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The Southern Railway Route between BASINGSTOKE, WINCHESTER, EASTLEIGH and SOUTHAMPTON.
LESLIE TIBBLE and Richard Derry
LESLIE TIBBLE, Richard Derry
By IAN SIXSMITH, Richard Derry
First proposals for a central main railway line from London to the port of Falmouth through Salisbury and Exeter came in the 1830s, and the first section as far as Basingstoke was opened in 1840 as part of the London & Southampton Railway, which in line with its plans for expansion soon became the London & South Western Railway. The Bishopstoke to Salisbury Milford branch opened in 1847 but the route from London to Salisbury was indirect, so a direct Basingstoke to Salisbury line was promoted and after delays following the Railway Mania the single track branch from Basingstoke to Andover was opened in 1854, extended to Salisbury Milford in 1857, and then to Salisbury Fisherton in 1859. The Basingstoke & Salisbury Railway is the subject of Part One.
The Salisbury & Yeovil line was the central part of the Southerns Main Line to the West. Promoted and built by an independent local company, its stations were well placed for the centres of Salisbury, Tisbury, Gillingham, Sherborne and Yeovil. The station at the small village of Templecombe prospered as a junction with the Somerset & Dorset line, the route for much freight traffic to and from the west. Here coal, stone, manufactured goods, milk and Burton beer from the Midland line was transferred. Going north went cider from Whimple, rabbits from Dartmoor, fruit and flowers from the Tamar Valley and watercress from Hampshire. The South Western worked and later bought the line, at a very high price, and fast trains from Waterloo provided good services for both business and holiday passengers. Although Beeching cuts reduced the lines status to little more than a single track byway, today it provides a good and frequent service to London. Part One covered Basingstoke to Salisbury whilst Part Three will deal with the route onwards from Yeovil to Exeter.
Reprinted by popular demand after more than eight years out of print.
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First reprint 2003. Second reprint updated and considerably expanded 2016 to include all the branch lines, new information, drawings plans and 300 new and unpublished photographs. The Okehampton Line closed in 1970 under a flood of protest and has lain dormant for almost 50 years. The line passed over the spectacular heights of Dartmoor and down the banks of the imposing River Tamar and offered travellers an alternative route to Plymouth. Passing through some of Devons major market towns, Okehampton and Tavistock, locals have long lamented the passing of their links with the capital when coaches for London were an everyday occurrence. The line has seen a revival in recent years in the shape of a proposed Park and Ride service to Tavistock, from Plymouth, and the purchase of Okehampton Station where it is again possible to travel over rails to the nearby Meldon Quarry. The history has been meticulously detailed by the authors and includes many interviews with former employees on the line. The book now includes a new chapter covering the possible reopening of the line and a chapter on the line today. Author: By John Nicholas and George Reeve
G16 4-8-0Ts