Winchester (Chesil) railway station

Originally named Winchester Cheesehill, the station was opened with the line from Newbury on 4 May 1885.[1] Initially a terminus, since the intended line southwards to Southampton was never completed, it became a through station on 1 October 1891 when a connecting line to the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) was opened, joining the latter at Shawford Junction.[2] The station closed temporarily on 4 August 1942, reopening on 8 March 1943.[1] The station was renamed Winchester Chesil on 26 September 1949.[1]

Further to the south of the station was an area of extensive sidings known as the Bar End Yard. There were 4 sidings, two passing loops, a large goods shed, and a ten-ton crane.[3] The goods facilities were withdrawn from 4 April 1966.[2] Stabling for two horses was located near the main gate; these animals were used to tow a freight delivery cart.

To the east of the line, adjacent to the goods shed, there was an engine shed which opened c. 1885.[4] This was one of two which provided locomotives for DNSR services, and the only one to actually be located on the line;[5] the other (Didcot) was on a GWR line,[6] but Winchester was a sub-shed of Didcot. It was 83 feet (25 m) long, and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, built of stone and brick, with a slate roof supported by a timber framework. The shed housed a single line of rails, and there was a water tank above the northern end; to the south were a small coal stage and a turntable. On 31 December 1947, two GWR locomotives were based at this shed: Bulldog class 4-4-0 no. 3419, and 2251 class 0-6-0 no. 2252. It closed in July 1953.[4]

The signal box at Chesil station was notable for the installation in 1922–23[7] of an early type of all-electric route-setting using a miniature lever frame in which levers corresponded to appropriate point & signal combinations rather than controlling a single piece of apparatus; the system was designed and supplied by Siemens. It lasted until around 1933[8] before replacement by an orthodox lever frame giving mechanical control of points and signals – it is believed that the damp conditions of the surrounding area (Chesil station lay partly in a cutting next to St. Giles Hill) caused problems with insulation of the wiring, the installation dating from a time before modern plastics like polythene and PVC were available for use in electrical insulation. The route-setting signal box was only a small scheme and effectively a testbed for a pair of similar but larger installations undertaken at Newport High Street station in South Wales, also during the 1920s.[9]

Like the other stations on the southern part of the line, Winchester Chesil closed on 7 March 1960; but unlike the others, it was reopened for the next two summers: 18 June 1960 to 10 September 1960 and 17 June 1961 to 9 September 1961,[1] on Saturdays only.[2]

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  The railway near Cheesehill Station in August 1960
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  The view from the same vantage point in 2006
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  A modern view of the Old Station Approach
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  The entrance to the Chesil Tunnel still exists
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  The site of the station is now occupied by a multistorey car park.
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  Winchester Chesil goods shed
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  Inside the tunnel in 2007