1.
South Western main line
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The South Western Main Line is a major British railway between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many areas including suburbs of London such as around Hampton Court Palace. It runs through Greater London, Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset and it briefly runs alongside the Windsor and Reading Lines which terminate also at London Waterloo. Together with these, it forms the core of the built by the London. Network Rail refers to it as the South West Mainline, much of the line is relatively high-speed, with large stretches cleared for up to 100 mph running. Tourist special services to a lesser frequency use the line such as the Cathedrals Express and Alton is a connection to a shorter heritage service. In 1831, the Southampton, London & Branch Railway and Docks Company was formed, the company planned to build a railway line to Southampton, but were also interested in building a line from halfway down their route towards Bristol via Newbury and Devizes. In that year the Basingstoke Canal company suggested instead that a link be built between their canal, built 1794, and the Itchen Navigation, the suggestion was rejected by those working on the railway plans and the canal company agreed not to oppose the railway. The chosen route to Southampton was not direct as it adopted a compromise axis about one third of the way down for a westward Bristol line and this axis terminates shortly after the conurbation on the line of Basingstoke, then an agrarian market town. The route therefore missed the towns of Guildford, Farnham and Alton which would have boosted early revenue, the town of Winchester north of Southampton was included in the built and in the unbuilt proposal, seeing its station open in 1839. The Great Western Railway secured its patrons for a far more direct route to Bristol, the GWR received Parliamentary authority and shortly afterwards the Southampton railway. The SL&BRDC held to its route including Basingstoke, though changed its name to the London and Southampton Railway. The first section to be opened was from Nine Elms, the LSWRs first London terminus, in Battersea, to Woking on 21 May 1838. This last section was the most difficult on the route with an initial climb necessitating earthworks to Litchfield Tunnel. The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was also formed and built a line from 1845 to 1847 from Southampton to Dorchester and it avoided Bournemouth, then barely a village, and ran via Wimborne Minster and Ringwood before reaching Dorchester. It took a route, which followed the easiest-to-construct links rather than linking settlements in a straight line. Initially, Poole was served by a branch from Hamworthy to a station on the side of Holes Bay. The Ringwood line was nicknamed as Castlemans Corkscrew after Charles Castleman, the line was originally planned to continue towards Exeter, but this never came into effect
2.
Bournemouth railway station
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Bournemouth railway station is the main railway station serving the beach-side town of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. It was known as Bournemouth East and then Bournemouth Central and it has long been treated as an obligatory stop on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. A previous incarnation of Bournemouth East station was on another site, ticket barriers were installed in 2008 and British Transport Police have a Bournemouth office at the station which acts as a regional hub. The station was over 1–km from the centre on the insistence of town authorities of the time. It was renamed Bournemouth Central on 1 May 1899 and became Bournemouth on 10 July 1967 following the closure of Bournemouth West, by 1967 third rail electrification had reached Bournemouth and continued beyond to Branksome and Bournemouth Depot but no further. From the end of steam most trains were formed of 4REP EMUs coupled up with one or more unpowered 4TC units, the 4TC units would be uncoupled at Bournemouth and attached to a Class 33/1 diesel locomotive for the onward journey to Weymouth. This continued until the electrification of the line from Branksome to Weymouth, the station roof was severely damaged by the Great Storm of 1987 that hit the South of England. It was extensively refurbished in 2000 by Railtrack after many years of disrepair, ticket barriers were installed in 2008. On 2 September 1961, a train was derailed by trap points at the end of the down platform, the station has four platforms, Platform 1 – east facing bay platform capable of accommodating trains of up to four 20-metre coaches. As of 2012 there are no scheduled services from this platform, Platform 2 – for through services to the east towards Southampton & London. Platforms 3 and 4 – for terminating services from London and through services to Weymouth via Poole, Platform 4 is rarely used by trains in passenger service. Platforms 3 and 4 are continuous, and both can accommodate full-length trains and this means Bournemouth has one of the longest platforms in the country. Other stations with this arrangement include Gloucester, Cambridge and Edinburgh Waverley, a small locomotive depot was opened at Bournemouth East in 1870, but closed in 1883. This was replaced by a shed, adjacent to Bournemouth Central station. This in turn was supplemented by another shed nearby in 1888, in 1921, the 1883 shed was closed and the 1888 one was extended to increase capacity, and between 1936 and 1938 this was rebuilt and enlarged. The new shed included a 65 ft turntable and a 50 LT hoist, however the facilities remained cramped and awkwardly sited, there were proposals to move the depot to Branksome which were never implemented. This site therefore remained in use until June 1967 when the site was cleared, in addition, CrossCountry operate services from Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham New Street. There is one CrossCountry service Monday to Saturday only from Nottingham, all CrossCountry services at Bournemouth use Voyager DEMUS
3.
Southampton Central railway station
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Southampton Central railway station is a main line station serving the city of Southampton in Hampshire, southern England. It is on the Wessex Main Line, the South Western Main Line, the station is managed by South West Trains who operate the majority of services, including frequent trains to London Waterloo, Bournemouth and Portsmouth Harbour. Other operators are CrossCountry, Great Western Railway and Southern, which links Southampton to London Victoria, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Southampton Central station was opened as Southampton West in 1895, to replace the smaller nearby West End station. The station was on the seafront, specifically the stretch of water known as West Bay, the new land and the demand for new lines allowed the station to be enlarged and redeveloped in 1934–1935, and it became Southampton Central. The new station buildings were constructed from concrete. An air raid on 23 November 1940 damaged the buildings alongside platform one, the station was hit by two German parachute mines on 22 July 1941 which destroyed the ticket hall on platform four and damaged the island platform. In preparation for the closure of Southampton Terminus station near the docks in 1966, in 1967, soon after the closure of Southampton Terminus, the station was rebuilt, losing its clocktower which was replaced with an office block. At this point it was renamed Southampton, although in 1994 was once renamed to Southampton Central. It was announced in late 2011 that Southampton City Council has plans to rebuild the station under the Western Gateway project. The project costing £200 million will see a new station with 10 platforms and this project is part of the Future Southampton programme, set to be complete by 2025. This dual use occurs throughout the day on platforms 2 and 3, platforms 1 and 4 are side platforms facing the fast lines. These platforms accommodate CrossCountrys Manchester to Bournemouth services, Great Western Railways Cardiff to Portsmouth route, platforms 2 and 3 are on an island, facing the slow lines. On these platforms call services on South West Trains Romsey to Salisbury local service, its service to Portsmouth & Southsea, Southern services to London Victoria and Brighton also start from these platforms. There is also an ex-Red Star Parcels bay on the Bournemouth end of platform 4, previously numbered as platform 5, stopping services to Brockenhurst used this platform, but the platform can no longer be used for passenger services due to the lack of a proper starting signal. It is now used for the stabling of spare units, Southampton Central houses both the South West Trains head office and a British Transport Police station in Overline House on the up side, with street access from Blechynden Terrace. Southampton Central has three trains an hour to London Waterloo, two of these take approximately 1 h 20 min while the Poole stopping service takes approximately 1 h 40 min. The Waterloo to Southampton Central stopping service was extended to Poole, the former Poole train was extended to Weymouth. Southern introduced a new service from Southampton Central to Brighton, during a short period in the summer, there is also a single service on Saturdays to Leeds
4.
Totton railway station
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Totton railway station serves the community of Totton, west of Southampton, England and is a station on the South Western Main Line. It is operated by South West Trains who also operate the services to stop at the station. The station was constructed by the London and South Western Railway and opened in 1859 as Eling Junction and it was renamed in later the same year as Totton after the growing community surrounding the station. The station passed into the ownership of the Southern Railway following the passing of the Railways Act 1921 and it became the junction station for the Fawley Branch Line which opened in 1925. Following nationalisation of the railways in 1948, the became part of British Railways Southern region, and is now owned by Network Rail. The station has few facilities, with an office only open during weekday morning peak hours. Access to the station is available from both the north and south sides of the station with a footbridge available to cross the track. The station consists of two platforms, Platform 1, located on the side of the station, for trains heading east towards Southampton and London. Geographically the next station is Redbridge, however no trains run from Totton to Redbridge. Subsequently, the station for trains departing from Totton is Southampton Central. Platform 2, located on the side of the station, for trains heading west towards Brockenhurst. The station has a room, located within the station building on Platform 1. In addition a covered awning provides shelter on Platform 1 and a shelter has been installed on Platform 2. There are cycle shelters located on Platform 1, Platform 2 is inaccessible to wheelchair users due to steps being present both on the footbridge and to reach the platform from the south entrance to the station. This has in the past resulted in passengers travelling to Southampton Central, the station is served by an hourly, off-peak service in the form of the stopping service between London Waterloo and Poole. At peak times, this is increased to an hourly service between London Waterloo and Weymouth. On Sundays, the timetable is used. Previously, the station was the terminus of a service that ran from Totton to Romsey via a horseshoe shaped route through Southampton Central
5.
Marchwood Military Port
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The port was built in 1943 to aid in the D-Day assault on Normandy in 1944 and has since been used to support the Falklands War. Marchwood is also the base-port for several Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, at this time the port was relatively small, with just one jetty. The port now consists of three main jetties, falkland Jetty, the largest, is 220m long and 33m wide, with two dolphins and is capable of accepting vessels up to 25,000 tonnes. It has two sophisticated class 100 ro-ro link span ramps facility capable of handling vessels with various ramp configurations, there are two 32 tonne cranes with container handling ability. The two berths are maintained to 8m+, mulberry Jetty, built during World War II, is 190m long, has rail access and is capable of accepting vessels of up to 8k tonnes with limited Ro/Ro facilities. It is named for the mulberry harbours used on the French coast in the post D-Day logistics, the berths are maintained at 4m. Gunwharf Jetty is a jetty of 117m that is used to berth military landing craft. The berths are maintained at 4 and 3 m respectively, there is also a small ship maintenance facility with a boatlift rated 225 tonnes. The waters are dredged to 8m so the complex can accept the majority of ships likely to be used by MoD. Dolphins at the end makes it easier for longer ships to use. The Directorate of Land Service Ammunition has granted the port a licence to handle ammunition/explosive on the main jetty, the port has a limited capacity to handle containerised cargo within the 289 acre estate. The port again found use during the Falklands War, when it was employed to transport men and equipment to the Falklands in a rather unnoticed fashion, as it had during the Normandy invasion. The port also became a rally area for cargo and armoured vehicles which were subsequently forwarded to Southampton for transportation to the Falklands as required. At the conclusion of the war the port was used to receive 80 war dead, nonetheless, the port was expanded considerably, with administration blocks being put in, as well as a Falklands deep water jetty, and training facilities. The water front is clear for cargo and loading. The expansion of the port has become subject of a short documentary, the port is now used largely by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, as a base for their ships, including their amphibious ships, but it is also still employed for military cargo and personnel movement. The site is named McMullen Barracks and the unit is 17 Port and Maritime Regiment. In October 2010, it was reported that the port is to be sold to a private operator,17 Port & Maritime Regiment RLC - on British Army official website Marchwood Military Port at www. ports. org. uk BBC article on Marchwood Military Port
6.
Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry
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Hythe Pier, the Hythe Pier Railway and the Hythe Ferry provide a link between the English port city of Southampton and the Hampshire village of Hythe on the west side of Southampton Water. It is used both by commuters and tourists, and forms an important link in the Solent Way and E9 European coastal paths, the pier, railway and ferry service are currently operated by White Horse Ferries Ltd of Swindon. In October 2016 the White Horse Ferries staff were given redundancy letters which suggests an uncertain future from the pier, the railway is the oldest continuously operating public pier train in the world. Hythe Pier stretches 700 yards from the centre of Hythe to the water channel of Southampton Water. It is approximately 16 feet wide, and carries a pedestrian walkway and cycleway on its northern side, during normal high tides the pier is 4 feet above the surface of the water. A company was formed to construct a pier in 1870 and in 1871 it obtained an Act of Parliament in order to do so and this effort then stalled and a pier was not constructed. A second company called the Hythe Pier & Hythe & Southampton Ferry company was formed in late 1874, a new act passed parliament in 1875 but legal disagreements with the Southampton Harbour and Pier Board delayed royal assent until 1878. Construction started in 1879 and the pier opened in 1881, originally there was a tollhouse at the landward end of the pier, and this was replaced by the present ticket office in the first decade of the 20th century. Large scale maintenance was carried out on the pier in 1896 at a cost of £1,500, the 1878 Act of Parliament made provision for the construction of a tramway along the pier, although one was not originally laid. The trucks that carried luggage along the pier were found to be damaging the pier decking, the vehicles were hand-propelled, and the track was laid flush with the pier decking. In 1922 the railway was reconstructed and electrified, attaining its current form, the track is laid to 2 ft narrow gauge and is electrified at 250 V DC by a third rail on the seaward side of the track. The line consists of a track with no passing loops. One of the sidings enters the lines covered workshop, stations, equipped with low wooden platforms, exist at both ends of the line. The pier head station has a roof, whilst the landward station has a ticket office. The line is operated by two four-wheeled electric locomotives built in 1917 by Brush with works numbers 16302 &16307 and they were originally battery powered, being used at the World War I mustard gas factory at Avonmouth. They were transferred to Hythe after the war, where they were converted to power from a third rail and had their batteries removed. They are crudely numbered №1 & №2 on their seaward sides, there was initially a third locomotive but it was taken apart for spares. The line owns four bogie passenger cars, two of which have a cab at their seaward ends
