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The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&SR) was a cross-country railway running north–south between
Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, located south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. Historically part of Berkshire, the town is noted ...
, Newbury and
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
. Its promoters intended an independent route to
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
and envisaged heavy traffic from the
Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
and
North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...
to the port, but they ran out of funds to complete the line to Southampton. The intended heavy through traffic never materialised, and the line was dependent on larger railways—the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
and the
London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...
—for support, which was not freely given. The line opened in two stages, in 1882 and 1885. The company was absorbed by the Great Western Railway in 1923 following the
Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grou ...
. It became strategically important during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
when huge volumes of munitions and troops were transported to South Coast ports, particularly in the preparations for the
Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
, and the Didcot to Newbury section was doubled, while the southern section was upgraded with extended passing loops. The line never carried heavy passenger volumes and declining traffic led to its closure in stages from 1960 to 1964.


History

The DN&SR was authorised in 1873 and became part of a series of 'railway wars' in the south of England between the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
(GWR) and the
London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...
(LSWR).


First proposals

The idea for a railway running north to south through
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
stemmed from a proposal for the ''Manchester & Southampton Railway'' during the
Railway Mania Railway Mania was a stock market bubble in the rail transportation industry of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the 1840s. It followed a common pattern: as the price of railway shares increased, speculators invested more mon ...
of the 1840s. It failed to gain parliamentary approval, largely because of opposition from the Great Western Railway. The idea of a direct line linking the manufacturing districts and the South Coast soon inspired another scheme, the ''Oxford, Southampton, Gosport & Portsmouth Railway'', which was generally known as "Bethell's Line" after John Bethell, a solicitor, who was the principal spokesman for the promoters. It failed to gain parliamentary approval in May 1846. It was intended as a connecting line, but the promoters offered no explanation of how the break of gauge would be dealt with. The earlier plans never progressed, but the idea of a railway linking the industrial areas of the
Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
was revived in the 1870s, when the growth of the railway network meant that main lines from the north reached
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
via
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
,
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
and
Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...
. This was an indirect and complex route, and in 1873 a parliamentary bill was submitted for the construction of the ''Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Junction Railway''. The company was incorporated by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Junction Railway Act 1873 ( 36 & 37 Vict. c. ccxxix) of 5 August 1873, to build a line from on the GWR Main Line to a point north of on the LSWR Main Line, whence access to Southampton was to be over the LSWR line. There was to be a branch from Compton to
East Ilsley East Ilsley is a village and civil parish in the Berkshire Downs in West Berkshire, north of Newbury. The village is centred immediately east of the A34 dual carriageway which passes the length of the village from north to south. It has the v ...
and a loop at Whitchurch to join the Basingstoke and Salisbury line of the LSWR.Ernest F Carter, ''An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles'', Cassell, London, 1959 This line was to cross the GWR Berks and Hants Extension line at Newbury without making a junction there, as that line was still
broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...
at that time.David Fereday Glenn, ''Rail Routes in Hampshire and East Dorset'', Ian Allan Ltd, Shepperton, 1983, By 1878 the company was on the verge of abandonment—a bill was submitted to Parliament for the purpose—and "with no vestige of any financial support", but due to the exertions of Lord Carnarvon, a revised route was planned, connecting with the GWR at Newbury and running through the GWR station there; and forming the Micheldever junction nearer to that station together with a second spur at Whitchurch. These changes were authorised by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Junction Railway Act 1880 ( 43 & 44 Vict. c. xlvii) of 9 July 1880, but Carnarvon's energy had already led to the first sod being cut on the Didcot to Newbury section on 26 August 1879.


Partial opening, and further authorisations

The Didcot to Newbury section proceeded rapidly, and was opened to traffic on 12 April 1882.Mitchell and Robertson say 13 April 1882. It had junctions with the GWR at both places and used the GWR stations, and the GWR worked the line. Now with energetic plans, the company sought authority for its own line to Southampton, in length, to a location near to the Royal Pier there from Burghclere. There was to be a station at Bargate, Southampton, and a line from Burghclere to on the GWR, but the Micheldever line and the Whitchurch loops were to be abandoned. All this was authorised by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Junction Railway Act 1882 ( 45 & 46 Vict. c. cxcvii) of 10 August 1882. The planned railway would run across largely empty country between Newbury and
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
before running down the eastern side of the Itchen Valley, closely paralleling the LSWR's main line on the western side, before crossing the LSWR rails on an overbridge just north of the boundary of the future site of the
Eastleigh Works Eastleigh Works is a locomotive, carriage and wagon building and repair facility in the town of Eastleigh, in the county of Hampshire in England. History LSWR The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened a carriage and wagon works at Eas ...
at Allbrook, then winding around the high ground north of Southampton to approach the city from the west to run into new terminus at Bargate (the planned station site is now occupied by the Westquay shopping centre) and there was authorisation for a line to run south of this station to the Royal Pier, where steamers for the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
and
Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...
departed. The DN&S was proposed as a shortcut to the coast, saving compared to the existing route through
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
. Deposited plans held by Hampshire record office show that the route south from Winchester was planned to run to the East of Twyford, Allbrook (where it was shown to cross the LSWR main line at Allbrook Lock by an overbridge),
Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford (originally The Ford and historically Chandlersford) is a largely residential area and civil parish in the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It had a population of 21,436 according to the 2011 United Kingdom census, 20 ...
(crossing the LSWR Salisbury line to the west of Oakmount Road), pass under the current Leigh Road–Bournemouth Road junction, climb to a tunnel near the current Chilworth Arms Public House, descend through Lordswood and the current Sports Centre area to traverse the east side of Dale Valley, swing south east under the current Winchester Road, pass through the site now occupied by Shirley Junior School, run to the south west of the current Wilton Road before crossing to the east side of Hill Lane and heading south towards the intended bridge over the LSWR. This final stretch is the area in which work commenced and the location of the surviving embankment, part of the land upon which preparatory clearance and culvert work was undertaken later became The Dell football ground between Archers Road and Milton Road north of the unused embankment. The main passenger station was to be at Bargate Street, reached by a bridge over the LSWR Southampton to Dorchester railway, and this area was to be widened throughout its length with considerable reclamation work and a sea wall built alongside station (at this time the LSWR Southampton West station was somewhat east of the present Central station position).Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Journal, No. 26 (2018), pp12-23Ordnance Survey of Great Britain, 1:2,500, 1879 series Intermediate stations were to have been provided on the route and a story grew up that the St James' Park, Southampton site in Shirley was excavated for this purpose, often repeated in local books. Deposited plans, however, show the park site already existed within the surrounding road layout and was not part of the planned route, which ran to the north east of St James' Church; its current sunken appearance was caused by later gravel extraction.Deposited Plans Hampshire Record Office Collection DP/384/1 Didcot Newbury and Southampton Junction Railway: deposited plan 1881 Archival research by the Shirley Local History Group, notably among the records of a local landowner revealed that a later revival of this scheme, the Southampton and Winchester Great Western Junction Railway, intended to use the park as the original route at this location had by then been developed. Plans and sections dated 1901 show the intended route of the railway as passing through the park from East to West. Records indicated that property sales were discussed for this scheme, which would have followed a slightly different route to the previous scheme in some areas without a tunnel at Chilworth. South of St James's Park at this time Didcot, Newbury and Station (now Stratton) Roads were named. Station Road also contained a police station. The only physical remnant of the project in Southampton is the tree covered embankment hidden behind current properties east of Hill Lane between Milton Road and Commercial Road. The deposited plans for the route through Southampton and current land levels suggest this was also the location of the viaduct work described by Sands. A photograph described as illustrating the part built viaduct from the London and South Western Railway appears in both the book ''An Illustrated History of the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway'' and in a detailed article about the Didcot Newbury and Southampton Railway in Southampton in the Hampshire Industrial Archaeology Society Journal, No. 26 (2018). The Aldermaston branch and the independent line to Southampton were never built, and an act of Parliament authorising yet further modifications, the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway Act 1883 ( 46 & 47 Vict. c. cxxix) also changed the name of the company; the word "junction" was dropped and it was now the ''Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway'' (DN&SR). In an echo of the early plans to join the LSWR's
West of England line The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a British railway line from , Hampshire, to in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter; the line intersects with the Wessex Ma ...
at Whitchurch a west-to-north junction was made here, requiring a steeply-graded embankment descending from the higher-level LSWR line, but this was only to permit construction materials, equipment and spoil to be more easily moved in and out of the works – once the DN&SR was completed the link was removed and the two companies maintained entirely separate Whitchurch stations, with the D&SNR passing under the LSWR just west of the latter's station, with the former's station being to the south and nearer the village it served. The LSWR was wary of the DN&SR's scheme, and especially this southward extension which threatened to break its monopoly on rail traffic in central
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
and at the port of Southampton. Shortly after the northern section of the DN&SR opened the LSWR obtained an act of Parliament to build a north–south railway between its Sprat and Winkle Line and the West of England line. This short section of high-quality double-track railway, which became known simply as the Fullerton to Hurstbourne Line was intended as a compromise between the LSWR and the DN&SR, with the former hoping to tempt the latter into building its line, then under construction from Newbury, to Hurstbourne and then proceeding to Southampton on existing LSWR metals. The DN&SR did not take up this offer and continued building its independent route towards Winchester, where the firm's funds were exhausted and construction was brought to what was hoped to be a temporary stop. The LSWR opened the (now mostly redundant) Fullerton–Hurstbourne Line eight weeks after the DN&SR opened its section between Newbury and Winchester, with its own station at . This opened on 4 May 1885, after a ceremonial inauguration three days previously.E T MacDermot, ''History of the Great Western Railway'', volume II, published by the Great Western Railway, London, 1931 The Winchester station was reached by a bored tunnel under The Soke; it was on a cramped site adjacent to St Giles' Hill. It appears that the line was built as far as Bar End, where the goods facilities for Winchester were provided.Sands states on page 20 that "The Shawford Junction line required the building of  miles of new railway, half of which followed the course of the Southampton extension from the point already reached at Bar End, Winchester", but this may refer to the formation only, not necessarily to an operational railway line.


Worked by the GWR

The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway Company lacked the resources to operate its line, and it arranged for the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
to work the new line, providing
rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...
and traincrews. At this time there was intense competitive rivalry between the GWR and the LSWR. In 1876 the
Somerset and Dorset Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR, also known as the S&D, S&DR or SDJR), was an English railway line Joint railway, jointly owned by the Midland Railway (MR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) that grew to connect Bat ...
had leased its line to the
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
and the LSWR jointly, giving independent access from the Midlands and the North of England to the South Coast. The GWR was alarmed at this loss of primacy in the traffic, and it was pleased to undertake the working of the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&SR) line, which it hoped would give it access to Southampton, in LSWR territory.Hamilton Ellis, ''British Railway History: an Outline from the Accession of William IV to the Nationalization of Railways'', Volume 2: 1877-1947, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1959, pages 120 and 121


Reaching Southampton at last

The company had expended all its financial resources in building the line, but its southern terminus was in Winchester: a cathedral city but not the commercial centre that had been planned. Without a through-line to Southampton the DN&SR would not be able to attract the long-distance traffic that would restore in finances, but without that traffic it could not raise the funds needed to complete the final section of its planned route south of Winchester. In June 1885 the company estimated that it required £100,000 to complete the line into
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, and Winchester and Southampton councils invested £15,000 and £70,000 respectively. The intended works at Southampton were considerable: £100,000 had already been expended, much of it on land acquisition. Sands, writing in 1971, said
The D.N.&S. had bought a wide belt of land stretching from Wyndham place, outside the present Southampton Central station, northwards along the east side of Hill Lane for about mile, then north-westward for nearly a mile towards St. James's church in Upper Shirley ... Actual work seems to have been confined to the Hill Lane area where ... a viaduct was required ... The viaduct was completed for over half its length ... The unfinished viaduct has incevanished.
The only way out was an accommodation with the LSWR; under this agreement the company built a short connecting line from its Winchester station to Shawford Junction on the LSWR; this was authorised by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway Act 1888 ( 51 & 52 Vict. c. cxlvii) and the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. cii) and opened on 1 October 1891. The LSWR now had its long-sought for control over DN&SR traffic in its own territory and agreed to the Shawford link out of concern that the GWR would provide the final funding to complete the independent line. Furthermore, seeing the danger of admitting DNS trains worked by GWR locomotives into Southampton, the LSWR agreed to the connection on condition that their own engines took over at Winchester and worked DN&SR trains on to Southampton from there, over its own line onward from Shawford Junction. For the time being GWR engines were forbidden to work south of Winchester, and there was always an engine change in the cramped station there until a pooling agreement finalised in 1910 removed this restriction. This line, running over the Hockley viaduct, was completed in 1891, and services from
Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, located south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading. Historically part of Berkshire, the town is noted ...
to Southampton began shortly after. The DN&SR joined the LSWR line at Shawford Junction, north of Shawford station. Parts of land in Southampton itself already purchased by the DN&SR (including the part built viaduct) for the final link were then subsequently sold off. The LSWR advanced a loan of £16,000 for the construction of the extension from Winchester to Shawford Junction was built. This became due for repayment on 1 January 1900, and the DN&SR clearly had no resources to repay the money: in fact it was paid off with interest by Lord Wantage. Robertson says that this money was actually advanced confidentially by the GWR, no doubt to forestall any attempt by the LSWR to take over the line and gain access to Didcot.


Newbury station

Prior to the construction of the DN&SR line, Newbury had had a simple two-platform through station. The DNS trains now ran through the station and passenger trains made calls there. When the GWR completed its development of the cut-off route to the West of England from 1900 it diverted most of its Devon and Cornwall traffic via Newbury. Much of the traffic had earlier been transferred to the route from the Melksham line. The GWR reconstructed Newbury station, providing through lines independent of the passenger platforms, and an enlarged goods yard, in the period 1908–1910, and the GWR insisted on a large financial contribution to the work from the DN&SR company.Colin G Maggs, ''Branch Lines of Berkshire'', Berkshire Books, 1993,


Operation

When trains from the north-west of England started running through to Southampton in the 1920s, the proprietors of the DN&SR hoped their line would provide the north–south link, but in fact most trains were routed via Reading west curve, using the faster lines with greater capacity.


Grouping

In 1923 the main line railways of Great Britain were "grouped" following the
Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grou ...
. The DN&SR was absorbed into the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
group. The intended date of activation was 1 January 1923, but negotiations as to the financial settlement were not concluded in time, and the absorption was finalised on 22 February 1923. As an administrative convenience, a total of railways absorbed on the due date was published, and the official activation date "was in fact officially back-dated by nearly two months in order to be included in this total". The issued capital of the DNS was calculated at £1,310,000, and its net income in 1921 was £15,674.Peter Semmens, ''History of the Great Western Railway – 1: Consolidation 1923–29'', George Allen and Unwin, London, 1985 reprint 1990, The Company had never paid a dividend on ordinary shares. During the 1930s the line was downgraded, with the removal of most passing loops and signal boxes that were not in stations. Station staff numbers were also reduced. At the same time, the section of line around St Catherine's Hill, north of the Hockley viaduct was moved west by around to allow the construction of the Winchester Bypass section of the A33 (now itself removed following the building of the M3).


World War II

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the line was a crucial transport link as southern England saw huge movements of troops and military supplies, with intensive use in the run-up to
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
and the
Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
. In preparation extensive capacity enhancement works were undertaken, and the line was temporarily closed in the daytimeAccording to Mitchell and Robertson; but this may be an ambiguous reference to 24-hour closure. between 4 August 1942 and 8 March 1943; during this period the Didcot to Newbury section was doubled, as was the first south of Newbury, as far as . Crossing loops were considerably extended (from typically to ) at stations between Newbury and Winchester, and some additional crossing points were established. As part of this work a direct connection was made to the
South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south wes ...
where the DN&SR crossed it near Winchester Junction, some distance north of the city. This was named the '' Worthy Down Loop'' and was provided to minimise conflicting movements at Shawford Junction, by which up DN&SR trains had had to cross down LSWR line trains. The construction of the spur required the removal of considerable volumes of spoil; it opened on 5 May 1943. It was closed in 1951 and after use as a wagon storage siding for some years, it was lifted in 1962.Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith, ''Branch Lines to Alton'', Middleton Press, Midhurst, 1984, At its peak the line was carrying 120 train movements a day. Auxiliary token instruments were provided at the extremity of the loops, and a considerable technical workload resulted in restoring the unbalanced token extractions.When a train was waiting for a path at the loop exit signal, the opposing train would deliver its token to the signalman at the signalbox; but the waiting train would now extract the token from the auxiliary instrument. Signal engineering staff department had to equalise the tokens manually. The remote loop points were electrically operated by hand generator at the signalboxes.Peter Semmens, ''History of the Great Western Railway – 3: Wartime and the Final Years 1939–1948'', George Allen and Unwin, London, 1985 reprint 1990, An additional halt, at Barton Stacey (between and ), was built in the early 1940s for military purposes, but was demolished after the war.


Decline

The traffic carried by the DN&SR largely consisted of heavy through goods trains with an average of eleven trains per day even in the 1960s when passenger services were being reduced. From the mid-1950s the competition from road transport—particularly motor buses—was seriously reducing the line's income. In an attempt to offer some economy, diesel multiple units (DMUs) were introduced on passenger services on the northern section: the Pressed Steel Class 121 single-car units were commonly used. However, the line was making large losses and it was soon considered for closure. Passenger services to stations south of Newbury ended after the last train on 5 March 1960.Newbury Weekly News, 10 March 1960 Passenger services to stations north of Newbury then ended on 10 September 1962. The route remained open for through block oil trains in connection with the Fawley oil refinery. A final passenger working took place on a Saturday in early May 1964 when a derailment at Reading blocked the route there. The northbound
Pines Express The ''Pines Express'' was a named passenger train that ran daily between Manchester and Bournemouth in England between 1910 and 1967. It ran for the first time under the name ''Pines Express'' on 26 September 1927; and is believed to have been ...
from to was diverted over the DN&SR line; it made passenger calls at and Newbury. By this time the Chesil station platforms were in a state of dereliction; passengers were conveyed by bus from the main station and makeshift boards were used to give them access to the train.


Engineering works

The railway presented some massive engineering challenges as it negotiated the
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
and Hampshire Downs. The cuttings at Upton and Tothill together involved the excavation of around 1 million tons of
chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
and soil and the Hockley Railway Viaduct is a notable feature as being the longest railway viaduct in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, and as having a solid
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
core. There was also a
tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
at Winchester leading to the Chesil Street terminus. The engineering drawings for the tunnel put its length at . Navvies and railway workers were paid 'tunnel allowance' (a wage bonus) for working in tunnels mile () or more in length. After protests from the workforce, the tunnel was re-measured. The tunnel was constructed on a curve, and the outside edge of the tunnel was found to be in length, thus allowing the extra money to be paid to workers. The line "was claimed to be" the first to employ a steam navvy (a steam-powered mechanical digger) in its construction. Winchester Chesil station was chosen for an innovative system of signalling, developed in about 1923 by L. M. G. Ferreira of Siemens Brothers and R. J. Insell of the GWR. A route setting frame was installed, with miniature levers: the frame was small, measuring . It was a forerunner of the ''one control switch'' system; the levers set up routes; when the lever was moved to mid-stroke the interlocking proved that the route was free and no conflicting move had been set up; and the points moved to the required position, after which the lever could be moved to the reverse position and the signal cleared. There were 16 miniature levers and 15 routes could be selected; the sixteenth was a king lever. The points were operated by a 120-volt supply from the signal box. Track circuits were provided at the points: they were described as "point protection tracks", that is, route locking track circuits, but there were no track circuits in the plain line. The night illumination was provided by oil lamps except for two signals located in the tunnel; ground signals were miniature semaphores of novel design. The installation proved the system for implementation at larger centres, in particular Newport (
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
); the Winchester system was replaced by a conventional lever frame in 1933.O S Nock, ''History of the Great Western Railway, volume 3'', Ian Allan Publishing Ltd, Shepperton, 1967 reprinted 1982, , p29Kevin Robertson, ''Winchester (Great Western): a Snapshot in Time'', KRB Publications, Bishops Waltham, 2002,


Topography

Crossing the grain of the terrain, the line incorporated considerable gradients: the ruling gradient was 1 in 106. The ''down'' direction was from north to south. There was a dedicated bay platform at (17 mi 49 ch) and the line ran east out of the station, turning immediately south, climbing to a summit at Ilsley, at milepost . From there the line fell more gently to milepost 7 near , climbing again to a second summit at milepost 5, then falling towards Newbury. The line joined the GWR Berks and Hants line at Newbury East Junction (milepost 0) and southbound DNS trains ran through Newbury station east to west, diverging southwards again at Enborne Junction (milepost 0). Again climbing to another summit near Highclere at milepost 4 the line next descended gently. There was a further climb from Sutton Scotney at milepost to a further summit at milepost , whence the line fell to
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
. The Winchester station was at 25 mi 20 ch, and Shawford Junction was at 27 mi 26 ch.R A Cooke, ''Atlas of the Great Western Railway, 1947'', Wild Swan Publications Ltd Didcot, 1988 revised 1997,


Stations and other locations

* (GWR station) * ''Didcot East Junction'' * Upton; renamed 16 January 1911 * ; opened 6 July 1888 as a private station; opened to the public 1905 * * * ; opened 11 September 1933 * * ''Newbury East Junction'' * (GWR station) * ''Enborne Junction'' * * * * * Whitchurch; renamed Whitchurch (Hants) 1 July 1924; renamed 26 September 1949 * ; opened 1940; closed December 1941 * * Worthy Down Platform; opened 1 April 1918 after use for work; renamed from 1951 * ''Worthy Down Junction; spur to Winchester Junction on LSWR line'' * ; opened 1 February 1909 * ; renamed Winchester Chesil 26 September 1949 * Bar End goods * ''Shawford Junction with LSWR''R V J Butt, ''The Directory of Railway Stations'', Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, 1995, Churn station was opened privately on 6 July 1888, for the
National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
(NRA), which needed to find larger accommodation for its competitions. Lord Wantage was a prominent member NRA and a Director of the Company, and hoped to encourage the traffic that might result. There was "no visible access by road, lying in a vast ploughed field". The National Rifle Association found the railway facilities insufficient, and settled on Bisley as their home for subsequent competitions. The platform was extended in 1894, and became a public station in May 1905. The station was made an island platform when the 1943 doubling took place.C W Judge, ''An Historical Survey of the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway'', Oxford Publishing Co, Poole, 1984, Churn features in Victor L. Whitchurch's ''Thrilling Stories Of the Railway'', published 1912, where in the story S''ir Gilbert Murrell's Picture'', his detective, Thorpe Hazell, investigates a missing truck that ended up in the siding at Churn. Pinewood Halt was opened to attempt to attract passengers from the north end of Hermitage village. A passing loop was provided at Lodge Bridge, between Whitchurch and Barton Stacey, as part of the wartime capacity improvements; it was abolished in March 1950. Worthy Down Platform was provided when the
Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
established an airfield nearby; from October 1917 trains for workmen engaged in the construction used the platform; it was opened to the public from 1 April 1918. The RFC activity was later taken over by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
and in 1938 the
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
used it, its constricted site having become too small for RAF use. A new island platform was constructed in 1943.


Following 1945

After the Second World War, the DN&SR returned to being a rural backwater line. At the railway
nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...
in 1948, the line, as part of the former GWR, became part of the
Western Region of British Railways The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right on completion of the "Organising for Quality" initiative on 6 April 1992. The Region consisted principally of ex-Great We ...
. On 2 April 1950, the line south of Enborne Junction was transferred to the Southern Region, thus putting it under the same direct management as the South West Main Line. Passenger numbers on the DN&SR slowly declined throughout the 1950s, although goods traffic remained healthy - especially chemical and oil traffic to and from Fawley Oil Refinery.


Closure for passengers

The decline in passenger usage on the line led to proposals for closure, and the section between Newbury and Shawford Junction closed to passenger trains after the last train on 5 March 1960. In fact due to congestion at Winchester City station, Chesil was used for short workings between Southampton and Winchester "although the station was officially closed" during the summer period in 1960 and 1961. Three return workings operated daily, operated by diesel-electric multiple units of type 204. The final service was on 11 September 1961; The northern section of the line, between Didcot and Newbury was closed on 10 September 1962. The closure preceded publication of the
Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. It is either a derivative of the old English ''bece'', ''bæce'' "stream", hence "dweller by the stream" or of the old English ''bece'' "beech-tree" hence "dweller by the beech tree".''Oxford Dictionary of English Sur ...
, ''The Reshaping of British Railways'', which was published in March 1963.


Closure for goods

Goods trains remained, but the goods facilities at the intermediate stations were gradually closed from 1962, leaving only the through goods services until closure 9 August 1964. The line was closed completely south of Newbury in 1965 and north of Newbury on 19 October 1967. Parts of the railway's course and earthworks are now used by the A34 between Newbury and Winchester. The road generally closely follows the railway's former course. In villages formerly served by the railway, such as Sutton Scotney, the remains of bridges and earthworks are still standing, and indeed much of the northern section between Didcot and Newbury is still entirely extant.


Re-opening campaign

From about 2014 to 2018 a pressure group called ''Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway Revival'' campaigned for the re-opening of part of the line for both passenger and freight traffic. In addition to diversions from the original route due to redevelopment, this would have been likely to require the modification or replacement of existing structures and bridges to accommodate both the W10 freight loading gauge and overhead electrification and the modification of cutting and embankment slopes to meet modern infrastructure requirements. The pressure group is now defunct.


Gallery

File:Winchester Chesil Station footbridge.jpg, An original footbridge crosses Winchester Chesil station site. The route is blocked by
multi-storey car park A multistorey car park (Commonwealth English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade (Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed fo ...
, behind which is the tunnel. Image:Winchester Chesil tunnel.jpg, Winchester Chesil tunnel - now used as council store Image:Winchester Chesil goods shed.jpg, Former goods shed, Winchester Chesil Image:Old railway bridge St Catherines Hill.jpg, DN&SR bridge over Itchen Way footpath, between Chesil and Hockley Viaduct File:DNSR milepost 1.jpg, DN&SR milepost near Hockley Railway Viaduct File:DNSR milepost 2.jpg, Description of milepost


Notes


References

* * * * * *


Notes


Further reading

* Ellis, H. (1959) ''British Railway History: an outline from the accession of William IV to the nationalization of railways'', Volume 2: 1877–1947, George Allen & Unwin. * Karau, P., Parsons, M. and Robertson, K. (1984) ''An illustrated history of the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway'', Wild Swan Publications, * Robertson, K. (1988) ''Hampshire Railways Remembered'', Newbury : Countryside Books, * Robertson, K (1988) ''The Railways of Winchester'', Oxford University Press, * George Behrend, ''Gone With Regret'', Lambarde Press, 1964; the author includes anecdotal material about wartime service life at a camp at Churn. * Robertson, K. (2002) ''On Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Lines'', Ian Allan,


External links


The DN&SR Pages



Google Earth map showing route

Geograph Article

The DNSR Winchester-Southampton section story
{{Authority control Pre-grouping British railway companies Closed railway lines in South East England Railway companies established in 1873 Railway lines opened in 1891 Railway companies disestablished in 1923 1891 establishments in England 1923 disestablishments in England British companies established in 1873 British companies disestablished in 1923