Hellingly Hospital Railway

Hellingly Hospital Railway was a light railway in East Sussex that linked Hellingly Station on the Cuckoo Line to Hellingly Hospital. It was built in 1899 and opened to passengers in 1903 after electrification. The line carried coal and supplies to the hospital and returned with goods from the farm and outbuildings. The railway was worth the journey because it was one of the few electric industrial lines in Britain. It used a 500 V DC system powered by the hospital’s own plant, designed by Messrs Spagnoletti & Co. The motive power included a small German-built electric locomotive and a 12-seat railcar by Brush Engineering. The line closed in 1959 when the hospital switched from coal to oil. Today a footpath follows much of the old route. Visitors can walk past the remains of sidings and level crossings at Park Road and New Road. The path climbs gently towards the hospital grounds, where the former passenger platform is now a coal dock. The route passes Park House Siding and the site of the workshop, with views over the surrounding countryside.