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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesTo trace a disused Sussex railway accurately, first identify the line and its endpoints, then compare a dated historic map with a modern map. A georeferenced historic overlay is the quickest way to see the former trackbed against today’s roads, fields and settlements; a side-by-side viewer is better when you need to read station names and inspect landmarks. Treat the result as a historical alignment, not proof that a continuous public path survives.
The title does not identify one railway. Sussex has several plausible candidates, including the Steyning Line, the former Chichester–Midhurst railway now followed by Centurion Way, and the two former railways used in parts by the Downs Link. Choose the line before drawing a route or recommending a walk.
Choose the Sussex railway you mean
A map trace is only useful when its railway identity is explicit. Write down the line name, the endpoints you intend to show and, if possible, a station or settlement where the trace starts. Several Sussex routes overlap modern trails, but they are not interchangeable.
| Former railway or modern route | Known extent | Useful evidence | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steyning Line | Horsham to Shoreham-by-Sea | The Tracing the Rails interactive map gives operating dates of 1861–1966 and marks former stations and railway-related sites. | That map is a private production and a discovery aid, not the legal record of public access. |
| Downs Link | 59 km (37 miles) through West Sussex | West Sussex County Council describes it as a shared-use route following two disused railways. | It also uses public rights of way, farm tracks and roads, so the modern trail is not an uninterrupted railway-bed trace. |
| Former Chichester–Midhurst railway / Centurion Way | Chichester, Lavant and West Dean | West Sussex County Council describes Centurion Way as a 9 km route along the former dismantled railway and supplies a historical route leaflet. | The present route follows the former railway in this corridor, but the leaflet and modern access information answer different questions. |
If you are starting with a documentary, photograph or family reference that says only “the old Sussex line”, search for the nearest named station, crossing or town rather than guessing from geography. A recognisable anchor gives you a defensible start point and prevents a path on a different former line being presented as the intended railway.
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Use two map views for two different jobs
The National Library of Scotland’s georeferenced map tools let you place historical mapping over modern mapping or satellite imagery. Its side-by-side viewer places the historic and current maps next to each other. Both modes are valuable, but they reveal different kinds of error.
| Method | Best use | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Georeferenced overlay | Spotting where the old railway crosses present roads, rivers, fields and built-up areas. | Transparency, map scale and historic survey accuracy can make a line appear shifted. Treat the overlay as an aid to alignment, not a survey-grade boundary. |
| Side-by-side comparison | Reading station labels, parish names, road names and other annotations that become hard to see under a modern layer. | You must mentally align the two views and keep the historic map’s date visible while comparing sections. |
Use the overlay to find the corridor, then switch to side-by-side view to confirm names and landmarks. If the historic sheet does not cover the exact endpoint or date you need, change sheets or use another edition rather than extending the line by assumption.
Step-by-step: draw the historic alignment
1. Define a start, finish and date range
Record the line name and two endpoints in your notes. Add one or two intermediate stations if the route is long. Decide whether you are tracing the railway during operation, after closure or as a dismantled alignment. A map showing the line in service can differ from a later map showing removed bridges, new roads or altered field boundaries.
2. Open a historic map for the right area and period
In the National Library of Scotland viewer, locate the Sussex area and select a historical sheet that covers your first section. Keep the publication or survey date visible. A historic map establishes what it depicts at that date; it does not establish that a trackbed, bridge or path still exists now.
3. Set the historic layer against the modern map
With an overlay, adjust transparency until the railway line and modern landmarks can both be seen. Start with broad geography: the nearest settlement, a river bend, a major road or a prominent hill. Do not begin by following every curve of the railway. First establish that the historic sheet is correctly positioned.
4. Align durable anchors
Mark features likely to have remained recognisable: station sites, road crossings, river crossings, church towers, settlement edges, large bends in watercourses and junctions with major roads. These anchors are more reliable than a field boundary or minor track that may have moved. If several anchors agree but the line drifts slightly between them, record the drift rather than forcing the railway to match a modern path.
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5. Trace in short sections
Work from one anchor to the next. Save a point or note at each crossing, station and change of direction. Short sections make it easier to distinguish a genuine railway curve from a map-registration error and let another reader reproduce your work. For a long route such as the Downs Link, separate the trace by town, station interval or road crossing instead of drawing one unexamined line.
6. Record what the modern map shows
For each section, note whether the historic alignment is now a cycleway, footpath, farm track, road, built-up area, open field or apparently missing feature. Use cautious wording such as “the historic railway ran here” when the evidence is historical, and reserve “the public trail follows this section” for a route confirmed by current access information.
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7. Check a second map edition where the alignment matters
If a bridge, station throat or junction is central to your explanation, compare another historic edition or a later map. Railway infrastructure can be simplified at small scales, and closure-era mapping may omit features that an operating-era sheet labels clearly. Keep the dates attached to your notes so readers can tell which map supports each observation.
8. Export or annotate without implying legal precision
A screenshot or hand-drawn line can explain the route, but label it as an interpretation of historical mapping. Do not present a coloured line as the legal boundary of a right of way, a property edge or a guaranteed walking route.
Three Sussex examples to practise on
Steyning Line: Horsham to Shoreham-by-Sea
The Tracing the Rails interactive map is a useful way to discover the Steyning Line’s sequence of stations and railway-related sites. It describes the route between Horsham and Shoreham-by-Sea and gives the dates 1861–1966. Use those endpoints to select historic sheets, then test the line against modern roads, settlements and river crossings in sections.
Keep the source’s status clear. The interactive map helps identify what to investigate, but it is not West Sussex’s legal access record. A station marker can show where railway activity occurred without showing that a public path reaches the site today.
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Downs Link: a mixed route, not a continuous railway bed
West Sussex County Council describes the Downs Link as a 59 km (37 mile) shared-use route that follows two disused railways. The same council guidance says the route also uses public rights of way, farm tracks and roads, and that some sections are uneven or sloped. This distinction is essential when tracing it: a modern Downs Link segment may be historically railway-aligned, may use a connecting path, or may run on a road where the railway route is no longer available.
For a Downs Link map, draw the former railways first from the historic sheets. Then add the present route as a separate layer or line style. Where the two diverge, label the reason if known—such as a road section or a farm track—instead of smoothing the difference into one continuous railway line.
Centurion Way: Chichester, Lavant and West Dean
Centurion Way provides a clear West Sussex example. The county describes this 9 km route as following the former dismantled Chichester–Midhurst railway through Chichester, Lavant and West Dean, and publishes a route leaflet with historical information. Use the railway’s historic alignment to explain the corridor, then consult current route information for the exact trail entrance, surface and access conditions.
Even here, “follows the former railway” does not answer every field question. A route can leave the old formation at a road crossing, use a modern access spur or have restrictions that a nineteenth-century railway map cannot show.
Separate historical alignment from present-day access
Finding the railway on a historic map and finding a lawful place to walk are separate tasks. A dismantled line may cross private land, have been absorbed into a road, or survive only as an embankment with no public entrance. The map trace answers where the railway ran; an access record answers whether the public may use a particular path today.
West Sussex: iMap and the legal record
West Sussex County Council says its online iMap is indicative and is not the legal Definitive Map. The Definitive Map and Statement are the county’s legal record of public rights of way. The council states that a route recorded there is conclusive evidence of a public right of way. Use iMap for orientation, then consult the Definitive Map and Statement when your decision depends on legal status.
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East Sussex: treat the online display as guidance
East Sussex’s public-rights-of-way map supports searches by settlement, postcode, parish, grid reference, path code and path name. Its warning says the online representation may not be legally accurate. Use the search tools to locate a path or investigate a crossing, but do not treat the screen display alone as proof that a route is recorded or open.
What an access check should record
- The county and parish in which the section lies.
- The path’s recorded name or code, where available.
- Whether the route is a footpath, bridleway, restricted byway or byway.
- Any temporary closure, diversion or surface warning shown by the current authority.
- The exact point where the public route meets a road or other accessible place.
Do not infer permission from a visible track, an old station platform or an uncropped satellite image. Land ownership and public access are different matters.
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Prepare a map for a real visit
If you plan to walk or cycle a section, carry a current Ordnance Survey map of the relevant Sussex area. West Sussex County Council recommends OS maps for the Downs Link. Select the sheet only after choosing the line and section; the correct sheet depends on the endpoints and scale you need.
Use the current map to locate contours, road crossings, settlements and recorded paths, and keep the historic map available for comparison. Expect the surface and route to change: the Downs Link guidance warns that some sections are uneven or sloped, and its use of roads and farm tracks means conditions can differ sharply between adjacent railway-aligned sections.
A physical map improves orientation but does not create a right to enter the former trackbed. Stay on recorded public routes, follow signs and obey any current closure or diversion notice.
Common tracing mistakes and how to correct them
Mistake: choosing a line from the word “Sussex” alone
Correction: identify the endpoints or a named station first. If the source you are working from does not provide them, present the method and the candidate lines rather than inventing a definitive route.
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Mistake: treating the modern trail as the railway
Correction: draw the historic railway and the present trail separately. The Downs Link’s roads, farm tracks and other rights of way are a documented example of why the distinction matters.
Mistake: trusting a single overlay at every zoom level
Correction: verify the registration with several durable anchors and inspect the same stretch side by side. If the line still does not align, note the uncertainty and retain the map date.
Mistake: using a historic map as an access guide
Correction: check the relevant county’s current rights-of-way information and, where legality matters, the Definitive Map and Statement. Historic railway presence is not evidence of public access.
Mistake: extending a line beyond the evidence
Correction: stop at the edge of the mapped sheet or at an unverified section. State which endpoint, edition and anchor support the trace instead of joining gaps with a guessed straight line.
A reproducible note format
For every section, keep a compact record with the railway name, endpoints, historic map date, modern map date, anchor features, present land use and access source. A useful entry might say: “Steyning Line, station to road crossing; historic sheet dated [map date shown by the viewer]; alignment confirmed by station site, river bend and road junction; modern route appears to use a road; access checked against the relevant county record.” Keep the actual map date in the note rather than substituting a general period such as “Victorian”.
This format lets a reader see which statements are historical, which describe the current landscape and which depend on an access authority. It also makes it straightforward to revise the trace if a later map edition or rights-of-way decision changes the modern picture.
What your finished map should communicate
A reliable Sussex railway trace uses separate visual treatment for at least two things: the historical railway alignment and the current public route. Include the line’s name, endpoints, the historic map date and a short legend. Mark uncertainty at sheet edges, rebuilt junctions and places where the current route departs from the railway. For the Downs Link, identify the railway-derived portions without implying that all 59 km is former trackbed. For Centurion Way, identify the 9 km corridor while directing readers to current access information for visit planning.
The strongest result is therefore not a single bold line. It is a dated, section-by-section comparison that shows what the railway was, where its corridor lies today and which parts, if any, can be reached on a recorded public route.
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