Alresford railway station (Hampshire)

Alresford railway station (/ˈɔːlsfərd/ or /ˈɒlzfərd/)[1] in Hampshire, England, is the terminus of the Watercress Line from Alton. It is in the small town of New Alresford, 7½ miles (12 km) northeast of Winchester, close to the town's market square, tea rooms, many small shops and museum.

Alresford
Station on heritage railway
LocationNew Alresford, Winchester
England
Coordinates51.0878°N 1.1596°W / 51.0878; -1.1596
Grid referenceSU587324
Operated byMid Hants Railway
Platforms2, (3 on certain gala days when the Cattle Dock is used as platform 1A)
History
Original companyAlton, Alresford and Winchester Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and South Western Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
2 October 1865Opened
5 February 1973Closed
30 April 1977Reopened

In official literature it is shown as Alresford (Hampshire) in order to distinguish it from the station of the same name in Essex.

History

Opened in October 1865 for the new Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway which later became the first incarnation of the Mid-Hants Railway, the station later joined the London and South Western Railway. It was absorbed as part of that into the Southern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the Southern Region of British Railways upon nationalisation in 1948, and was then closed by the British Railways Board in February 1973.

Preservation
British Rail Class 205 approaching in 1970

The station reopened on 30 April 1977 as the western terminus of the Mid Hants Watercress Railway, a heritage railway. Alongside the station a goods shed was built which is now used as a shop, as well as meeting facilities and tourist facilities for the Mid Hants Watercress Railway. Adjacent to the station is a large warehouse which was built in 1873 for trading agricultural produce. This warehouse is now used for offices. The buffet building is the old station building from Lyme Regis in Dorset, which was dismantled and rebuilt here.

Following the closure of the route between Alton and Winchester, the line from Alresford eastwards to Alton has been reopened in preservation, but the section west of Alresford has not. It is unlikely that the line will ever be re-extended towards Winchester, because the M3 motorway and new houses have been built at various points along the former route.

Both platforms have been extended to hold four-coach trains plus the 'Cattle Dock' is used particularly during steam locomotive gala exhibitions as platform 1A, holding a two-coach train when not otherwise used.

References
  1. G.M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 4.

Sources
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
  • Station on navigable O.S. map
Preceding station   Heritage railways Following station
Ropley   Watercress Line   Terminus
  Historical railways  
Ropley   London and South Western Railway
Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway
   Itchen Abbas
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