Finchcocks Bridge and the shallow cutting

Just south of the A262 and Goudhurst station site the destruction seems to be a lot less, perhaps due to a lower population and the proximity of the Bedgebury and Finchcocks Estates. Here the line entered a cutting of about 8 - 10 feet as it continued slowly swerving south-east and bordering Finchcocks Estate, very conveniently there is a footpath parallel to it. It was easy for me to pop down a take a look.

Looking north from the top of the bank the line ran towards Goudhurst Station on up journeys.

Above top looking south and then north along the track bed, Goudhurst Station's tall up home signal would have once stood somewhere on the left of the track on the second picture being 175 yards away from Goudhurst station signal box . (Here the line was double track but the long siding ended just before the bridge).

Before I got here I had decided to dig down a little into the loam to see how deep the ballast was buried, but actually it still seems to be very apparent and recent mole hills have unearthed more, consequently there is very little vegetation growing here which I find very heartening. Surely more stones have been added since by the estate management otherwise this cutting would be full of trees and weeds and the ballast would be buried under layers of mud!

Finchcocks bridge (Bluecoats Bridge) appears together with the morning sun. Apart from Swigs Hall 
Farm bridge nearly three miles north, this is the first bridge that I have come across that is still standing.
(The railway track would have been single line again at this point as the bridge is only wide enough for 
one train).

Six sturdy steel girders reinforce the roof. These must have been added not so long ago to strengthen the bridge, you can see that the brick work below the joists has been disturbed. They seem to have been 
painted too to protect them from rusting.

The same reddish bricks are apparent as elsewhere in the railway's construction.

The bridge from the south looking up towards Goudhurst Station. The road crossed the line diagonally as is fairly apparent in this picture.

These are past their best, most of the wooden steps have rotted away and the handrail has collapsed. Still it shows that the cutting got deeper as here it is perhaps 18 - 20 feet deep.

25 metres or so after the bridge the cutting comes to an abrupt end as a large earth bank appears. All credit to the Finchcocks estate though they have preserved this 100 metre stretch of the old railway line admirably!

Looking east over Bluecoat Lane bridge.

The bricks on the parapet have suffered  (much as they used to be on the top of Back Lane Bridge). The  height of this parapet is about 5 1/2 feet, higher than that of Back Lane Bridge which I knew well, I think that these top layers of bricks were added later to raise the height..