127-639: South West Main Line The Portsmouth Direct line is a railway route between Woking in Surrey and Portsmouth Harbour in Hampshire, England. It forms the principal route for passenger trains between London, Guildford and Portsmouth ; connections are made to the ferry services which operate between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight . The final section of line from Havant to Portsmouth
254-517: A push-pull system. One or two 4-TC units would be propelled from London to Bournemouth by a 4-REP unit, controlled from the leading cab of the former. At Bournemouth, one or both of the 4-TCs would continue over the unelectrified line to Weymouth hauled by a Class 33/1 diesel locomotive. Trains from Weymouth would follow the same procedure in reverse. Electrification of the South West Main Line between Bournemouth and Weymouth
381-475: A solicitor from Wimbourne , proposed a railway line linking Southampton to Dorchester. Surveyed by William Moorsom , the Southampton and Dorchester Railway (S&DR) was to take an indirect route to serve as many towns as possible, and its sinuous nature gave rise to the nickname "Castleman's Corkscrew". In particular the line would run via Ringwood , bypassing Bournemouth, which was a small village at
508-529: A Portsmouth to London railway were put forward over the years, including, in 1844, a planned line to use the atmospheric system of traction . The London and Southampton Railway (L&SR) opened throughout from London (Nine Elms) to Southampton on 11 May 1840. The L&SR and commercial interests in Portsmouth shared an aspiration for a Portsmouth rail connection, and a branch was proposed to run to Portsmouth from Bishopstoke (later renamed Eastleigh ) on
635-496: A fifth track to the four-track stretch of line between Clapham Junction and Surbiton. This was found to be feasible within the existing land (rail corridor), and was seen as the most practicable way of providing more capacity on the route. It would permit up to eight additional trains to run in the peak hour, for a maximum of 32 trains in this stretch. The scheme would also entail more flexible track use, modifying one Windsor Line track to permit use by mainline trains. Options rejected in
762-537: A floating bridge, across the harbour between Portsmouth and Gosport. The L&SR obtained parliamentary authorisation in the London and South Western Railway (Portsmouth Branch Railway) Act 1839 ( 2 & 3 Vict. c. xxviii) for its Gosport branch on 4 June 1839; section 2 of the act authorised changing the company name to the London and South Western Railway (LSWR); this was a deliberate move to ameliorate tension between
889-402: A goods train, two engines and about eighty men, and demanded passage along the line, threatening the switchman with immediate imprisonment unless he gave up the tongue of the points. He, however, refused and they then placed eight or ten men on our engine [that was blocking the way]... and shunted the engine aside. They then drew their own train along our up road through the station, crossing on to
1016-533: A junction just north of the original terminus) to Havant (LBSCR, on the line from Chichester to Portsmouth). The LSWR and the LBSCR both opposed the scheme in Parliament. Authorised share capital was £400,000. The contractor Thomas Brassey undertook the construction. The line would make London to Portsmouth a distance of 73 miles; Waterloo—Bishopstoke—Portsmouth was 95 + 3 ⁄ 4 miles. (Waterloo to Gosport
1143-757: A new design of four-car express unit; they were provided with corridors throughout, including from one unit to the next when running in multiple formations. Restaurant facilities were provided in most express trains, which generally ran as twelve coach trains, formed 4-COR + 4-RES + 4-COR. The 4-RES units had restaurant facilities; 19 were built; there were 29 units designated 4-COR, without catering facilities. These were designated class 404 in British Railways days. The outer vehicles in each set were motor coaches, equipped with two 225 hp (168 kW) English Electric motors, and English Electric electro-pneumatic control equipment. For stopping trains (including on
1270-480: A pair of "slow" tracks to the east with the two "fast" tracks on the western side. This arrangement continues to north of Wimbledon where a flyover transfers the northbound slow line across the fast lines, leaving the inner tracks being used for the fast services and the stopping services using the outer tracks. This arrangement continues to Worting Junction , just after Basingstoke . Many stations on this section had island platforms which have since been removed - this
1397-586: A point just west of Cosham station to Portsmouth was jointly owned by the LSWR and the Brighton and Chichester Railway (soon to be LBSCR); the Brighton and Chichester Railway owned the line from Cosham Junction and Portcreek Junction back to Chichester; and from west of Cosham to Fareham belonged to the LSWR. In 1846 the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) was formed by the London and Brighton Railway Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. cclxxxiii) of 27 July;
SECTION 10
#17327901870881524-490: A push-pull modification of 33/0. The Class 12 shunters were air brake fitted and intended as depot shunters and station pilots. The de-icing units were formed of three pairs of 2-Hal and 4-Lav EMU motor coaches coupled back to back and adapted for electro-pneumatic brakes. In later days, there were several changes to allocations and formations. From then until 1988, trains on the Bournemouth to Weymouth section operated
1651-644: A section of South West Main Line to access Southampton. In particular, the London Waterloo – Weymouth services run on the whole length of South West Main Line, and other intercity services which run on a significant portion of the line include Other services from London Waterloo also run on a section of South West Main Line, except those run on Waterloo–Reading line towards the direction of Richmond . In July 2011, Network Rail in its London & South East Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) recommended adding
1778-553: A share of the Portsmouth traffic. Two other routes had been promoted in the same parliamentary session; one was a Guildford, Chichester and Portsmouth Railway , intended to run from the Guildford Junction line and through Godalming and Midhurst to Chichester and Portsmouth. This proposal was supported by the LSWR, but was thrown out by Parliament. At the same time the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) had authorisation for an Epsom branch from Croydon, to be worked on
1905-427: A similar attempt at any time, and I have accordingly been obliged to remain at Havant with two engines and men to watch their proceedings. Whether physical violence took place is uncertain, but with numerous employees on each side and tempers running high it is likely that scuffles broke out. The Portsmouth Railway opened to Havant only, on 1 January 1859 and the issue of through running went to an arbitrator; his award
2032-514: A sinuous path to avoid encroaching on Vauxhall Gardens , the local gas works, and Lambeth Palace . The new terminus, designed by Tite and with four platforms, was initially known by a variety of names including York Road, Waterloo Bridge and Waterloo. On the day that Waterloo was opened, the Nine Elms terminus closed to passengers and was replaced by Vauxhall station. In February 1844, a group of Dorset businessmen, led by Charles Castleman ,
2159-603: A third of the railways authorised were never built—the companies either collapsed because of poor financial planning, were bought out by larger competitors before they could build their line, or turned out to be fraudulent enterprises to channel investors' money into other businesses. The world's first recognizably modern inter-city railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (the L&;M), opened in 1830 and proved to be successful for transporting both passengers and freight. In
2286-563: A time this seemed to be a future Portsmouth main line, but in 1847 it submitted a further bill proposing to sell its line to the LBSCR. By this time Parliament had become hostile to railway schemes floated simply to sell on to existing lines, and the bill was thrown out. This had the immediate effect of killing off the Direct London and Portsmouth company. The future Portsmouth Direct Line was now in place from Woking to Godalming, and from Havant to Portsmouth & Southsea station. In 1852
2413-685: Is also the junction for the Fareham line . The line returns to double track until St Denys where the West Coastway Line trails in. At Northam the original route to Southampton Terminus carries on south towards Eastern Docks and the main route curves west to enter a tunnel through to Southampton Central station. The line remains double-tracked most of the way to Weymouth , but there is a single-track section between Moreton and Dorchester South which constrains capacity. The Surrey section, about half of which has become Greater London ,
2540-499: Is evident with wide gaps between station platforms at stations such as Winchfield . The island platforms survive at New Malden , Esher and Walton-on-Thames , although mothballed and out of use. The line continues as double-track to Winchester but expands to three tracks through Shawford station with one up platform and fast and slow down platforms. There are four tracks from Shawford to Eastleigh . The line from Romsey via Chandler's Ford trails in just north of Eastleigh which
2667-429: Is no evidence that this was the long-term objective. The Guildford Junction line was planned to be laid using a novel—and almost certainly impractical—wooden permanent way system. The LSWR saw that Guildford would be a useful starting point for a railway to the south coast at Chichester , but the wooden track was an obvious objection. Nevertheless an extension to Chichester linking with a planned line from Fareham offered
SECTION 20
#17327901870882794-490: Is shared with other passenger routes. The line was opened in stages, in part by the Portsmouth Railway , independently of the established railway companies, the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBCSR), both of which had rather circuitous routes to Portsmouth. Both of those companies were antagonistic to the direct line, but in 1859 a through train service
2921-498: The Great Western Railway and the nascent Midland began to buy up strategic failed lines to expand their network. These lines could be purchased at a fraction of their real value as given a choice between a below-value offer for their shares or the total loss of their investment, shareholders naturally chose the former. Many middle-class families on modest incomes had sunk their entire savings into new companies during
3048-496: The North Eastern Railway ). These projects all required vast amounts of capital, all of which had to be raised from private enterprise. The speculative frenzy of the mania made people much more willing to invest the large sums required for railway construction than they had been previously or would be in later years. Even many of the routes that failed when the mania collapsed became viable (if not lucrative) when each
3175-673: The Portsmouth Railway was promoted, advancing a similar route to the Direct Portsmouth Railway, and hoping to adopt its assets; the "Direct" company was wound up by the Direct London and Portsmouth Railway Act 1854 ( 17 & 18 Vict. c. ccviii) of 31 July. The Portsmouth Railway got its authorising act, the Portsmouth Railway Act 1853 ( 16 & 17 Vict. c. xcix) on 8 July 1853, for a 32 + 1 ⁄ 4 mile route from Godalming (LSWR, at
3302-668: The Railway Mania of 1845 when huge numbers of railway schemes, not all of them well thought out, were put before the public. The London and Southampton line ran through Woking, and on 10 May 1844 the Guildford Junction Railway was authorised by the Guildford Junction Railway Act 1844 ( 7 & 8 Vict. c. v) to construct a six-mile branch from there to the important manufacturing town of Guildford. The authorised share capital
3429-507: 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 money, which further increased the price of railway shares, until the share price collapsed. The mania reached its zenith in 1846, when 263 Acts of Parliament for setting up new railway companies were passed, with the proposed routes totalling 9,500 miles (15,300 km). About
3556-566: The 108 mi (174 km) between the capital and Bournemouth. Portion working was instituted, allowing trains to split at Brockenhurst, with the front sections running as express services to Weymouth and the rear sections operating as local stopping trains to Bournemouth. The Holes Bay Curve, authorised by the South Western Railway Act 1890 , was constructed by Lucas and Aird and opened on 1 June 1893. The new link allowed London-Weymouth trains to bypass Ringwood, taking
3683-484: The 1850s and 1860s saw smaller booms in railway construction, but these never reached anywhere near the scale of the mania—partly because of more thoughtful (if still very limited) government control, partly because of more cautious investors and partly because the UK railway network was approaching maturity, with none of the 'blank canvas' available to numerous companies as in the 1840s. Unlike some stock market bubbles , there
3810-698: The Alton line), 38 two-car units designated 2-BIL were produced; these had side corridors and lavatories, but no corridor connection between the coaches. They had one control trailer coach and one motor coach equipped with two 275 hp (205 kW) motors and Metropolitan-Vickers control equipment. New maintenance sheds were provided at Fratton (and also at Wimbledon and Farnham ); the Fratton shed had four roads each capable of holding eight cars. Electric trains started running to steam train timings to Guildford from 3 January 1937, and Portsmouth & Southsea station
3937-488: The Bank of England increased interest rates. As banks began to re-invest in bonds, the money began to flow out of railways, undercutting the boom. The share prices of railways slowed in their rise, then leveled out. As they began to fall, investment stopped virtually overnight , leaving numerous companies without funding and numerous investors with no prospect of any return on their investment. The larger railway companies such as
Portsmouth Direct line - Misplaced Pages Continue
4064-682: The Chichester line ran along the coast to Havant, later the site of a junction with the Portsmouth Direct Line. It ran on to make a triangular junction; the northern spur ran to Cosham, there joining an LSWR spur from its Gosport branch, facing Bishopstoke (Eastleigh). The southern spur ran to Portsmouth, where there were two platform faces at a terminus on Commercial Road; the site later became Portsmouth & Southsea station . The junctions were Farlington Junction (east), Cosham Junction (west) and Portcreek Junction (south apex). From
4191-569: The GWR in 1850, was laid with dual-gauge track between Dorchester and Weymouth to allow both companies' trains to operate. The first trains ran over the new line on 20 January 1857, although trains to and from Weymouth could not call at the LSWR's Dorchester station without reversal. The section of the South West Main Line between Christchurch and Bournemouth was built as part of the Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway. The company had opened
4318-628: The Harbour station, but other trains terminated at the Town station. Other improvements were undertaken at this period: the line between Godalming Junction and Havant was doubled from 1875: the dates were: When the Portsmouth Railway was constructed, it bypassed the original Godalming terminus, although a passenger service to it was retained for the time being. It was closed to passengers on 1 May 1897. The Southern Railway , as successor to
4445-443: The L&SR, running through Fareham and Cosham . A parliamentary bill was presented in 1837 for a Portsmouth Junction Railway, friendly to the L&SR, to construct it. At this time there was considerable resentment among citizens of Portsmouth against Southampton , and this played against the idea of a branch line to Portsmouth off the Southampton main line: Portsmouth would get a roundabout route to London. The corporation opposed
4572-526: The LBSCR but now legal measures were threatened. So difficult did the relationship become, that the LSWR considered building an independent line at Portsmouth to escape from the joint line there. The obstruction culminated in threatened direct action when, on 1 January 1859, the LSWR Portsmouth Railway was due to open. The LSWR decided to force the issue by running a goods train on 28 December 1858; it arrived at Havant at about 07:00 while it
4699-461: The LSWR in July 1871. The extension to Bournemouth West , including an intermediate station at Parkstone, opened on 15 June 1874. By 1881, the population of Bournemouth had reached 17,000. The town was served by two stations, neither of which was in the town centre. The LSWR proposed a new station, adjacent to the town hall , on a new railway between the two existing facilities. Local opposition to
4826-602: The LSWR proposed a rival scheme, the Salisbury & Dorsetshire Railway, which would have paralleled much of Castleman's line. Both proposals were considered by the Board of Trade , which favoured the S&;DR, but which also indicated that the route should be standard gauge. The LSWR agreed to lease Castleman's line for an annual sum of £20,000 (equivalent to £2.5 million in 2023). The Southampton and Dorchester Railway Act 1845
4953-461: The LSWR was motivated by fear that a rival company would indeed take over the line, gaining access deep inside the LSWR territory. On 24 August 1858 the LSWR agreed to lease the Portsmouth Railway's line for £18,000 per annum. The LBSCR at once protested. There were a complex of territorial and traffic-sharing agreements between the LSWR and the LBSCR, relating to the joint line at Portsmouth and elsewhere. These had lately been ignored to some extent by
5080-510: The LSWR) opened on 15 October 1849, after a delay when the tunnel at Guildford partly collapsed. The line closed again from 22 to 24 October 1849 from the same cause. The Direct London and Portsmouth Railway line was authorised by the Direct London and Portsmouth Railway Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. lxxxiii) on 26 June 1846, to run from Epsom via Godalming to a Portsmouth terminus. For
5207-417: The LSWR, had embarked on a series of electrification schemes, and these had had a remarkable effect on improved business and reduced costs. After the successful implementation of such schemes between London and Brighton, and Hastings , it was decided to electrify through to Portsmouth. This was to be the longest route so far undertaken. The scheme was announced in 1935; at this time the main line from Waterloo
Portsmouth Direct line - Misplaced Pages Continue
5334-549: The LSWR. The first route from London to Portsmouth, actually Gosport, had been 89 miles in length. When the Brighton and Chichester Railway was extended to Portsmouth, the route from London Bridge via Brighton (reversing there) was 95 miles. The LBSCR, successor to the Chichester company, promoted an affiliate company, the Mid-Sussex Railway , which completed a route from Horsham to Arundel Junction, about ten miles east of Chichester. It opened in 1863. At first Horsham
5461-605: The London Brighton and South Coast Railway shifted the supportive relations with the LSWR. Negotiations had taken place between the LSWR and the London and Brighton Railway, and the London and Croydon Railway had attributed bad faith to the LSWR. These feelings were carried into the LBSCR, and marked tension now existed between the LSWR and the LBSCR. In Parliament, the Guildford, Chichester, Portsmouth and Fareham proposal
5588-544: The London and Brighton Railway and the London and Croydon Railway merged to form the LBSCR. The same act authorised the combined company to acquire the Brighton and Chichester Railway. The line from Chichester to Havant was opened on 15 March 1847; from Havant to Portsmouth on 14 June 1847; and from Farlington Junction to Cosham, for goods traffic, on 26 July 1848, and for passengers on 2 January 1860. From Portcreek Junction to Cosham Junction opened for goods on 1 September 1848, and for passengers on 1 October 1848. The formation of
5715-711: The North and Midlands by amalgamating small railway companies and rationalising routes. He was also an MP, but ultimately failed because of his fraudulent practices of, for example, paying dividends from capital . As with other bubbles , the Railway Mania became a self-promoting cycle based purely on over-optimistic speculation. As the dozens of companies formed began to operate and the simple unviability of many of them became clear, investors began to realise that railways were not all as lucrative and as easy to build as they had been led to believe. Coupled to this, in late 1845
5842-451: The Portsmouth Railway route, continuing to run good services to Gosport. In fact the LSWR wanted to avoid the route overshadowing the longer original route via Bishopstoke, and Direct Line passenger services remained slow and infrequent. The working timetable for April 1865 shows only four passenger trains and one goods train per day on the line. The Portsmouth terminus of the line was at the present-day Portsmouth & Southsea station. There
5969-543: The RUS as not viable included double-deck trains, building a flyover at Woking, and introducing 12- or 16-car trains. There are seven Grade II-listed stations on the South West Main Line: Other listed buildings and structures associated with the South West Main Line include (all Grade II-listed): Railway Mania Railway Mania was a stock market bubble in the rail transportation industry of
6096-566: The Royal Navy and its support activities, and for ship construction and repair; it was also an important commercial port. In 1803 R. A. Edlington drew up proposals for a horse-drawn railway between Portsmouth and London; in the same year William Jessop proposed a horse railway from Blackfriars, London to Portsmouth, in part making use of the Surrey Iron Railway . Neither of these proposals was carried forward. Other schemes for
6223-554: The Solent , was presented at a public meeting on 6 April 1831. Giles, who was familiar with the west Surrey and north Hampshire area, having worked as an engineer for the Basingstoke Canal , examined potential routes via Guildford and Farnham . However, his favoured alignment, via Basingstoke, was chosen to facilitate a future western branch to Bath and Bristol . His detailed survey was published on 5 December 1833 and
6350-681: The South West Main Line at Woking, opened on 5 May 1845 and was extended to Godalming on 15 October 1849. The line to Richmond was opened on 27 July 1846 and was extended to Windsor on 1 December 1849. The branch to Chertsey opened in February 1848 and the branch to Hampton Court opened in February 1949. On 13 November 1854, the London Necropolis Company opened a short branch west of Woking , allowing funeral trains from its London terminus to reach Brookwood Cemetery . Further branches serving Surrey were opened over
6477-421: The South West Main Line, between Nine Elms and Woking Common , opened with intermediate stations at Wandsworth (later replaced by Clapham Junction), Wimbledon, Kingston (now Surbiton), Ditton Marsh (now Esher), Walton and Weybridge. The extension westwards to Shapley Heath (now Winchfield), with a station at Farnborough, opened on 24 September 1838. On 14 June 1839, the London and Southampton Railway adopted
SECTION 50
#17327901870886604-556: The affiliated Brighton and Chichester Railway was authorised by the Brighton and Chichester Railway Act 1844 ( 7 & 8 Vict. lxvii) to extend from Shoreham to Chichester. While this was under construction, the Brighton and Chichester Railway obtained another act, the Railway from Portsmouth to Chichester Act 1845 ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. cxcix), on 8 August, to extend to Portsmouth. The Brighton company encouraged this, intending to get
6731-439: The atmospheric system, in which stationary engines exhausted air from a pipe laid between the rails; the leading carriage of trains carried a piston which ran in the tube, and the air pressure differential propelled the train. The L&CR now fostered a Direct London & Portsmouth Railway which would run from Epsom via Dorking and Godalming to Portsmouth. This too was unsuccessful in Parliament. The Portsmouth extension of
6858-601: The basic train service remained unaltered for many years, but in 1971 was changed to one fast, one semi-fast and one stopping train per hour. Additional stops were later added to the semi-fast train. This pattern continued into the 1990s, but by 1996 it had changed to two fast trains per hour from Waterloo, a semi-fast and an hourly shuttle from Guildford to Haslemere. The October 2022 shows an off-peak pattern of an hourly fast train from Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour, and hourly stopping train to Portsmouth & Southsea, and an hourly semi-fast train to Haslemere. From 1970 to 2004,
6985-467: The best chance of defeating a proposed Direct Portsmouth Railway. On 27 September 1844 the Guildford Junction company agreed to sell to the LSWR for £75,000. The LSWR agreed, but at its own expense the Guildford Junction was to complete its single line by 1 May 1845 in conventional track instead of wood, with earthworks and bridges suitable for later doubling. The London and Brighton Railway had reached Shoreham-by-Sea (from Brighton) in 1844 and on 4 July
7112-505: The bill in Parliament, and it failed. The L&SR now put forward a branch from Bishopstoke to Gosport , close to Portsmouth but on the west side of the waterway known as Portsmouth Harbour . Requiring only 15 miles (24 km) of new line, this was an affordable proposition. An act, the Portsmouth Floating Bridge Act 1838 ( 1 & 2 Vict. c. xi), had lately been passed for a ferry, referred to then as
7239-432: The bubble collapsed and the companies called in the remainder of their due payments. The British government promoted an almost totally ' laissez-faire ' system of non-regulation in the railways. Companies had to submit a bill to Parliament to gain the right to acquire land for the line, which required the route of the proposed railway to be approved, but there were no limits on the number of companies and no real checks on
7366-607: The class 444 on both Portsmouth and Poole services. the Class 442s were withdrawn from service in March 2021. 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 western suburbs of London and
7493-483: The company got authorisation to extend northwards from Godalming to join the SER, a new line running broadly parallel to the LSWR line, and building a new south-to-east curve to join the SER. This would have been an extremely long route to London, and in any case it was defeated when negotiations with the SER and the LBSCR for traffic running over their lines failed. It appears that the SER board had an anti-expansion policy at
7620-407: The completed line from Nine Elms to Southampton took place on 11 May 1840, with a directors' train leaving London at 8 am and arriving at the permanent terminus, designed by William Tite , around three hours later. The LSWR did not intend Nine Elms to be its permanent northern terminus, and in 1844 an extension of 1 + 3 ⁄ 4 mi (2.8 km) to a new station at Waterloo Bridge
7747-446: The construction of a cut-off line between Brockenhurst and Christchurch, which would reduce the distance between the two by around 7 + 3 ⁄ 4 mi (12.5 km) compared to the existing route via Ringwood. The works included a new Christchurch station and the doubling of the single line between Christchurch and Bournemouth East, both completed on 30 May 1886. Progress on the 10 mi 38 ch (16.9 km) cut-off line
SECTION 60
#17327901870887874-446: The construction of the line from London to Southampton was approved in the London and South Western Railway Act 1834 on 25 July the following year. Under the terms of the 1834 act, the London and Southampton Railway company was authorised to issue shares to the value of £1 million (equivalent to £120 million in 2023) and to borrow a further £330,000. Around half of the money was raised from businessmen from Lancashire , with much of
8001-432: The conurbations based on Southampton and Bournemouth . It runs through the counties of Surrey , Hampshire and Dorset . It forms the core of the network built by the London and South Western Railway , today mostly operated by South Western Railway . Operating speeds on much of the line are relatively high, with large stretches cleared for up to 100 mph (160 km/h) running. The line has four tracks for most of
8128-648: The corresponding express. Alton portions ran with the stopping trains, being detached at Woking. The new service was a considerable success, and this was particularly so for the summer holiday traffic; the express service was modified on summer Saturdays to give good connections to the Isle of Wight and to Hayling Island. In 1947 the line carried 7.25 million passengers, compared to 3 million in 1936. The summer Saturday timetable gave four fast restaurant-car trains an hour from 07:45 to 16:50; even on summer Sunday mornings there were three fast trains an hour. After electrification,
8255-481: The down line, blocking both up and down roads. In the meantime, we had removed a piece of rail from our own down line to the west of the crossing, effectually preventing them from proceeding. I suggested to [the LSWR manager] that, having now endeavoured to force their way through and being resisted also by force, whether he had not done enough to enable them to try the right before a proper tribunal, and requested him to withdraw. This he refused, and as I refused to replace
8382-413: The end of Portsmouth High Street, not tramway connected. The entire arrangement was still highly unsatisfactory and in 1872 an extension line and pier similar to the present-day locations was independently promoted. It failed in Parliament but the LSWR and the LBSCR put forward their own extension and pier in the 1873 session. The Joint Portsmouth Railway Extension Act 1873 ( 36 & 37 Vict. c. cxviii)
8509-500: The fast services. Since 2007, services had been provided mostly by Class 444 , supported by Class 450 , electric multiple units. Unusually, the 450s, designed for stopping services, run certain fast services on Monday to Friday and most services on Saturday. This has led to complaints by people who disliked the high density 3+2 seating in some parts of these trains. From January 2020, following an extended cascading process, partially refitted class 442 'Wessex Electrics' started to bolster
8636-461: The fastest services taking 5 + 3 ⁄ 4 hours. The LSWR was authorised to acquire the S&DR in the London and South Western and Southampton and Dorchester Railways Amalgamation Act , passed on 22 July 1848. The Southampton and Dorchester Railway Act 1845 gave the LSWR running rights over the southern section of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway . The line, which was taken over by
8763-414: The financial viability of a line. Anyone could form a company, gain investment and submit a bill to Parliament. Since many Members of Parliament (MPs) were heavy investors in such schemes, it was rare for a bill to not pass during the peak of the mania in 1846, although Parliament did reject schemes that were blatantly misleading or impossible to construct. Magnates like George Hudson developed routes in
8890-482: The first part of its line, between Ringwood and Christchurch, on 13 November 1862, but passenger numbers were low. The proposal to continue the line to the growing seaside resort of Bournemouth was authorised by the Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway Act 1863 . Work on the 3 mi 52 ch (5.9 km) extension began in late 1865, and the single line opened 14 March 1870. Until December 1872, Poole
9017-417: The first public trains between Blechynden (close to the site of the present Southampton Central station) and Dorchester ran on 1 June 1847. The link to the LSWR opened on 29 July that year, allowing through running of trains between London and Dorset, albeit with a reversal at the Southampton terminus station. The initial timetable was five trains per day in each direction between Nine Elms and Dorchester, with
9144-432: The formation of new business ventures and, importantly, had limited joint stock companies to a maximum of five separate investors. With these limits removed, anyone could invest money (and hopefully earn a return) on a new company, and railways were heavily promoted as a foolproof venture. New media such as newspapers and the emergence of the modern stock market made it easy for companies to promote themselves and provide
9271-487: The four spare trailer coaches were two RU, one BFK and one DTSO. It was planned originally that a 3-car single-ended push-pull trailer set formed DTC+BFK+RU would work with a Class 74 to cover 4-Rep heavy maintenance, but this formation never operated but was replaced by the 8-Vab unit 8001. The three cars remained as spares. The other RU was deployed on special trains with TC units when needed. Class 74 were heavy rebuilds of Class 71 electric locomotives ; Class 33/1 were
9398-492: The installation and deployment of a vast amount of fibre-optic telecommunications infrastructure, spurred on from the realisation that the same railway rights-of-way could make affordable conduits for fibre optics. Yet another boom occurred in the period 1995–2000, during the development of the Internet , when many companies were established to promote new services on the growing network. The dot-com bubble collapsed in 2000, and
9525-461: The late 1830s and early 1840s, the British economy slowed. Interest rates rose, making it more attractive to invest money in government bonds—the main source of investment at the time—and political and social unrest deterred banks and businesses from investing the huge sums of money required to build railways; the L&M cost £637,000 (£55,210,000 adjusted for 2015). By the mid-1840s, the economy
9652-661: The length between Waterloo and Worting Junction near Basingstoke , from which point most of the line is double track . A couple of miles from the Waterloo terminus, the line runs briefly alongside the Brighton Main Line west branch out of London Victoria , including through Clapham Junction – the busiest station in Europe by railway traffic. The oldest part of the line, in the London Borough of Lambeth ,
9779-639: The line has eight tracks. It runs over the Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct for much of its length. It crosses beneath the Chatham Main Line where the Brighton Main Line runs alongside it on the southern side. At Clapham Junction , some of these tracks leave on the Waterloo to Reading Line and the remaining tracks are reduced to four. The Brighton Line, which also has four tracks, separates from it shortly afterwards. The four tracks initially have
9906-429: The line was leased to the LSWR by them – demanded an increase in the rental charge. This was declined and eventually the status quo was agreed; in fact the Portsmouth Railway was amalgamated with the LSWR by the London and South Western and Portsmouth Railways Amalgamation Act 1859 ( 22 & 23 Vict. c. xxxi) of 21 July. The hostility with the LBSCR could hardly continue indefinitely and in early August 1859, agreement
10033-411: The line. He dismissed many of the smaller contractors, awarding much of the remaining work to Thomas Brassey . He also instituted a more rigorous supervision system by his assistant engineers. On 30 June 1837, the London and South Western Railway Deviations Act 1837 was passed, enabling the company to raise further capital and authorising deviations to the route. On 21 May 1838, the first section of
10160-431: The mania, and they lost everything when the speculation collapsed. The boom-and-bust cycle of early-industrial Britain was still in effect, and the boom that had created the conditions for Railway Mania began to cool and then a decline set in. The number of new railway companies fell away to almost nothing in the late 1840s and early 1850s, with the only new lines constructed being by the large companies. Economic upturns in
10287-470: The means for the general public to invest. Shares could be purchased for a 10% deposit, with the railway company holding the right to call in the remainder at any time. The railways were so heavily promoted as a foolproof venture that thousands of investors on modest incomes bought large numbers of shares, whilst only being able to afford the deposit. Many families invested their entire savings in prospective railway companies—and many of those lost everything when
10414-476: The new name of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). Four days earlier, the first trains had run from Winchester to a temporary terminus north of Southampton at Northern Road (now Northam). The extension from Shapley Heath to Basingstoke also opened on 10 June 1839, and the section between Basingstoke and Winchester, which required three tunnels, was finished in May the following year. The opening ceremony for
10541-662: The next few decades including to Epsom (4 April 1859), to Farnham via Aldershot (2 May 1870). and to Guildford via Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon (2 February 1885). West of Southampton, the Lymington Railway Company opened the first part of its line from Brockenhurst to Lymington Town to paying passengers on 12 July 1858, and services on a second branch serving Romsey, the so-called Sprat and Winkle Line between Redbridge and Andover, began on 6 March 1865. The branch from Wareham to Swanage opened on 20 May 1885. Between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction,
10668-572: The power to purchase the Guildford Junction Railway and operate it as a continuous line from the LSWR at Woking to Godalming and then use running powers over the planned Direct London and Portsmouth Railway. The LSWR was authorised to acquire the company in the same act of 1846 and exercised that right by the London and South Western Railway (Portsmouth Extension and Godaming Deviation) Act 1847 ( 10 & 11 Vict. c. cxlv) of 9 July. The Guildford to Godalming section (now part of
10795-467: The predominant rolling stock consisted of the Class 421 (4CIG) and Class 423 (4VEP) units, with fast trains up to the early 1990s also including a Class 412 (4BEP) buffet unit in the centre of the 12-car consist ( Class 422 (4BIG) before mid-1983). Some peak trains were augmented using 2-car Class 414 (2HAP) units until 1991. During most of the 1990s, Class 442 "Wessex Electric" units operated most of
10922-484: The project, reduced the journey time between Waterloo and Weymouth by 25 minutes. Class 444 and Class 450 trains were introduced between 2004 and 2006. The majority of passenger services are currently operated by South Western Railway . CrossCountry operates the Bournemouth – Manchester services travelling on the line between Bournemouth and Basingstoke. In addition, Great Western Railway and Southern also operate services into Southampton Central , which use
11049-539: The proposed link resulted in its route being moved northwards, and plans for the central station were abandoned. Instead, a new Bournemouth East station, designed by William Jacomb with a 350 ft × 100 ft (107 m × 30 m) roof, was constructed. It opened on 20 July 1885 and the new link line was commissioned on 28 September 1886. Pokesdown station, between Christchurch and Bournemouth East, opened on 1 July 1886. The South Western (Bournemouth & c.) Act 1883 , passed on 20 August 1883, authorised
11176-520: The rails or allow them to proceed, matters remained in this condition until about 1.0 pm. I worked the traffic over the line between Havant and Portsmouth on the one side and Havant and Emsworth on the other, by bringing empty trains and engines on both sides of the obstruction and getting the passengers across on foot... At 1.0 pm [the LSWR Manager] made up his mind to withdraw under protest... They further refused to pledge themselves not to make
11303-452: The refusal to grant its injunction, and in April 1859 reserved judgment was given in favour of the LBSCR position: LSWR trains over the direct route had to be discontinued, and LSWR trains had to be terminated before Havant, at a temporary station immediately north of Havant LBSCR, with the passengers being conveyed on to Portsmouth by road. Remarkably the shareholders of the Portsmouth Railway –
11430-497: The remainder provided by landowners from south Hampshire. Giles had estimated that his route would take three years to build at a cost of £800,000–£900,000. A formal ceremony to mark the start of construction took place at Shapley Heath, near Winchfield , on 6 October 1834, and the contracts for the earthworks and bridges had been let by the end of that month. Giles's strategy was to use numerous small-scale, local contractors, with work taking place simultaneously on multiple sites along
11557-433: The return run making the standard stops for the new train service with one additional stop at Surbiton accomplished the journey in 99 minutes. There had been some concern about the ability to keep time as the 12-car trains had slightly less installed power than the corresponding earlier Brighton line formations and the hilly route was more challenging, but these concerns proved unnecessary. A speed of 78 mph (126 km)
11684-439: The route. By February 1836, just under 10 mi (16 km) had been finished, with a further 12 mi (19 km) completed by the end of August 1936. Shareholder dissatisfaction with progress led to Giles's resignation on 13 January 1837 and his replacement by Joseph Locke . Locke assessed the progress of the construction works and estimated that around £1.7 million (£200 million in 2023) would be required to complete
11811-523: The same month, the locomotive shed at Nine Elms (the last main-line steam shed in England) was closed. Rolling stock constructed or modified and rebuilt under the 1967 electrification project consisted of: The 4-Rep tractor units 3001-3011 motor coaches were newly built, as were the complete 4-Vep units 7701-7720, but the 4-Rep trailer coaches and all cars in the 4-TC and 3-TC sets 401-428 and 301-303 were conversions from locomotive-hauled stock;
11938-605: The shorter route via Bournemouth and Poole. Opening on the same day was the avoiding line at Branksome, which allowed trains to bypass Bournemouth West, eliminating the need for reversal. The first line to branch from the London–Southampton route was the Eastleigh– Gosport line, opened on 29 November 1841. The line was intended to serve Portsmouth , which could be reached via a floating bridge from Gosport. The station at Eastleigh, originally known as "Bishopstoke",
12065-587: The third-rail system which was considered to have a lower upfront cost. An electrical feed from the National Grid was installed at Basingstoke, with power distributed via a network of 19 substations . The project included the replacement of jointed track with continuous welded rail. Regular electric trains from London began operating in public service to Basingstoke on 2 January 1967 and to Bournemouth on 10 July 1967. The final steam-hauled public service between Waterloo and Southampton ran on 8 July 1967. In
12192-399: The time. In 1857 the Portsmouth Railway agreed with the LSWR on access to the LSWR line at Godalming to Shalford. The earthworks at Shalford forming a south to east curve to the SER line were completed, but no track was ever laid on it. Negotiations to lease the line to the LSWR foundered because of the LSWR's insistence on gaining LBSCR acquiescence, which was not forthcoming. At length however
12319-414: The time. Poole, with a population of only 6,000, would be served by a branch from a station at Hamworthy. Castleman hoped to persuade the LSWR to operate the route, but the company refused, fearing that it would not be able to build any further lines west of Salisbury if it accepted. Instead, the Great Western Railway (GWR) agreed to run services using broad-gauge trains. Concerned at this development,
12446-528: The towns of Portsmouth and Southampton. The Gosport line opened on 29 November 1841. For the time being, Portsmouth had its railway, although not the direct line it sought. In 1844 money supply in the United Kingdom had become easier, and for the first time railway schemes were attractive investments. This meant that the established companies were no longer secure in their own territory, as challenging new schemes promoted locally were proposed. This led to
12573-574: Was electrified as far west as Pirbright Junction (for Alton) before World War II . It was completed using the (750 V DC third-rail) system, by the London & South Western Railway or the Southern Railway , its successor. Electrification of the South West Main Line between Sturt Lane (near Frimley ) and Bournemouth was authorised in September 1964. Installation of overhead lines was considered, but British Rail instead decided to use
12700-595: Was a net tangible result from all the investment: a vast expansion of the British railway system , though perhaps at an inflated cost. Amongst the high number of impractical, overambitious and downright fraudulent schemes promoted during the mania were a good number of practical trunk routes (most notably the initial part of the Great Northern Railway and the trans-Pennine Woodhead route ) and important freight lines (such as large parts of what would become
12827-528: Was about 86 miles, and London Bridge—Brighton—Portsmouth was 95 + 1 ⁄ 4 .) Meanwhile the Portsmouth Railway directors considered how it could make a connection to an existing railway's network. The LSWR and LBSCR hostility was obvious, but the South Eastern Railway (SER) had a line not far away, just south of Guildford at Shalford ; perhaps a connection to their line, and thence to London via Redhill , would be feasible. On 24 July 1854
12954-651: Was authorised in January 1986, and work on the £53 million project (£196 million in 2023) began in October that year. To reduce costs, a 5 mi (8.0 km) stretch of line was singled between Moreton and Dorchester South, and the 11 kV supply from the National Grid limited train lengths to a maximum of five coaches. The third rail was energised on 11 January 1988, and public electric services began on 16 May that year. The Class 442 units, ordered as part of
13081-471: Was authorised. Three years later, the company acquired the Richmond and West End Railway, which had been authorised to build its own tracks alongside the London–Southampton line between Clapham Junction and Waterloo. Construction of the line north of Nine Elms, known initially as the "Metropolitan extension", began on 11 July 1848. The four-track line was carried on a viaduct of 290 arches , which followed
13208-427: Was considerable ferry traffic to the Isle of Wight and to Gosport, involving road transfers through the streets of Portsmouth. Southsea was developing as an important resort, and it too was remote from the Portsmouth station. In 1859 the Portsmouth council promoted a tramway, but this scheme, together with some other, independent, proposals, failed. Southsea Pier was opened in 1861, on the southern side of Portsmouth; it
13335-590: Was considerably reduced in scope and became the Guildford Extension and Portsmouth & Fareham Railway . Its act, the Guildford Extension and Portsmouth and Fareham Railway Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. cclii) of 27 July only authorised disconnected sections from Guildford to Godalming and from Fareham to Portsea Junction. At Godalming it would form a junction with the intended Direct London and Portsmouth Railway. The act also included
13462-495: Was creating a new, increasingly affluent middle class . While earlier business ventures had relied on a small number of banks , businessmen and wealthy aristocrats for investment, a prospective railway company also had a large, literate section of population with savings to invest. In 1825 the government had repealed the Bubble Act , brought in during the near-disastrous South Sea Bubble of 1720, which had put close limits on
13589-563: Was designed by William Tite, and had opened on 10 June 1839 with the section of line between Basingstoke and Northern Road. A further junction at the station was added with the completion of the Eastleigh–Salisbury line , which opened to freight on 27 January 1847 and to passenger trains on 1 March of the same year. By 1850, four lines branching from the South West Main Line had opened to serve locations in west Surrey and east Berkshire. The Guildford Junction Railway , which diverged from
13716-529: Was electrified as far as Hampton Court Junction, so the work was to be from there via Woking and Guildford to Portsmouth Harbour. Loans at low interest rates were made available by the government, under the Railways (Agreement) Act 1935 ( 26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8 . c. 6). Haslemere, Havant, Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour stations were all greatly enlarged to give 800 feet (244 m) platform lengths to handle twelve-car trains. Resignalling
13843-417: Was electrified on the third rail system in 1937. There was heavy traffic connected with the Royal Navy at Portsmouth, and with the holiday traffic to Hayling Island , Southsea and the Isle of Wight. While the former dominance of those traffics has reduced, the extension of London commuting has greatly increased, and the line conducts a busy passenger business. Portsmouth had long been an important centre for
13970-416: Was first reached by an electric service on 8 March 1937. There was a Royal Navy Fleet Review at Portsmouth on 20 May 1937 to commemorate the coronation of King George VI , and twenty 12-car special electric trains ran between London and Portsmouth in connection, in addition to the ordinary steam service. On 1 July 1937 an official inaugural run took place to Portsmouth & Southsea, reached in 91 minutes, and
14097-431: Was granted royal assent on 21 July 1845 and, the following month, Samuel Morton Peto was contracted to build the line. Materials were shipped by sea to Poole and the first part to be completed was the section between Ringwood and Dorchester. Wet weather during the winter of 1846–1847 delayed the completion of the eastern half of the line. Difficulties encountered during the construction of Southampton Tunnel meant that
14224-423: Was hindered by poor weather in spring 1887, which flooded cuttings and damaged embankments. The direct Brockenhurst–Christchurch line opened about a year later than planned, on 5 March 1888, with intermediate stations at Sway, New Milton and Hinton. The initial timetable was nine services per day from London to Bournemouth East, with eight in the opposite direction. The fastest trains took around three hours to cover
14351-414: Was improving and the manufacturing industries were once again growing. The Bank of England cut interest rates, making government bonds less attractive investments, and existing railway companies' shares began to boom as they moved ever-increasing amounts of cargo and people, making people willing to invest in new railways. Crucially, there were more investors in British business. The Industrial Revolution
14478-443: Was in the hands of the larger company that had purchased it. A total of 6,220 miles (10,010 km) of railway line were built as a result of projects authorised between 1844 and 1846—by comparison, the total route mileage of the modern UK railway network is around 11,000 miles (18,000 km). Railway and Canal Mania can be compared with a similar mania in the 1990s in the stock of telecom companies . The telecom mania resulted in
14605-414: Was later renamed Clarence Pier . An independent Landport & Southsea Tramway built a horse-drawn street-running line from the Portsmouth station to Clarence Pier and this became the main embarkation point for train to ferry passengers; the tram conveyed a luggage trolley vehicle, and it had first and second class accommodation. The Clarence Pier tramway opened on 15 May 1865. There was a Victoria Pier at
14732-411: Was never actually done. Through running of Portsmouth Railway trains started on 24 January 1859, tolerated by the LBSCR without prejudice to its legal position, pending further negotiations. The negotiations made no progress whatever, and in March 1859 the LBSCR introduced new through trains with very low fares. The LSWR soon retaliated with its own new trains and low fares. The LBSCR had appealed against
14859-410: Was operated in the face of obstructive tactics. The LBSCR controlled the route from Havant into Portsmouth, but eventually acquiesced in granting running powers, and making its line on Portsea Island , where the Portsmouth conurbation is situated, joint with the LSWR. The latter company took over the Portsmouth Railway in 1859. The gradients on the line made it difficult to operate in steam days, but it
14986-524: Was passed on 7 July 1873, for a line climbing steeply at first from Portsmouth station to a point south of The Hard. It was 1 mile 6 chains (1.08 miles, 1.73 km) in length. An additional £120,000 of share capital was authorised, and there were to be two short branches for the naval authorities, to Watering Island Jetty and to the Old Gun Wharf. The extension was opened to traffic on 2 October 1876, and London trains generally now used
15113-445: Was reached via Three Bridges but the line from Leatherhead to Horsham completed the route in 1877. The London and South Western and Portsmouth Railways Amalgamation Act 1859 ( 22 & 23 Vict. c. xxxi), authorising amalgamation of the LSWR and the Portsmouth Railway, had included clauses specifying a minimum passenger service: six daily in summer and four daily in winter. For some years the LSWR provided only this minimum service on
15240-572: Was reached; a new pooling arrangement for passenger fares being agreed, as was rental for use of the joint line. Through trains over the Portsmouth Railway route resumed on 8 August 1859. On 2 January 1860 the Farlington Junction to Cosham Junction section, on which the track had been removed by the LBSCR in the face of the disagreement, was reinstated and four passenger trains daily used it. The Havant to Portcreek Junction section remained in LBSCR ownership, but running powers were granted to
15367-412: Was recorded descending Witley bank. Full public services started on 4 July 1937. The standard off-peak service was one express train per hour and two stopping. The express called at Guildford, Haslemere, Portsmouth & Southsea and ran to Portsmouth Harbour; the stopping trains called at Surbiton and then all stations to Portsmouth & Southsea; one stopping train per hour was overtaken at Guildford by
15494-417: Was rejected, and the LBSCR obtained an injunction, preventing the LSWR from using the joint line. However, when the injunction came before Vice Chancellor Wood on 19 January 1859 he refused the restraining order, but did not adjudicate on the terms of use of the line. During the course of legal proceedings an order was given that the line throughout from Havant should be made part of the joint railway, but this
15621-561: Was served by a station on the western side of the Harbour Bridge. Through carriages to London had been introduced by the LSWR in May 1860, and the branch line had been doubled in 1863-1864. The second station to serve Poole opened on 2 December 1872 and was served at first only by Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway trains. It was constructed as part of the Poole and Bournemouth Railway , initially an independent company, but taken over by
15748-562: Was still dark, with about 80 workmen on board. The LBSCR had removed the switch tongue of the Portsmouth Railway down line at the junction, so the goods train was crossed to the up line to by-pass it, but it was again stopped in Havant station by the removal of another rail section, now blocking all lines. The LBSCR local manager reported: About 7.0 am this morning, the Direct Portsmouth people... arrived at Havant junction with
15875-495: Was undertaken at Woking Junction and Havant, but complete resignalling was not thought to be needed. Partial signalling improvements were commissioned in June and July 1937, and the electric train service started on 4 July 1937, although numerous trial runs had already been undertaken. A fleet of 312 new or rebuilt vehicles were provided for the entire scheme, which included routes to Alton and Staines . Fast services were operated by
16002-504: Was used from 1994 to 2007 by Eurostar trains running out of Waterloo International . The first written proposal for a railway line linking London and Southampton was published on 23 October 1830 by a group chaired by the Southampton MP Abel Rous Dottin . The following February, Francis Giles was commissioned to survey the route and a formal scheme, which also included the construction of new docks on
16129-472: Was £55,000. The company was backed by the LSWR; it opened four days late (because of doubts about the stability of the tunnel at Fareham) on 5 May 1845. The Guildford Junction Railway Act 1845 ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. lxxxvi) of 21 July authorised the company's absorption by the LSWR, and this was put into effect on 4 August 1845. The transfer cost the LSWR £75,000. It was the first part of the eventual Portsmouth Direct Line to become operational, although there
#87912