Former rail line up for auction

The disused railway could make £10,000 at auction

A disused railway line in East Sussex could fetch as much as £10,000 when it goes up for sale this month.

Described by auctioneers as the "ultimate Christmas present" the half-mile line near Eastbourne was last used by trains in the late 1950s.

Since then the track has been ripped up so the new owner would need planning permission to restore it.

The line, near Stone Cross, will be auctioned on 16 December at Brighton's Grand Hotel.

'Pity line closed'

Auctioneer James Emson said the owner is selling it because he doesn't know what to do with it.

"Of course you cannot run a train on it but it still might appeal to someone with a background in trains," he said.

"What someone would want to do with it, I don't know."

Godfrey Gold from the Sussex Transport Interest Group, said: "It is a pity that the line closed in the first place."

"I would imagine it would attract the interest of a farmer or a developer. It would appear to be no use as a preserved railway because it is too short."