London Victoria to Brighton

The Route of the Brighton Belle

London Victoria was built as two separate stations by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) and the South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SECR). These two rival companies remained independent until the formation of the Southern Railway in 1923. The station is adjoined along the Buckingham Palace Road side by the magnificent former Grosvenor Hotel, which remains a fine hotel known as the Thistle Victoria. In its heyday London Victoria was the starting point for such famous expresses as the Golden Arrow, the Night Ferry and the Brighton Belle. Today it is the starting point for services to Sussex, Surrey, Kent and the South Coast. It is also the main station for international connections via the South Coast ports. In 1984 London Victoria became the starting point for the pioneering Gatwick Express service to London Gatwick Airport. Today London Victoria's Platform 2 is often the departure point for Orient Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises's luxury VSOE British Pullman train excursions.

One of Britain's most famous train journeys is the London Victoria to Brighton line. Its history is an entertaining blend of fact, fiction, myth and tradition. Built by the London & Brighton Railway and their great engineer J.U. Rastrick, the line was opened in 1841 and from the outset was known for fast running. By the 1930s the line was famous for the Brighton Belle electric Pullman service introduced in 1934 and which ran until its demise in 1972.

Throughout this “Through the Window” guide we describe views as being left or right from the train facing in the direction of travel out of London.

London Victoria to Haywards Heath:

The trains to Brighton start from the 'Brighton side' of London Victoria station, whose elaborate Edwardian baroque façade in brick and stone, topped by a grand clock, was completed in 1908 by the London Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR).

Leaving London Victoria, the train curves round to cross the River Thames on the Grosvenor Bridge and then runs quickly through Battersea Park to Clapham Junction with the former Battersea Power Station dominating views to the left. Here the lines to Reading and Basingstoke diverge off to the right. It then cuts through Wandsworth Common and then takes an elevated route to Balham. Tooting Bec Common and Streatham Park flank the line and then the Crystal Palace television masts come into view on the skyline to the left. Through Norbury and Thornton Heath the surroundings are more suburban and then at Selhurst the train passes the huge train depot, with the floodlights of Crystal Palace football ground in the distance. Tower blocks flank East Croydon and then suburbia accompanies the line to South Croydon, gradually yielding to gardens, parks and allotments. Just after South Croydon the line to Oxted diverges off to the left. Raised high on its embankment, with good views of the Downs to the left and right, the train passes Purley. The short Caterham branch, built by the independent Caterham Railway in 1856, swings away to the left, while to the right another branch leads to Tattenham Corner, opened in time for the Derby in 1901. As the train approaches Coulsdon South, the surroundings get greener and then, as it enters a long, steep sided cutting, the line is duplicated with an avoiding line for some miles which diverges off to the left to allow expresses to avoid Merstham and Redhill.

After a long tunnel, trains on the slower lines pass Merstham, an unexpectedly attractive town famous for its stone quarries since the Middle Ages. A railway, horse drawn, was built in 1805 to carry stone and fuller's earth from here to Croydon. To the left is the vast multi storey intersection that links the M25 with the M23, while to the west there are glimpses of Gatton Park, a mansion rebuilt in 1936 in classical style. The next station is Redhill, serving Reigate's easterly extension. Just south of Redhill the line to Guildford diverges off to the right and the line to Tonbridge to the left. Soon on the left the avoiding line reappears and rejoins the main line. South of Redhill is Earlswood, with a big 1853 hospital by the line to the left, and beyond it views to Redhill Aerodrome airfield, famous for its 1930s Tiger Moths, and the backdrop of the Downs. The line now runs fast and straight to Salfords and Horley, with all the best views to the left. With a steady stream of planes low overhead, the train quickly reaches Gatwick Airport, which serves the busy BAA London Gatwick Airport.

Lineside development spreads southwards from here to Three Bridges, where the line to Horsham, Arundel and Chichester swings away to the right. South of the station the houses are quickly left behind as the line runs through thick woodland, with Tilgate Forest to the right and Pottage Worth Forest to the left. A short tunnel is followed by cuttings that take the line to Balcombe. Further cuttings limit views south of the station, until J.U. Rastrick's great viaduct takes the line suddenly flying over the Ouse Valley. The Balcombe Viaduct was completed in 1841, with 37 massive brick arches and a splendid classical balustrade, the 1,475ft viaduct strides over the landscape. There are excellent views along the Ouse Valley to the right and left but they are hard to appreciate fully from the train flying above the valley on the magnificent viaduct. The train then reaches at Haywards Heath station. Little of the town, which grew rapidly in the 19th century after the arrival of the railway, can be seen and a tunnel carries the line under the town centre. This is where you can change for trains to Lewes and Eastbourne.

Haywards Heath to Brighton:

Cuttings take the line from Haywards Heath and then the next station is Wivelsfield, with its original wooden buildings. Little of the village remains, buried in a sea of 19th century and later housing that has spread northwards from Burgess Hill (the next station southwards to Brighton), typical railway inspired development. To the south, an embanked section of the line allows brief views of the Downs ahead, towering above Hassocks, another intermediate railway town. At both Burgess Hill and Hassocks parts of the original 1841 classical-style stations survive. It is a fine sight, with Wolstonbury hillfort to the right, Ditchling Beacon to the left and in the centre Clayton windmills.

Another cutting now paves the way for the famous Clayton tunnel of 1841, with a cottage perched in the centre of the castellated northern portal. Just above the tunnel mouth is Clayton Church, with its unique series of 12th century wall paintings. The tunnel is followed by another deep cutting, carved through the chalk of the Downs and then a short tunnel beneath Patcham concludes the line's passage through the Downs. The dramatic quality of the engineering shows how Rastrick strove to create a fast, level route through the undulating country for this early intercity line.

Leaving the Downs behind, the train reaches Brighton's outskirts at Preston Park. It was here that there was once the famous works of the Pullman Car Company where many famous Pullman carriages were built and maintained. The line is now elevated high above northern Brighton. The viaduct carrying the Brighton to Lewes line can be seen curving away to the left and then the journey comes to an end beneath the great iron and glass roof of Brighton's 1883 trainshed. To the right just as you enter Brighton station you can see the line to Littlehampton and Portsmouth curving away to the west. The elegant classical facade of the station of 1841 provides a suitably grand introduction and entrance to the elegant seaside city of Brighton & Hove.

The best way to enter Brighton is by train, for the station is set high above the town and the visitor is drawn naturally down towards the seafront, Royal Pavilion, the Regency terraces, the seafront and piers, the enticing pubs and antique shops. Brighton is England's most fashionable resort, and has been since 1783 when the Prince of Wales first came here to sample the beneficial effects of sea air and salt water bathing. Brighton's royal associations continued through the Regency period and resulted in the Royal Pavilion, Britain's most eccentric royal palace. Since then, the resort has maintained its particular appeal to all kinds of visitors, from politicians to playboys, and the town's slightly raffish air has always added to its attraction. In 1991 the London to Brighton line, one of Britain's best loved and most familiar routes, celebrated its 150th Anniversary. In 2002 in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, Brighton and Hove was granted city status and thus became known as the City of Brighton & Hove.