Bishops Waltham branch
Encyclopedia
Description
The Bishops Waltham branch was a railway line in HampshireHampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England. It ran from Botley
Botley railway station
Botley railway station is a railway station in Botley, Hampshire.-History:Botley station was opened in 1841 by the LSWR. Botley was once the junction for the Bishops Waltham branch which was opened in 1863 and finally closed to freight in 1962...
on the Eastleigh-Fareham line
Eastleigh to Fareham Line
The Eastleigh-Fareham Line is the railway line from Eastleigh to Fareham in the United Kingdom. At Eastleigh, trains join the South Western Main Line for onward travel to Basingstoke, Reading or to London Waterloo. At Fareham trains join the West Coastway line for onward travel to Portsmouth or...
to Bishops Waltham. The line was opened by the LSWR on 1 June 1863, closed to passengers on 31 December 1932 and finally closed to freight in 1962.
The line followed the course of the river Hamble for most of its route, and was simply built with single track and a few under-bridges. There was a small station halfway to Bishop's Waltham called Durley Halt that opened in 1910, but traffic was always light.
History
The branch had its origins in a much grander plan put forward in the early 1860s. A group of businessmen in the Southampton area proposed a railway running across eastern Hampshire into Southampton. They were led by Arthur HelpsArthur Helps
Sir Arthur Helps, KCB, DCL , English writer and dean of the Privy Council, youngest son of Thomas Helps, a London merchant, was born in Streatham in South London....
, a prominent national figure (he had recently been made Clerk of the Privy Council
Clerk of the Privy Council
Clerk of the Privy Council can refer to:*Clerk of the Privy Council *Clerk of the Privy Council...
) and writer. He owned an estate near Bishops Waltham and had financed the creation of the town's Coke & Gas Company and a brickworks. The aim of the Bishops Waltham, Botley & Bursledon
Bursledon
Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages include Swanwick, Hamble-le-Rice, Netley and Sarisbury...
Railway (BW,B&BR) was to link the proposed Petersfield & Midhurst Railway
Midhurst Railways
The Midhurst Railways were three Branch lines which were built to serve the market town of Midhurst in the English county of West Sussex. The three lines radiated from the town; south to Chichester, west to Petersfield, and east to Pulborough....
to the main line into Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
which was owned by the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
(LSWR). The LSWR was a large and established company having built the South Western Main Line
South Western Main Line
The South Western Main Line is a railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the Dorset coast, in the south of England. It is a major railway which serves many important commuter areas, as well as the major settlements of Southampton and Bournemouth...
between London and Southampton in the 1830s. The promoters of the Bishops Waltham Railway, like many similar small railway undertakings, hoped to arrange for the LSWR to operate the line once it was built in return for a share of the takings.
The LSWR objected to the propsed BW,B&BR as a potential competitor to its own line and refused to an agreement. However the LSWR was equally wary that its main rival, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
(LB&SCR) would secure the rights to operate the line itself and thus be able to run its services right into the heart of LSWR territory. The LSWR and the BW,B&BR reached an agreement that the smaller company would reduce its plans to a simple branch between Botley and Bishops Waltham. The LSWR would operate the line at a favourable rate and would consider an extension to Petersfield
Petersfield
Petersfield can refer to any of the following places:*Petersfield, Hampshire, a market town in England*Petersfield, Jamaica, a small town in the parish of Westmoreland*Petersfield, Manitoba, in Canada*Petersfield, an area of Cambridge, England...
in the future. The BW,B&BR changed its name to the Bishops Waltham Railway Company (BWR) and an Act of Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
secured in 1862.
Enough money had already been raised for the construction of the railway's earthworks and track and these were completed quickly, with the first train reaching Bishops Waltham in June 1863. However the BWR was forced to take out further loans and a mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
to fund the construction of a passenger station and a goods yard at Bishops Waltham, which were not completed until March 1865 at a cost of £8,000. The branch earnt its owners only minimal profits in the first few years once the small company's interest payments and the LSWR's operating costs had been paid.
The BWR tried to fix an agreement with the LSWR to extend the line further in search of extra traffic and a second company, the Bishops Waltham & Petersfield Railway (BW&PR), again led by Arthur Helps, was formed to try and secure investment for the project. This unfortunately coincided with a minor banking crisis and a recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
in the British economy which saw investment in new railway projects dry up. It also further reduced traffic over the Bishops Waltham branch line which was dealt a fatal blow in April 1867 when the Bishops Waltham Clay Company, the local brickworks and one of the railway's main customers, went into liquidation
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
and ceased production.
The LSWR itself was making a profit from its operations over the line since it had none of the debts incurred in the line's construction yet took a proportion of all income from the branch. It continued to run trains along the line and simply billed the BWR for its outstanding payments. The BWR existed in a state of limbo for many years. By 1870 the company's annual meeting was disbanded because no shareholders were present. Following the death of Sir Arthur Helps in 1875 the company's Board of Directors informally disbanded. When in 1881 it was arranged to sell the remains of the BWR outright to the LSWR the process was held up because the company was in chancery
Court of equity
A chancery court, equity court or court of equity is a court that is authorized to apply principles of equity, as opposed to law, to cases brought before it.These courts began with petitions to the Lord Chancellor of England...
with no directors, treasurer or secretary to act on its behalf. The sale was eventually conducted by the BWR's chief creditor and the LSWR took over the operation at a cost of £20,000.
In the 1860s the LSWR proposed a railway line between Alton
Alton, Hampshire
Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...
and Petersfield
Petersfield, Hampshire
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth, on the A3 road. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct Line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth and London. The town is situated on the...
, This railway would have had a junction near Warnford
Warnford
Warnford is a village and civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England.The village lies on the A32 in the valley of the River Meon between West Meon and Exton. It has a church and a pub, . There is an infrequent bus service from Bishop's Waltham to Petersfield...
that crossed the Meon Valley
River Meon
The River Meon is a river that flows through an area of Hampshire in southern England known as the Meon Valley, it flows generally southwards from the South Downs to the Solent. For most of its route it is a chalk stream, with a length of 21 miles .The River Meon rises approximately...
and then ran to Bishop's Waltham, thus connecting to Botley and the Eastleigh to Fareham Line
Eastleigh to Fareham Line
The Eastleigh-Fareham Line is the railway line from Eastleigh to Fareham in the United Kingdom. At Eastleigh, trains join the South Western Main Line for onward travel to Basingstoke, Reading or to London Waterloo. At Fareham trains join the West Coastway line for onward travel to Portsmouth or...
. This would have required major works of civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
including a large bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
or viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
, and would have put Bishop's Waltham on a major railway in the region. The plans never progressed.
During the 1880s, when the LSWR was looking for a site for its main locomotive and carriage works, a group of Bishop's Waltham businessmen offered a proposal to site the works at Bishop's Waltham. The LSWR did conduct a detailed study of the proposal, but the site of Eastleigh
Eastleigh
Eastleigh is a railway town in Hampshire, England, and the main town in the Eastleigh borough which is part of Southampton Urban Area. The town lies between Southampton and Winchester, and is part of the South Hampshire conurbation...
was chosen instead, being on the main line
South Western Main Line
The South Western Main Line is a railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the Dorset coast, in the south of England. It is a major railway which serves many important commuter areas, as well as the major settlements of Southampton and Bournemouth...
. Eastleigh grew from a village smaller than Bishop's Waltham to a large industrial town centred around the works.
Whilst the line was usually only lightly used, with modest passenger numbers and low levels of freight, the line usually saw a period of frenetic, heavy use in the summer months during the strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
harvest. Southern Hampshire (including the area around Bishop's Waltham, Botley
Botley, Hampshire
Botley is a historic village in Hampshire, England that obtained a charter for a market from Henry III in 1267. The area has been settled since at least the 10th century....
, Fareham
Fareham
The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...
and Titchfield
Titchfield
Titchfield is a village in southern Hampshire, by the River Meon. The village has a history stretching back to the 6th century. During the medieval period, the village operated a small port and market...
) was the UK's main strawberry growing region and during the harvest there was a near-continuous stream of special trains from the region to the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
markets. Botley station
Botley railway station
Botley railway station is a railway station in Botley, Hampshire.-History:Botley station was opened in 1841 by the LSWR. Botley was once the junction for the Bishops Waltham branch which was opened in 1863 and finally closed to freight in 1962...
had numerous sidings to accommodate the special trains the LSWR put on for the harvest, and the Bishop's Waltham line was key to shipping produce from the Meon Valley and the surrounding region to the main line.
The Bishop's Waltham branch was one of the few lines in the region to be worked by railmotor
Railmotor
Railmotor is a term which was used by several British railway companies for a steam railcar.-Overview:William Bridges Adams started building railmotors as early as 1848, but only in small numbers...
s. These were popular for light rural lines around the turn of the century, and consisted of a small 0-4-0
0-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
type locomotive rigid-coupled to a single carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
. This provided a low-cost and simple vehicle. However, railmotors lacked the power to pull any other carriages, and so were unable to cope with sudden high passenger numbers, such as occurred on market days or public holidays, and so were replaced by light standard tank engines.
In 1901, during the construction of the LSWR's Meon Valley Railway
Meon Valley Railway
The Meon Valley Railway was a cross-country railway in Hampshire, England that ran for between Alton and Fareham, closely following the course of the River Meon. At its northern end, it joined with the Mid-Hants Railway to Winchester, the Alton Line to Brookwood and the Basingstoke and Alton...
, yet another group of local investors formed a company to build a line northwards from Bishops Waltham to the new station at Droxford
Droxford
Droxford is a village in Hampshire, England, lying in the Meon valley, and lies around 3¾ miles east of Bishop's Waltham within the new South Downs National Park. The A32 passes through the village between Gosport and Alton...
. The line would be built under the Light Railways Act 1896
Light Railways Act 1896
The Light Railways Act 1896 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Before the Act each new railway line built in the country required a specific Act of Parliament to be obtained by the company that wished to construct it, which greatly added to the cost...
to keep down costs. The LSWR objected to the plans, citing the disruption a branch line would cause to its own operations at Droxford station. The Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
was also sceptical that the line would remain within the terms of the Light Railways Act since it would require major earthworks, a tunnel and a large bridge or viaduct to cross the River Meon
River Meon
The River Meon is a river that flows through an area of Hampshire in southern England known as the Meon Valley, it flows generally southwards from the South Downs to the Solent. For most of its route it is a chalk stream, with a length of 21 miles .The River Meon rises approximately...
. The scheme failed to obtain an Act of Parliament and was abandoned.
Passenger traffic had dwindled so far that services ceased in 1932, but freight trains ran until 1962.
Some track still exists as a long siding, at the southernmost (Botley) end of the line. This is used by Foster Yeoman
Foster Yeoman
Foster Yeoman Limited, based in the United Kingdom, is one of Europe's largest quarrying and asphalt companies, owned by Swiss construction materials conglomerate Holcim.-Company history:...
who operate an aggregate railhead depot and coated roadstone plant at Botley station. Most of the trackbed is still evident, but often very overgrown.
Preservation
The Hamble Valley Railway Society is a small group that plans to construct a narrow gaugeNarrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
railway along the full extent of the original route from Bishops Waltham to Botley
Botley
Botley is the name of several places in the United Kingdom:*Botley, Buckinghamshire*Botley, Hampshire*Botley, OxfordshireOther*Botley the Robot is a fictional robot featured in Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade: Mystery Mountain...
.