The Devil's Dyke is a spectacular beauty spot in the South Downs of England a short distance north-west of Brighton; it is said[1] to be the deepest dry valley in the world.

As leisure visits to such locations grew in popularity in the mid-Victorian period, the idea developed of a railway to the Devil's Dyke.

[1] The LB&SCR line to Portsmouth passed nearby on the south side, and a short branch to the Devil's Dyke was considered feasible.

[1] The powers obtained were allowed to lapse; they were revived by the Brighton and Dyke Railway Act 1881 (44 & 45 Vict.

[2][1] The line from there to Poynings was never built, although some preparatory work was carried out at the chalk face at the Dyke Terminus.

The morning weekday service (10:25 from Brighton) and its return working at 11:15 from The Dyke, also conveyed goods wagons.

[7] There was a small goods yard at the summit; it received some coal and cattle food and sent out little more than an occasional load of hay.

An electric bell in the clubhouse rang automatically when the starting signal at the station was lowered to advise intending passengers to drink up.

[9] In 1897 a "steep-grade" passenger railway operated on the north-facing slope between Poynings and the summit at Devil's Dyke; a hotel and funfair had been opened there.

[11] In 1904 the LBSCR decided to respond to the abstraction of local passenger business by motor buses and tramcars, by operating more frequent services by "motor trains", the term used by the company to describe single coach trains with a small integrated steam engine.

6 had wooden wheel centres to reduce noise but this created problems with track circuit operation on the main line and necessitated the provision of lorry-type brake drums.

It was named Rowan Halt and was the terminating point for about half the motor trains in the final winters of the line.

The apparatus sounded the engine whistle, and when the driver failed to respond, the brakes were applied, and steam cut off.

[17] The line had never been profitable, and as motor buses became reliable and commonplace, they offered a much more attractive means of getting to the summit.