First on the scene was the London & Southampton, soon to change
its name to the London & South Western. The branch on to
Salisbury was the start of the LSW’s drive to reach Exeter. Other
routes followed including the Portsmouth Direct, intended to outdo
the London & Brighton’s attempt to capture the Portsmouth
traffic. The need to reach Bournemouth resulted in two separate
lines built by the LSW. Gradually the LSW developed its network;
some routes such as the Meon Valley or the Sprat & Winkle were
never very profitable and succumbed to early closure. The LSW did
not have it all its own way in the county and no fewer than four
different companies penetrated from the north. These were the
Midland & South Western Junction; the Didcot, Newbury &
Southampton; the GWR from Reading to Basingstoke; and in the far
north-eastern corner the South Eastern Railway. In the
south-eastern corner, the LBSCR penetrated as far as Portsmouth and
Hayling Island. The Isle of Wight had three different railway
companies controlling lines that totalled fewer than 50 miles.
Always something of a curiosity, the remaining line from Ryde to
Shanklin has been operated for more than fifty years by redundant
London Underground trains. Patrick Bennett uses previously
unpublished photographs to tell the story of the area’s railways.
General
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