven trains per day to operate in each direction.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=60}} In July 1880, the LB&SCR asked Frederick Banister, its company engineer, to develop a scheme to install a second track between Peasmarsh Junction and Bramley, which would have allowed a further increase in service frequency. No doubling took place{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=34}} and by February 1890, the timetable had been reduced to five trains per day in each direction between Horsham and Guildford, with a single short return working between Horsham and Cranleigh.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Fig. 13}}

Two schemes for new railways serving Cranleigh were put forward at the end of the 19th century. Under the provisions of the Light Railways Act 1896, a line linking {{rws|Ockley}} and {{rws|Selham}} (near {{rws|Midhurst}}) was proposed, but failed to attract support. Between 1897 and 1899, various routes for a branch from the {{rws|Dorking}} and {{rws|Holmwood}} areas to Cranleigh were suggested, but the railways were opposed by local residents, who feared that the LB&SCR was using the new schemes to block competition from the rival LSWR.{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=54}}{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=79}}{{sfn|Turner|1979|pp=68-69}}

File:Christ's Hospital station (postcard) 02.jpg {{circa|1910}}]]

The construction of Christ's Hospital school at the southern end of the line began in 1897, when the foundation stone was laid in a ceremony on 22 October by the future Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales.{{cite newspaper The Times |title= The Prince of Wales and the new Christ's Hospital |date= 25 October 1897 |issue= 35343 |page= 13 }} The school was to relocate from Newgate, London, where it had been founded in 1552. The Sussex site had previously been the {{cvt|1200|acre|adj=on}} Aylesbury Dairy Farm, which had closed after the owner had declared bankruptcy.{{cite news |title= Christ's Hospital |date= 20 January 1894 |work= West Sussex County Times |page= 5 }}{{sfn|Howard|Legate|2001|p=7}}

The LB&SCR, which anticipated a large number of pupils travelling to the school every day, constructed new platforms at Stammerham Junction, where the Cranleigh line joined the Arun Valley line.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc=Fig. 44}}{{efn|A small wooden platform had been provided at Stammerham Junction in the late 19th century to load milk churns, but had not been used after the owner of Aylesbury Dairy Farm was made bankrupt.{{sfn|Oppitz|1987|p=43}}}} The company also hoped to attract housing development to the area, and accordingly named the station "Christ's Hospital West Horsham".{{sfn|Oppitz|1987|p=46}} The new station, which had separate platforms for the two lines, opened on 1 May 1902.{{sfn|Quick|2023|p=133}}{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc=Fig. 44}} On 29 May, 800 pupils arrived by train to begin their education at the Sussex site.{{cite newspaper The Times |title= Christ's Hospital |date= 30 May 1902 |issue= 36781 |page= 9 }} However, little additional rail traffic was generated for the railway, as the governors of Christ's Hospital elected to enrol boarders only and to not admit day pupils.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc=Fig. 44}} The anticipated residential development also failed to materialise, in part because the school owned much of the land surrounding the station and did not release plots for housebuilding.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=38}}

Other developments on the Cranleigh line in the early 20th century, included the installation of a new signal box at Rudgwick in 1911, which replaced the earlier signalling hut that had controlled access to the goods yard.{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=33}} The Sunday service on the line was withdrawn between 1917 and 1919 as a wartime economy measure.{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=79}} On 1 January 1923, the LB&SCR became part of the Southern Railway (SR).{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=39}} The formation of the SR allowed the rationalisation of infrastructure at Peasmarsh in 1926, where the former LB&SCR signal box was closed and the double-track junction with the Portsmouth Direct line was converted to a single-lead junction with a crossover. Competition for the line, in the form of a new bus service running between Guildford and Horsham, began on 9 April 1923.{{cite news |last= Bixley |first= Gerry |date= 7 April 2023 |orig-date= 6 April 2023 |title= Marking 100 years of buses on the Guildford to Horsham route |work= Guildford Dragon |url= https://guildford-dragon.com/marking-100-years-of-buses-on-the-guildford-to-horsham-route/ |access-date= 20 January 2025 }} In the late 1930s, the northern part of the line was proposed for electrification, to allow London Waterloo to Guildford via {{rws|Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon}} services to be extended to Cranleigh, but the scheme was not developed further.{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=3}}{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=80}}

During the Second World War, the line was available as an alternative route to the main lines from London and the Midlands to the Sussex coast, and signal boxes were staffed 24 hours a day to allow for emergency diversions.{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=80}}{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=168}} An ammunitions depot and an army camp for US forces, both served by rail, were established at Baynards Park.{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=80}}{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=168}} On 16 September 1942, eight people were killed when an enemy aircraft attacked a passenger train near Bramley & Wonersh station.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc=Fig. 12}}{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=169}} Following the end of the war, the railways of the UK were nationalised under the Transport Act 1947 and the Cranleigh line became part of British Railways on 1 January 1948.{{cite news |title= The Southern |date= 29 November 1947 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue=10693 |page= 4 }}

File:Baynards Station - geograph.org.uk - 1773196.jpg in 1961]]

In the 1940s and 1950s, Baynards was used as a location for films and television. The station appeared in the 1942 comedy The Black Sheep of Whitehall{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=39}} and the 1945 melodrama They Were Sisters. Extensive use of the railway was made by the 1957 BBC television series The Railway Children based on the novel of the same name by E. Nesbit. Several sequences used an LSWR T9 class locomotive, which did not otherwise run on the line.{{sfn|Welch|2001|p=44}} Later filming at Baynards station included scenes for The Horsemasters (1961),{{sfn|Welch|2006|p=39}}{{efn|Baynards station appears as "Valleywood" in the 1961 Disneyland TV show, The Horsemasters.{{sfn|Welch|2006|p=39}}}} The Grass is Greener (1960){{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=3}} and Die, Monster, Die! (1965).{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=39}} Scenes for the 1965 comedy Rotten to the Core were filmed in the Cranleigh line platforms at Christ's Hospital using an N class locomotive, which was otherwise prohibited on the route.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Figs 50 and 51}}{{efn|Christ's Hospital station appears as "Longhampton" in the 1965 comedy Rotten to the Core.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Figs 50 and 51}}}}

File:Cranleigh Station, with Guildford - Horsham auto-train geograph-2658600-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg locomotive at Cranleigh station in 1957]]

Developments on the Cranleigh line in the early 1950s included the introduction of railmotors, consisting of tank engines coupled to a type of passenger carriage, known as a balloon trailer. The train would be driven from the locomotive in one direction and, in the other, from a driving position at the front of the carriage. The 1953 timetable included eight services in each direction on the full length of the line on weekdays, with an additional early evening return from Guildford to Cranleigh,{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Figs 7 and 8}} but the services were poorly timed for convenient connections at Guildford and Horsham.{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=80}}

All passenger services on the line were suspended during the strike by members of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen in mid-1955.{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=80}} Freight traffic never recovered and the daily goods train serving Cranleigh Yard was withdrawn on 10 September 1962.{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=80}} Sunday passenger services were suspended from 8 November 1959 and were never reinstated.{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=10}} Horsham shed formally closed in June 1959, but the steam locomotives operating on the Cranleigh line continued to be serviced there until maintenance was transferred to Guildford shed on 15 June 1964.

The first Beeching report, published in 1963, recommended withdrawing all passenger services and the closure of all stations between Bramley & Wonersh and Slinfold inclusive.{{sfn|Beeching|1963a|pp=107, 109-112, 118-119}}{{sfn|Beeching|1963b|loc= Map 9}} By this time, the line was running at a loss of £46,000 per year (equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|0.046|1963|r=2}} million in {{Inflation/year|UK}}), and was being used by fewer than 5000 passengers each week.{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=3}} The official notice of closure was published by the British Railways Board that September, giving 11 November 1963 as the provisional date from which no trains would run. The board noted that the existing bus services, serving all settlements on the line except Baynards, would continue to run after the railway had closed.{{cite news |title= Beeching axes five stations – November 11 |date= 7 September 1963 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12308 |page= 15 }}{{cite news |title= British Railways Board: Public Notice – Withdrawal of Railway Passenger Services |date= 14 September 1963 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12309 |page= 2 }}

A local campaign was launched in opposition to the Beeching plans, resulting in the postponement of the closure. Suggestions were made that a privately operated service could run on the northern part of the line using diesel trains.{{cite news |title= Privately run trains on Cranleigh line? |date= 14 September 1963 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12309 |pages= 1–2 }} A public inquiry took place in Cranleigh on 10 March 1964, during which objectors noted that a planned programme of housebuilding would increase the village population by around 5000.{{cite news |title= 'Minister should step in and stop Horsham line closure': Villagers protest and plead for five-year respite |date= 14 March 1964 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12335 |page= 18 }} In March the following year, the Minister of Transport ruled that the line should close on the condition that additional bus services were commissioned. Monday 14 June 1965 was given as the date from which no trains would run.{{cite news |title= Commuters lose battle – Cranleigh line to close |date= 6 March 1965 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12,386 |page= 1 }}

Since no Sunday service had operated on the Cranleigh line since November 1959,{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=10}} the final day of operation of public services on the line was Saturday 12 June 1965. The last train to depart from Christ's Hospital station was serenaded by boys from the school singing Abide with Me.{{cite news |title= Guildford rail link ends |date= 18 June 1965 |work= West Sussex County Times |page= 1}} An enthusiasts' special, which ran the full length of the route on Sunday 13 June 1965, was the final passenger train to operate on the Cranleigh line.{{sfn|Welch|2007|p=70}}{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=49}}

File:Disused rails on the Cranleigh line at Peasmarsh Junction, Peasmarsh, Surrey - April 2025 - 04.jpg.]]

The Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway Society (HGDRS) was formed in August 1965, with the aim of operating an hourly service on the line on weekdays. The group approached British Railways with an offer to lease the line for a period of five years, after which they would purchase it outright. The HGDRS's plans included the construction of additional halts at Grafham and Shamley Green, and tickets were to be sold on the trains.{{cite news |title= Commuters may save 'axed' line |date= 28 August 1965 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12411 |pages= 1, 17 }} However, British Railways refused to lease the line to the society, instead offering to sell the whole railway, including the freehold for the stations, for £240,000 (equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|0.240|1965|r=2}} million in {{Inflation/year|UK}}). Hambledon Rural District Council and Surrey County Council, which had been in favour of the reopening project, withdrew their support for the HGDRS scheme at the end of 1965.{{cite news |title= Line may cost over £240,000 to reopen |date= 1 January 1966 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12429 |page= 1 }}

File:Baynards railway station, Cranleigh line, Surrey - April 2025 - 04.jpg building in 2025]]

Over the next few months, the track was lifted and, in April 1966, permission was given for the station site at Cranleigh to be used for the Stocklund Square shopping centre development and its associated car park.{{cite news |title= End of a railway |date= 30 April 1966 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12446 |page= 1 }}{{sfn|Oppitz|1988|p=81}}{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=51}}{{efn|The Cranleigh station footbridge was removed and re-erected at Liss station in Hampshire.}} That December, West Sussex County Council agreed to buy the trackbed from Christ's Hospital to the county boundary at Baynards.{{cite news |title= Railway line as route of new by-pass |date= 9 December 1966 |work= West Sussex County Times |page= 1}} In April 1970, much of the route north of Baynards Tunnel was bought by Surrey County Council and Hambledon Rural District Council.{{cite news |last= Dewhurst |first= Ernest |date= 13 February 1969 |title= Turning railways into roads |work= The Guardian |page= 6 }}{{cite web |title=Downs Link Management Plan |date=June 2004 |publisher= Waverley Borough Council |url =http://www.geocities.com/link2parts/DownsLink.htm |access-date = 3 January 2009 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20091026055108/http://www.geocities.com/link2parts/DownsLink.htm |archive-date= 26 October 2009 |url-status= dead }}

Although the station building at Bramley & Wonersh was demolished,{{cite news |last= White |first= Steven |date= 30 December 2022 |title= The lost Surrey railway station that was site of World War II tragedy |work= Surrey Live |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/nostalgia/lost-surrey-railway-station-site-25850098 |access-date= 19 January 2025 }} the platforms were restored and replica level crossing gates were installed in a two-year project, completed in 2005.{{cite news |title= Making tracks back to the past |date= 3 July 2013 |orig-date= 18 February 2005 |work= Surrey Live |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/making-tracks-back-past-4847308 |access-date= 30 January 2025 }} Since then, the station site has been part of the Bramley Conservation Area.{{cite web |title= Bramley Conservation Area Appraisal |date= 19 July 2005 |publisher= Waverley Borough Council |at= Sections 6.24, 15.2, 16.7 |url= https://www.waverley.gov.uk/Portals/0/Documents/services/planning-and-building/planning-strategies-and-policies/Bramley%20Conservation%20Area%20Appraisal.pdf |access-date= 29 January 2025 }} The viaduct over the River Wey was dismantled,{{sfn|Vine|1999|p=45}} although the double bridge over the River Arun was left intact.{{cite news |last= Fox |first= Thomas |date= 22 August 2022 |title= Rudgwick's bizarre two-tiered bridge found along abandoned West Sussex railway line walk |work= Sussex Live |url= https://www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/sussex-news/rudgwick-sussex-guildford-double-bridge-7494508 |access-date= 19 January 2025 }} Rudgwick and Slinfold stations were demolished and their sites are now occupied by a health centre and caravan park respectively.{{sfn|Oppitz|1987|p=48}}{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=126}}{{cite news |title= Station site for caravans |date= 21 July 1972 |work= West Sussex County Times |page= 4}} Baynards station was sold in 1973 and remains in private ownership.{{cite news |title= Council goes on last tour of district |date= 6 July 1973 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12821 |page= 21 }}{{cite magazine |last= Stanbury |first= Frieda |date= 23 April 1987 |title= The Downs Link – A railway walk |magazine= The Lady |pages= 816–817}}

Since 1990, there have been several proposals to reopen the line from Peasmarsh Junction to Cranleigh. The "Study into Rail Line Improvements in Surrey: Network South Central Operating Area", published by Surrey County Council in 1996, determined that reinstatement as a heavy-rail branch or as part of a light-rail system centred on Guildford, was feasible and would alleviate congestion on local roads.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|pp=221-222}} Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network, a report published by the Association of Train Operating Companies in June 2009, assessed the capital cost of reopening this section as £63 million (equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|63|2009}} million in {{Inflation/year|UK}}), including stations at Bramley and Cranleigh.{{ATOCConnectingCommunitiesReportS10|pages= 16, 18 }}{{cite newspaper The Times |last= Webster |first= Ben |date= 15 June 2009 |title= Train companies want to reopen branch lines that Beeching closed |issue= 69662 |page= 17 }} However, the "Surrey Rail Strategy", published by the county council in September 2013, determined that reinstatement north of Cranleigh was not viable and that passenger numbers "would be insufficient to justify the significant cost".{{cite web |title= Surrey Rail Strategy |date= 12 September 2013 |publisher= Surrey County Council |pages= 37, 39 |url= https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/136557/Surrey-Rail-Strategy-Report-web.compressed.pdf |access-date= 7 February 2025 }} Nevertheless, the Campaign for Better Transport advocacy group called for the reinstatement of the entirety of the line following the cancellation of the "Restoring Your Railway" programme by the UK government in mid-2024.{{cite magazine |last= Johnson |first= Thomas |date= 23 August 2024 |title= Campaign calls for Restoring Your Railway alternative to reopen abandoned railway lines |magazine= New Civil Engineer |url= https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/campaign-for-better-transport-calls-for-restoring-your-railway-alternative-to-reopen-abandoned-railway-lines-23-08-2024/ |access-date= 24 January 2025 }}

{{main|Downs Link}}

File:Christ’s Hospital station disused platforms 22 13 10 245000.jpeg at Christ's Hospital station]]

File:Baynards Tunnel, south portal - April 2025 - 02.jpg

Plans to convert the trackbed of the Cranleigh line to a mixed-use path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders began to emerge around a year after closure, when Hambledon Rural District Council suggested that the route should be turned into a "walking freeway".{{cite news |title= Plan for walking freeway |date= 6 May 1966 |work= West Sussex County Times |page= 22}} In 1973, it signed a seven-year lease on the part of the railway that had been purchased by Surrey County Council with the intention of creating a "greenway" between Gosden, north of Bramley, and the border with West Sussex.{{cite news |title= Council votes to sign for old line |date= 6 April 1973 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue=12808 |page= 1 }}{{efn|On 1 April 1974, Hambledon Rural District became part of Waverley District,{{cite news |title= Waverley welds historic towns in a new unity |date= 1 April 1974 |work= Surrey Advertiser |page= S2 |issue= 12950}} which became the Borough of Waverley on 21 February 1984.{{cite news |last= Harlow |first= Amanda |date= 6 January 1984 |title= Borough plan approved by the Queen |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 14609 |page= 1 }}{{cite news |date= 17 February 1984 |title= Waverley collects its borough charter |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 14615 |page= 5 }}}} The works included sealing the entrances to Baynards Tunnel with concrete blocks and filling the cutting on the northern approach with inert waste to create a ramped access to Cox Green Road.{{cite news |title= Hambledon Rural District Council |date= 14 August 1970 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12670 |page= 10 }} A strip of land was purchased to enable the path to reach the county boundary, and drainage, fencing and landscaping works were also undertaken. The total cost of £15,000 (equivalent to £{{inflation|UK|15000|1973|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}) was funded from the sale of Baynards station.{{cite news |title= £15,000 scheme for old railway line |date= 5 October 1973 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12834 |page= 1 }}

The Downs Link, joining the North Downs Way at St Martha's Hill to the South Downs Way at St Botolph's near Shoreham-by-Sea, was formally opened on 9 July 1984 at ceremonies at Baynards station and at the southern terminus of the new route. The path was a joint project between Surrey and West Sussex County Councils, and Waverley Borough Council.{{cite news |title= New Downs link for Sussex |date= 13 July 1984 |work= Adur Herald |issue= 3345 |page= 11 }}{{cite news |title= Downs Link takes place of defunct railway |date= 21 July 1984 |work= Cranleigh Times |issue= 8917 |page= 1}} Although much of the former trackbed of the Cranleigh line was incorporated into the Downs Link, the sections of the railway through Peasmarsh and east of Slinfold were not initially included.

File:Downs Link Bridge across the River Wey - geograph.org.uk - 2067657.jpg bridge over the River Wey]]

In the early 21st century, two separate projects allowed the path to be extended over additional sections of the former Cranleigh line. Firstly, the demolished railway bridge over the River Wey was rebuilt in July 2006, allowing easier access to the Downs Link from Guildford town centre. Secondly, the {{cvt|1.4|km|mi|order=flip|adj=on}} section of the trackbed west of Slinfold became part of the route in September 2020. The works, which were funded as a collaborative project between Christ's Hospital school and West Sussex County Council, included the restoration of the Cranleigh line platforms at Christ's Hospital station.{{cite news |last= Lock |first= Rose |date= 19 September 2020 |title= Missing section of the Downs Link restored with help from Christ's Hospital School |work= The Argus |url= https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/18732935.missing-section-downs-link-restored-help-christs-hospital-school/ |access-date= 23 January 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201002004737/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/18732935.missing-section-downs-link-restored-help-christs-hospital-school/ |archive-date= 2 October 2020 |url-status= live }}{{cite web |title= 'Missing' section of Downs Link restored |date= 24 September 2020 |publisher= Christ’s Hospital |url= https://www.christs-hospital.org.uk/missing-section-of-downs-link-restored/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220123150857/https://www.christs-hospital.org.uk/missing-section-of-downs-link-restored/ |archive-date= 23 January 2022 |url-status= live }}{{efn|The Downs Link extension from the South Downs Way at St Botolph's to Shoreham-by-Sea opened on 4 October 1993.{{cite news |title= New link in the route of beauty |date= 8 October 1993 |work= West Sussex County Times |page= S6 }}}}

The first locomotive to work on the line was a 2-2-2 tender engine, designed by John Chester Craven and built in 1865 at Brighton works. It was based at Horsham shed until its withdrawal in May 1886. From the mid-1880s, LB&SCR D1 class tank engines, designed by William Stroudley, were introduced on Guildford–Horsham services. Members of this class were named Cranleigh, Rudgwick, Slinfold and Baynards after stations on the line. Two smaller LB&SCR A1 class locomotives, named Bramley and Wonersh, were based at Bramley shed.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|pp=35-36}}{{sfn|Morley|1994|p=25}}

An SR V "Schools" class locomotive, designed by Richard Maunsell and constructed in June 1935, was named Cranleigh after Cranleigh School.{{sfn|Swift|2006|p=14}}{{sfn|Swift|2006|pp=80-81, 87, 93}} Although it never ran in passenger service on the line,{{sfn|Seymour|Warrington|1984|loc= Fig. 74}} the locomotive was exhibited at Cranleigh station that October.{{cite news |title= Pride of 'Ownership' |date= 2 November 1935 |work= Surrey Advertiser and County Times |volume= CXXXIII |issue= 9817 |page= 7 }} An earlier SR V class locomotive, which entered passenger service in December 1932, was similarly named Christ's Hospital.{{sfn|Swift|2006|pp=80-81, 87, 93}}{{efn|The SR V "Schools" class locomotives Christ's Hospital and Cranleigh were withdrawn from passenger service in January and December 1962 respectively.{{sfn|Swift|2006|pp=80-81, 87, 93}}}}

During the inter-war period, the D1 class locomotives were replaced by LSWR M7 class tank engines, designed by Dugald Drummond,{{sfn|Hodd|1975|pp=39-40}} working the line until January 1963.{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=37}} SECR H class engines, capable of operating autotrains, were introduced in the early 1950s, but push-pull working was eliminated from the line in mid-1961. That summer, BR Standard Class 2 2-6-2Ts and LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2Ts, which would operate the majority of passenger services up until closure, began working on the line.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc=Fig. 22}}{{sfn|Welch|2006|p=41}}

File:33036_near_Baynards_(1963).jpg locomotive near Baynards station in 1963]]

Locomotives hauling goods trains in the 1960s included Type 3 diesels{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=45}} and SR Q1 class tender engines,{{sfn|Welch|2007|p=70}} both of which saw occasional use on passenger services.{{sfn|Welch|2007|p=70}}{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc=Fig. 52}} Q1 locomotives, based at Guildford shed, were commonly used on the services from Guildford that terminated at Cranleigh.{{sfn|Welch|1998|p=23}} The final passenger train on the line was an enthusiasts' special. It ran on Sunday 13 June 1965, the day after the last scheduled service, and was hauled by two Q1 class engines.{{sfn|Welch|2007|p=70}}{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=49}} The following day, a locomotive completed a round trip from Horsham to Baynards to collect a train of empty goods wagons from one of the sidings.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=49}}

File:Rudgwick goods yard.jpg

Goods facilities had not been constructed by the time the Cranleigh line opened and it was not until 31 October 1865 that the LB&SCR line engineer was instructed to draw up plans for freight depots at the stations.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=34}} Between 1877 and 1933, coal was delivered by rail to dedicated sidings at Cranleigh gasworks.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|pp=191-192}}{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=78}} In the late 19th century, livestock and agricultural products were transported from Baynards station via the line, including sheep from Romney Marsh, which were wintered in the area.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=34}}{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=33}} There was a private siding for a ladder factory at Slinfold, where there was also a brickworks.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc= Fig. 40}} The two other brickworks on the line, at Cranleigh and Baynards, were served by narrow-gauge railways.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=208}} Two sidings were provided at the north end of Bramley station, one of which was used for coal and the other for general public freight.{{sfn|Morley|1994|p=23}} The goods yard at Rudgwick was equipped with a turntable for wagons.{{sfn|Mitchell|Smith|1984|loc=Fig. 35}}{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=28}}

{{Annotated image

| image = Ordnance Survey Sheet TQ 03 Cranleigh, Published 1965.jpg

| image-width = 2200

| image-left = -1410

| image-top = -913

| width = 250

| height = 180

| float = right

| annotations =

| caption = Steetley chemical works (upper left) and Baynards station in 1965

| alt = Ordnance Survey map of the Baynards station area showing the rail connection between the Steetley chemical works and the Cranleigh line

}}

In the early 20th century, a quarry and processing facility for Fuller's earth was established on the site of the former brickworks at Baynards.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|pp=202-203}} In 1937, it became the site of the Steetley Chemicals Company{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=45}} and a regular supply of sulphur was delivered by rail to the plant, up until the closure of the line in 1965. An 0-4-0 tank engine, originally used at the brickworks, was used to shunt wagons until 1949, when it was replaced by a four-wheeled Motor Rail diesel locomotive.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|pp=202-203}} Chemicals manufacture ceased at Baynards in 1989.{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=45}}

The 1955 rail strike prompted several of the companies that received or sent goods via the line to permanently transfer their operations to road haulage.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=43}} The line was closed to public freight on 10 October 1962.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=8}}{{sfn|Grayer|2024|p=24}}

• 27 August 1863: A surveyor was killed in Baynards Tunnel, while the line was under construction.{{sfn|Hodd|1975|p=15}}
• 21 September 1866: Four passengers were injured when a passenger service from Guildford collided with a goods train that was entering a siding at Bramley.{{cite newspaper The Times |title= Accident on the Guildford and Horsham Railway |date= 24 September 1866 |issue= 25611 |page= 10 }}
• 16 December 1942: Eight people were killed when an enemy aircraft attacked a passenger train near Bramley & Wonersh station.{{cite news |title= Nazi plane guns a train |date= 19 December 1942 |work= Surrey Advertiser and County Times |volume= CXLVII |issue= 10421 |page= 5 }}{{cite news |last= Larter |first= Grahame |date= 19 January 2018 |orig-date= 17 January 2018 |title= Attack on passenger train in Bramley by the Luftwaffe in December 1942 |work= Surrey Live |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/nostalgia/gallery/attack-passenger-train-bramley-luftwaffe-14168971 |access-date= 5 January 2024 }} The Dornier Do 217 dropped two bombs on the line and strafed the carriages with machine gun fire.{{sfn|Jackson|1999|p=169}}{{cite news |title= Bravery in air raids: Awards to railway man and woman |date= 20 March 1943 |work= The Surrey Advertiser and County Times |volume= CXLVIII |issue= 10434 |page= 4 }}
• 2 December 1961: A train crashed into a buffer stop shortly after departing from Bramley & Wonersh station. It had been misrouted into a headshunt, after a signaller had incorrectly set the points. Only nine passengers were on board the train at the time.{{cite news |title= [Untitled photograph with detailed caption] |date= 6 December 1961 |work= Surrey Advertiser |issue= 12137 |page= 4 }}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last= Beeching |first= Richard |author-link= Richard Beeching |title= The Reshaping of British Railways Part 1: Report |url= http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=13 |access-date=7 December 2009 |date=27 March 1963a |publisher= HMSO |location= London }}
• {{cite book |last= Beeching |first= Richard |title= The Reshaping of British Railways Part 2: Maps |url= http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=35 |access-date= 7 December 2009 |date= 27 March 1963b |publisher= HMSO |location= London }}
• {{cite book |last= Buckman |first= James |year= 2002 |title= The Steyning Line |publisher= SB Publications |location= Seaford |isbn= 978-1-85-770254-5 }}
• {{cite book |last= Grayer |first= Jeffery |year= 2024 |title= Horsham – Christ's Hospital – Cranleigh – Guildford |series= From the Adur to the Wey |volume= 2 |publisher= Totem Publishing |location= |isbn= 978-1-91-389349-1 }}
• {{cite book |last= Hodd |first= H.R. |year= 1975 |title= The Horsham–Guildford Direct Railway |series= Locomotion Papers |volume= 87 |publisher= The Oakwood Press |location= Tarrant Hinton |isbn= 978-0-85-361170-7 }}
• {{cite book |last1= Howard |first1= Rosie |last2= Legate |first2= Pam |editor-last= Bloomfield |editor-first= Peter |year= 2001 |title= Christ's Hospital in the Year 2000 |publisher= Christ's Hospital |location= Horsham |isbn= 978-0-95-078434-2 }}
• {{cite book |last= Jackson |first= Alan A. |year= 1999 |title= The Railway in Surrey |publisher= Atlantic Transport Publishers |location= Penryn |isbn= 978-0-90-689990-8 }}
• {{cite book |last= Miller |first= Michael |year= 2005 |orig-year= 1995 |title= Around Cranleigh |publisher= Nonsuch Publishing |location= Stroud |isbn= 978-1-84-588143-6 }}
• {{cite book |last1= Mitchell |first1= Vic |last2= Smith |first2= Keith |year= 1984 |orig-year= 1982 |title= Branch Lines to Horsham |publisher= Middleton Press |location= Midhurst |isbn= 978-0-90-652002-4 }}
• {{cite book |editor-last= Morley |editor-first= David |year= 1994 |title= Bramley Centenary Guide |publisher= Bramley Parish Council |location= Bramley |isbn= 978-0-95-244980-5 }}
• {{cite book |last= Oppitz |first= Leslie |year= 1987 |title= Sussex Railways Remembered |publisher= Countryside Books |location= Newbury |isbn= 978-0-90-539299-8 |url= https://archive.org/details/sussexrailwaysre0000oppi |access-date= 19 May 2025 |url-access= registration }}
• {{cite book |last= Oppitz |first= Leslie |year= 1988 |title= Surrey Railways Remembered |publisher= Countryside Books |location= Newbury |isbn= 978-1-85-306005-2 |url= https://archive.org/details/surreyrailwaysre0000oppi |access-date= 19 May 2025 |url-access= registration }}
• {{cite book |last= Quick |first= Michael |year= 2023 |orig-year= 2001 |title= Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain |edition= 5.05 |publisher= Railway and Canal Historical Society |location= London |url= https://rchs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Railway-Passenger-Stations.pdf |access-date= 29 January 2024 }}
• {{cite book |last1= Seymour |first1= B. |last2= Warrington |first2= M. |year= 1984 |title= Bygone Cranleigh |publisher= Phillimore |location= Chichester |isbn= 978-0-85-033549-1 }}
• {{cite book |last= Swift |first= Peter |year= 2006 |title= Maunsell Schools Class 4-4-0 |series= Locomotives in Detail |publisher= Ian Allan |location= Hersham |isbn= 978-0-71-103178-4 }}
• {{cite book |last= Turner |first= J.T. Howard |year= 1978 |title= The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway |volume= 2 : Establishment and Growth |publisher= B.T. Batsford |location= London |isbn= 978-0-71-341198-0 |url= https://archive.org/details/londonbrightonso0000turn/ |access-date= 31 May 2025 |url-access= registration }}
• {{cite book |last= Turner |first= J.T. Howard |year= 1979 |title= The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway |volume= 3 : Completion and Maturity |publisher= B.T. Batsford |location= London |isbn= 978-0-71-341389-2 }}
• {{cite book |last= Welch |first= Michael |year= 1998 |title= Sussex Steam |publisher= Capital Transport |location= Harrow Weald |isbn= 978-1-85-414202-3 }}
• {{cite book |last= Welch |first= Michael |year= 2001 |url= https://archive.org/details/surreysteamscene0000welc/page/82/mode/2up |title= Surrey Steam |publisher= Capital Transport |location= Harrow Weald |access-date= 31 May 2025 |url-access= registration |isbn= 978-1-85-414238-2}}
• {{cite book |last= Welch |first= Michael |year= 2006 |title= Southern Branch Lines |publisher= Capital Transport |location= Harrow Weald |isbn= 978-1-85-414306-8 }}
• {{cite book |last= Welch |first= Michael |year= 2007 |title= Decline of Southern Steam |publisher= Capital Transport |location= Harrow Weald |isbn= 978-1-85-414313-6 }}
• {{cite book |last= Vine |first= P.A.L. |year= 1996 |title= London's Lost Route to the Sea: An Historical Account of the Inland Navigations which Linked the Thames to the English Channel |edition= 5th |publisher= Middleton Press |location= Midhurst |isbn= 978-1-87-379378-7}}
• {{cite book |last= Vine |first= P.A.L. |year= 1999 |title= The Wey & Arun Junction Canal |series= Images of England |publisher= Tempus |location= Stroud |isbn= 978-0-75-241721-9 }}
• {{cite book |last=Williams |first=R. A. |year=1968 |title=The London & South Western Railway |volume= 1: The Formative Years |publisher= David & Charles |location= Newton Abbot |isbn= 978-0-71-534188-9}}
• {{cite book |last=Williams |first=R. A. |year=1973 |title=The London & South Western Railway |volume= 2: Growth and Consolidation |publisher= David & Charles |location= Newton Abbot |isbn= 978-0-71-535940-2}}
• {{cite web |title= Kent / Sussex / Wessex Routes Sectional Appendix |publisher= Network Rail |year= 2009 |url= https://sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blob.core.windows.net/sectional-appendix/Sectional%20Appendix%20full%20PDFs%20September%2024/Kent%20Sussex%20and%20Wessex%20Sectional%20Appendix%20September%202024.pdf |access-date= 19 November 2024 |ref= {{harvid|"Sectional Appendix"|2009}}}}

{{refend}}

{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}

{{commons category inline|Cranleigh Line|Cranleigh line}}

{{Transport in Surrey}}

Category:Closed railway lines in South East England

Category:Rail transport in Surrey

Category:Rail transport in West Sussex

Category:Railway lines opened in 1865

Category:Railway lines closed in 1965