Bentworth and Lasham railway station explained

Bentworth & Lasham
Status:Disused
Borough:Bentworth and Lasham, East Hampshire
Country:England
Coordinates:51.1705°N -1.044°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:1
Original:Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway
Pregroup:London and South Western Railway
Years:1 June 1901
Events:Opened
Years1:1 January 1917
Events1:Closed
Years2:18 August 1924
Events2:Reopened
Years3:12 September 1932
Events3:Closed to passenger traffic
Years4:1 June 1936
Events4:Closed to goods traffic[1]

Bentworth and Lasham railway station in Hampshire, England was on the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway between the villages of Bentworth to the south and Lasham to the north.

History

The Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway opened on 1 June 1901,[2] and Bentworth and Lasham station opened the same day.[3] A wind engine designed by John Wallis Titt,[4] supplied the station buildings and cottages with power.

Towards the end of the First World War, the station and railway were closed on 1 January 1917 because it was on a minor line; the rails were taken up for re-use elsewhere.

Following the war, permission was sought to abandon the line because it had been unprofitable, but this was refused by Parliament; instead, the Southern Railway agreed to rebuild the line for a ten-year trial. The light railway and station re-opened on 18 August 1924. It was featured in the 1929 film The Wrecker.

On 12 September 1932, the station was closed to passengers, the line being used for goods until its final closure in June 1936. The corrugated-iron platform building and waiting room survived until its demolition in 2003, and the remains of the platform edge can still be seen.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Basingstoke Railway History in Maps . https://web.archive.org/web/20081206131552/http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cj.tolley/cjt-brhm.htm . 6 December 2008. Christopher Tolley . 2001. 20 February 2015.
  2. Book: Dendy Marshall . C.F. . Kidner . R.W. . History of the Southern Railway . 2nd . 1963 . 1937 . . Shepperton . 0-7110-0059-X . 137 .
  3. Book: Butt, R.V.J. . The Directory of Railway Stations . 1995 . Patrick Stephens Ltd . Yeovil . 1-85260-508-1 . R508 . 33 .
  4. Book: Griffith, Edward. 1982. The Basingstoke & Alton Light Railway 1901 - 1936. 16. Kingfisher Railway Publications. Newbury.