Passengers travelling on the Hastings Line, between Battle and Robertsbridge in Sussex, may well be surprised to observe a clearing in the forest where railway sidings have been laid. From here, into the woodland, a boundary gate gives access to a single track of railway: the Mountfield Line. Built in Victorian times as a private company railway to a gypsum mine, the track passes through pleasant and varied scenery. For years the trains were operated by the company’s own shunting locomotives. During the 1990s this way of working came to an end, when main line locomotives hauled their loads over the entire line for the first time. This era of operation by the freight companies EWS, GBRf and Freightliner is portrayed in this book. A wide range of locomotives are pictured, tackling the fierce 1 in 40 uphill gradient on the Mountfield Line and their workings are seen on the main line too. Railtours have also visited, as well as passing steam and diesel excursions trains, and these are featured here.

Tucked away and unseen by most, Chris Livings explores the rich variety of trains that have visited the Mountfield Line over the last twenty-five years.