In Railways of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight the author, Patrick Bennett, uses previously unpublished photographs to tell the story of the railways around Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
The first railway in Hampshire was built by the London & Southampton Railway, soon to change its name to the London & South Western Railway. The branch on to Salisbury was the start of the LSWR’s drive to reach Exeter. Other routes followed including the Portsmouth Direct, intended to outdo the London & Brighton Railway’s attempt to capture the Portsmouth traffic. The need to reach Bournemouth resulted in two separate lines built by the LSWR. Gradually the LSWR developed its network; some routes such as the Meon Valley railway (Alton to Fareham) or the Sprat & Winkle line (Andover to Redbridge) were never very profitable and succumbed to early closure. The LSWR did not have it all its own way in Hampshire, with no fewer than four different railway companies accessing the county from the north.
After the LSWR, the four main railway companies were the Midland & South Western Junction Railway; the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway; the Great Western Railway (from Reading to Basingstoke); and in the far north-eastern corner the South Eastern Railway. As well as these, in the south-eastern corner, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
penetrated as far as Portsmouth and Hayling Island. The Isle of Wight had three different railway companies, controlling lines that covered less than 50 miles. In the present day the remaining line, from Ryde to Shanklin, is something of a curiosity as it has been operated for more than fifty years using stock of redundant London Underground tube stock.
The photographs are from the early nineteenth century up to 2021, and the subjects range from railway stations, infrastructure, steam locomotives, electric locomotives, freight, and ex-London Underground trains. The majority of the photographs are displayed in two-per-page format, and are all accompanied by an descriptive caption
3 x Maps, 53 colour and 127 black & white photographs. 96 pages.