Caburn chalk pit tramway

Another interesting old tramway can still be seen west of Glynde. It ran from the sidings on the Downside yard to a large chalk pit cut into the eastern side of Mt Caburn. The pit was also known as Brigden pit as Brigden farm was nearby. The line had to pass over Glynde Reach river and no sign of the bridge exists now. It ran on an embankment across the marshland until it started to climb to the pit in a cutting. The line then passed under Ranscombe lane by means of a very low and narrow brick bridge. After that it goes in a straight line past the farm in the form of a steep incline which was worked by cables. The loaded trucks would raise empty ones as they went down. No sign of the winding house remains but you can still see where the storage sidings were on the left at the top.
After carefully studying the map and walking the old track, it appears to me that a siding ran off of the tramway just before it reached the marshland and via another embankment, ran right to the edge of Glynde Reach river. I would imagine this was so barges could be loaded with chalk here because they couldn`t get past the bridge where the tramway crossed the Reach. Also by studying the map I do believe there were two passing places on the tramway, one north of the road bridge and one south. Although I can see how the incline worked, north of the road bridge, it is hard to understand how they could continue to operate trucks on a cable around curves and over the flat marshy section.

Old map from 1873

More detail

Embankments either side of Glynde Reach, bridge has gone

Embankment

Old sleeper

Old rail pins

The cutting just after the marshy length

Ranscombe Bridge

From the north

Start of the incline

The site of the passing loop

Looking towards the pit at the top of the incline