A lovely study of the north viaduct at Wickham Bishops, Essex looking upstream. It’s a miracle that these viaducts survived at all. The line closed in September 1964, and these timber structures then spent 31 years without any maintenance whatsoever. September 2005. (Brian Eley)
The Hayling Island branch looking north from the embankment that led on to the now demolished viaduct over Langstone Harbour. The concrete piers for the vanished timber superstructure can be seen clearly in the water (Richard Lewis)
Ash Green station in Surrey was situated on the direct line from Guildford to Farnham via Tongham. The route lost its passenger service as long ago as 1937. From a point near Ash Junction to the site of Tongham station, the route is now an attractive railway walk (Kevin Arnold)
Horsebridge station is situated in the beautiful Test Valley in Hampshire, on the former railway from Romsey to Andover. The signal box seen here is not the original, but a replacement purchased from British Rail for £1. It was transported to Horsebridge from Kent on a low loader, finishing its journey by travelling along the old trackbed from Mottisfont, which now accommodates part of the Test Way long distance footpath. (Platform 14 Ltd)
Merley Tunnel is situated on the former LSWR line from Broadstone to Wimborne, Ringwood and Brockenhurst. The construction is unusual and consists of a series of semi-circular ribs, with the wall between each pair of ribs being of concave construction (Jeff Vinter)
Nature encroaches on the empty platforms of Crouch End station, while the low angle of the camera accentuates the size of this abandoned station. The line was built independently by the Edgware, Highgate & London Railway but, a month before it opened in 1867, was purchased by the Great Northern Railway which operated it as a branch off its main line from Kings Cross to Hitchin and the north. 2011 (Peter Nash)
South of Winchester, the impressive Hockley Viaduct is located prior to reaching Shawford Junction, just north of the modern Shawford station, where it joined the LSWR’s main line to Southampton. 2011 (Jeff Vinter)
This is the view that greeted guests arriving at The Old Railway Station in Petworth, which had been converted into a luxury hotel. 2013 (Dave Hurley)
Petworth station, looking west towards Midhurst. The intermediate stations on the Pulborough-Midhurst line were all built of timber. 2013 (Dave Hurley)
This is the beautifully preserved East Tisted Station in Hampshire seen from the public highway. 2014 (Brian Loughlin)
The former LSWR line between Salisbury and West Moors trackbed-based trail through Breamore which just stops at Burgate Cross on the A338 north of Fordingbridge. On the south side of Fordingbridge, between the villages of Lower Burgate and Ashford, a short length of public footpath runs along the railway formation, finishing at this bridge. 2014 (Tim Chant)
The beautifully restored Wheathampstead Station on the Welwyn to Harpenden line. 2015 (Robert Greenall)
The attractive setting of Horam station on the Eridge to Polegate line, part of which is now the Cuckoo Trail. 2015 (Robert Greenall)
An out-of-the-way viaduct at on the former Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway near Tufton, south of Whitchurch (Hants). The viaduct crosses the River Test but beneath it passes a public footpath which, north and south of the viaduct, runs alongside the old railway formation. 2015 (Brian Loughlin)
A group from the Southern Area heading south off towards North Hayling from the embankment that once carried the former Hayling Island branch off of the wooden trestle viaduct over Langston Harbour. 2015 (Peter Drury)
The story of the Horton Light Railway starts with the earlier Ewell & Long Grove Light Railway, which was used in the building of Long Grove Hospital, the first of four mental hospitals to appear on the former Horton Estate between Ewell and Epsom in Surrey. However, this line was used only between 1905 and 1907 while Long Grove was being built, and its track was lifted as soon as the job was complete.
This plaque on a large overbridge commemorates the Horton Light Railway, although the local council has described it incorrectly as an underbridge; it was actually an overbridge, because it went over the railway. 2016 (Jeff Vinter)
This is the junction of the lines to Long Grove Hospital (left) and West Park Hospital (right) in Butcher’s Wood.2016 (Jeff Vinter)
A lovely study of the north viaduct at Wickham Bishops, Essex looking upstream. It’s a miracle that these viaducts survived at all. The line closed in September 1964, and these timber structures then spent 31 years without any maintenance whatsoever. September 2005. (Brian Eley)
The Hayling Island branch looking north from the embankment that led on to the now demolished viaduct over Langstone Harbour. The concrete piers for the vanished timber superstructure can be seen clearly in the water (Richard Lewis)
Ash Green station in Surrey was situated on the direct line from Guildford to Farnham via Tongham. The route lost its passenger service as long ago as 1937. From a point near Ash Junction to the site of Tongham station, the route is now an attractive railway walk (Kevin Arnold)
Horsebridge station is situated in the beautiful Test Valley in Hampshire, on the former railway from Romsey to Andover. The signal box seen here is not the original, but a replacement purchased from British Rail for £1. It was transported to Horsebridge from Kent on a low loader, finishing its journey by travelling along the old trackbed from Mottisfont, which now accommodates part of the Test Way long distance footpath. (Platform 14 Ltd)
Merley Tunnel is situated on the former LSWR line from Broadstone to Wimborne, Ringwood and Brockenhurst. The construction is unusual and consists of a series of semi-circular ribs, with the wall between each pair of ribs being of concave construction (Jeff Vinter)
Nature encroaches on the empty platforms of Crouch End station, while the low angle of the camera accentuates the size of this abandoned station. The line was built independently by the Edgware, Highgate & London Railway but, a month before it opened in 1867, was purchased by the Great Northern Railway which operated it as a branch off its main line from Kings Cross to Hitchin and the north. 2011 (Peter Nash)
South of Winchester, the impressive Hockley Viaduct is located prior to reaching Shawford Junction, just north of the modern Shawford station, where it joined the LSWR’s main line to Southampton. 2011 (Jeff Vinter)
This is the view that greeted guests arriving at The Old Railway Station in Petworth, which had been converted into a luxury hotel. 2013 (Dave Hurley)
Petworth station, looking west towards Midhurst. The intermediate stations on the Pulborough-Midhurst line were all built of timber. 2013 (Dave Hurley)
This is the beautifully preserved East Tisted Station in Hampshire seen from the public highway. 2014 (Brian Loughlin)
The former LSWR line between Salisbury and West Moors trackbed-based trail through Breamore which just stops at Burgate Cross on the A338 north of Fordingbridge. On the south side of Fordingbridge, between the villages of Lower Burgate and Ashford, a short length of public footpath runs along the railway formation, finishing at this bridge. 2014 (Tim Chant)
The beautifully restored Wheathampstead Station on the Welwyn to Harpenden line. 2015 (Robert Greenall)
The attractive setting of Horam station on the Eridge to Polegate line, part of which is now the Cuckoo Trail. 2015 (Robert Greenall)
An out-of-the-way viaduct at on the former Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway near Tufton, south of Whitchurch (Hants). The viaduct crosses the River Test but beneath it passes a public footpath which, north and south of the viaduct, runs alongside the old railway formation. 2015 (Brian Loughlin)
A group from the Southern Area heading south off towards North Hayling from the embankment that once carried the former Hayling Island branch off of the wooden trestle viaduct over Langston Harbour. 2015 (Peter Drury)
The story of the Horton Light Railway starts with the earlier Ewell & Long Grove Light Railway, which was used in the building of Long Grove Hospital, the first of four mental hospitals to appear on the former Horton Estate between Ewell and Epsom in Surrey. However, this line was used only between 1905 and 1907 while Long Grove was being built, and its track was lifted as soon as the job was complete.
This plaque on a large overbridge commemorates the Horton Light Railway, although the local council has described it incorrectly as an underbridge; it was actually an overbridge, because it went over the railway. 2016 (Jeff Vinter)
This is the junction of the lines to Long Grove Hospital (left) and West Park Hospital (right) in Butcher’s Wood.2016 (Jeff Vinter)