Fareham–Gosport line

Fareham–Gosport line
Eastleigh–Fareham line to Eastleigh
Meon Valley Line to Alton
West Coastway line to St Denys
 Fareham
West Coastway line to Portchester
South East Hampshire Bus Rapid Transit
Bedenham Armaments Depot
 Fort Brockhurst
Lee-on-Solent Line
Stokes Bay line
 Gosport
Gosport Clarence Yard
A 1910 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Gosport

The Fareham–Gosport line was built as the southern half of the Bishopstoke to Gosport Branch Railway,[1] opened by the London and South Western Railway on 29 November 1841.[2] It served the towns of Fareham and Gosport with one intermediate station at Fort Brockhurst.

History

1845 extension

The original branch was extended by 600 yards (550 m) in September 1845 from the terminus in Gosport to a station in the Royal Clarence Yard at a cost of £8,000 for the use of Queen Victoria when visiting the Isle of Wight.[3]

1912 extension

The Priddy's Hard, Frater and Bedenham Railway was laid in 1912, leaving the Fareham to Gosport line north of Fort Brockhurst and serving the Bedenham Depot and Priddy's Hard Royal Naval Armaments Depot.[4]

Closure

Passenger services over the route were withdrawn on 8 June 1953 by the British Transport Commission, the last train having run two days earlier. Goods traffic continued to serve the docks until 30 January 1969, when the line finally closed except for a short section at the Fareham end (see below).

The site today

The northern section of the line remained open to serve the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Bedenham until 1991. A section of the line between Fort Brockhurst and Gosport has been converted into a cycleway. In 2010 work started on construction of a concrete busway along the trackbed between Fareham and Fort Brockhurst. This was opened as the South East Hampshire Bus Rapid Transit in 2012.

References
  1. "The history of the railway companies of Hampshire". 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  2. "Subterranea Britannica: Gosport Station". Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  3. "A Topographical Dictionary of England". 1848. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  4. "Hampshire Railways – Priddy's Hard, Frater and Bedenham Railway". Retrieved 23 May 2009.
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