Isfield – a little station on the old London Brighton and South Coast Railway Line 1889
between Uckfield and Lewes in Sussex,
a quiet little village preserved in time.
The railway is now called ‘The Lavender Line’,
named after the coal merchant who had his business there,
(not after the fragrant smell that one associates with lavender).
Immortalised in tiles at Victoria Station
and in lines written by Turle in 1934:
“If I were a very rich man, I think I would buy Isfield Station from Southern Railway…”
a country station – preserving the manners and courtesies of old
and the fascination with steam railways
for young and old alike.
There is a comradeship, courtesy, humour and purposefulness
about the men who now work there
like the same men of steel who built the line
all those years ago.
Today’s men work to restore the track and engines
to bring back the age of steam
and realise a lifelong, cherished dream.
Time is of no consequence
because the work will go on regardless
into the coming years –
the work will never finish,
because that is what they do –
if it ever finished there would be no purpose,
nothing to look forward to.
There’d be no more sweeping through the heavy gates,
no more cheery greeting of your mates;
no more use of the restaurant carriage
for the Reception after your marriage –
no more guests, no more Groom
anxiously pacing the waiting room
(until he sees the tables spread
with fine white linen cloths ,gleaming glasses
and menus waiting to be read).
The engine arrives at the platform
with much steam and hissing –
gleaming brass and copper pipes,
greased axle bearings,
shiny piston rods and fairings.
The evocative smells of the coal fire
and the melting steam
drift across the track
and we are all taken aback
by the sudden piercing blast of the steam whistle
which makes us jump and
causes little boys’ mouths to drop open –
their fathers smile
and their grandfathers suddenly remember
the day they steamed their last steam mile.
Railways –
byeways and byelaws
‘sleepers’
and ‘chairs’
antique wagons
and rotting wood
rusting iron
peeling paint and dripping gutters –
this is The Lavender Line.
Steel lines running up the track
a mile to Worth Halt and then back
ending at the buffers.
You pass men, busy in the sheds,
cleaning and painting the coaches
a lovely glossy green.
In ‘Cinders’ Café
(the old Ticket Hall)
there is a wood burner,
(a warming fireside on cold winter days)
gas lights and lanterns,
enamelled signs from old railways,
brass clocks and signals –
and outside on the platform,
lamp posts and
red fire buckets full of sand.
The men have a full English breakfast
before
shunting the engines
into the siding
and hunting for tools
which are hiding.
Dreamy days
Steamy days
Oily days
Wet days
Sunny days
Happy days
Nostalgic days.
Innocent days.
C. Tim Taylor 2013