Eastbourne railway station

Very little is known about the first station, except it was a timber structure and was used between 1849 and 1866 when the station building was moved to Wharf Road and became a dwelling for railway families. A new station was rebuilt. The location of the first station was said to be in Upperton Road, between the site of the current station and the Royal Mail sorting office.[4] There is no record known on how many platforms the first station had.

Eastbourne in 1994

Eastbourne in 2006

With the increase in services serving Eastbourne, now a popular resort, under LB&SCR Chief Engineer Frederick Banister a station was resited a little to the east in 1872 and rebuilt in 1886 and designed by F.D. Brick, in 1886.[3] which a vaulted canopy and lantern roof, similar to Lewes. The station had 4 platforms which increased in length over the years. There were also two run around loops between platforms 2 and 3. Over the years one of the runaround loops was lost as platforms 1 and 2 was built wider. On 12 April 1977 platform 4 was shortened from a 12 coach to an 8 coach length to make way for the ring road construction.[5] It was then taken out of use and the track lifted during the Eastbourne re-signalling in 1991

A goods station and yard was built north of the present station, on the site of the first station and was accessed from the mainline north of the station. Also to the north of the station was an extensive coal depot and industrial sidings including the Crumbles siding. The goods shed still survives today as the Enterprise Shopping Centre and the goods yard surrounding it is now the station car park. The site of the former coal sidings to the northeast of the station is now occupied by a car dealership.

Eastbourne carriage sidings, May 2005. Site of the first engine shed

The LB&SCR opened a small engine shed in 1849 which was demolished in 1876. It was replaced by a semi-roundhouse in 1876, which was demolished in 1912.[6] A larger, seven-road (seven track) shed was opened in 1911, but this was badly damaged by bombing in the Second World War and was never repaired. The shed was closed in 1952, but the site continued to be used as a store for locomotives awaiting scrapping[7] until 1965, when diesel locomotives were stored there until 1968; the shed was demolished in 1969.[8] The site of the first engine shed is now occupied by the current carriage sidings, whilst the site of the later shed is now wasteland.

Eastbourne signal box

The current signal box was built in 1882 and had an impressive 108 Lever frame controlling the station, goods yard and carriage sidings, this was later replaced on 14 November 1934 with a 72 lever frame. In 1991 the signal box was changed into a power signal box when the semaphore signals were replaced by colour light signals and an "entrance-exit" control system installed. The signal box closed in 2015 with the re-signalling of the line between Lewes and Bexhill controlled from a new signalling centre at Three Bridges

Eastbourne station was listed at Grade II on 3 July 1981.[9]

• Connex South Central
• Virgin CrossCountry

Until the late 1960s, long-distance through trains ran from Eastbourne via Brighton to:

• Birkenhead Woodside via Redhill, Reading, Oxford, Birmingham Snow Hill and Shrewsbury
• Sheffield Victoria via Rugby Central, Loughborough Central and Nottingham Victoria
• Walsall via Birmingham New Street and Coventry.

An overnight train also ran from Glasgow Central.

Long-distance services again ran between 1988 and 1996, branded InterCity Holidaymaker. Between 1996 and 1997, Virgin CrossCountry ran a Saturday-only service to Glasgow Central in the morning and Manchester Piccadilly in the afternoon.[10]

Until 14 June 1965, a local service from Eastbourne ran via the Cuckoo Line to Tunbridge Wells West and later to Tonbridge. Between 15 June 1965 and 9 September 1968 a shuttle service ran to Hailsham.