Opening the Heathfield Cuckoo Line railway tunnel is a huge success

Last weekend saw the Cuckoo Line Gala come to Heathfield

Last weekend the Spa valley Railway celebrated 200 years of Train Travel with ‘The Cuckoo Line Gala’ including Rare Access to the Heathfield Tunnel

Visitors and volunteers enjoyed the opportunity to step back in time to the 1960s when steam still ruled supreme when they attended the ‘Cuckoo Line Gala’ at the Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells between last Friday 13 to Sunday 15 June 2025, to celebrate the 200-year anniversary of Train Travel in the UK.

General Manager at the railway, Jonnie Pay, said: “We were delighted to be able to open the 265-yard-long Heathfield Tunnel to the public for the first time in around 10 years. The tunnel was opened from 10am to 5pm for visitors to explore and walk through the most significant piece of infrastructure on the Cuckoo Line. The last time a steam train passed through was almost exactly 60 years ago.”

The original Heathfield station building has been converted into a café and is currently the Pink Cabbage Cafe.

Those who attended the event at the Spa Railway had the chance to see some magnificent locomotives.

• Southern Railway U Class 31806 – Courtesy of the Swanage Railway and JMB Locomotive Services
• Southern Railway Bulleid Pacific 34050 ‘Royal Observer Corps’
• British Railways Ivatt 2MT Tank 41313 – Courtesy of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway
• British Railways Standard 4MT Tank 80078 – Courtesy of Stewart Robinson

Local people from Heathfield and those from further afield enthusiastically posted images of their visit to the tunnel on social media and the appreciation for the opportunity to walk through the tunnel with the echoes of the ghosts of steam trains from the past was much appreciated. The town came alive with railway enthusiasts!