The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway,its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth,to Salisbury,Exeter and Plymouth,and to Padstow,Ilfracombe and Bude. It developed a network of routes in Hampshire,Surrey and Berkshire,including Portsmouth and Reading.
Yeovil Junction is the busier,but less central,of two railway stations serving the town of Yeovil in Somerset,England;the other is Yeovil Pen Mill. The station is sited 2 miles (3.2 km) outside the town,in the village of Stoford;although Yeovil is in Somerset,the station was in Dorset until 1991. It is located 122 miles 48 chains (197.3 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
The West of England line is a British railway line from Basingstoke,Hampshire,to Exeter St Davids in Devon,England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter;the line intersects with the Wessex Main Line at Salisbury. Despite its historic title,it is not today's principal route from London to the West of England:Exeter and everywhere further west are reached more quickly from London Paddington via the Reading–Taunton line.
Gillingham railway station serves the town of Gillingham,Dorset,England. It is on the West of England Main Line,105 miles 23 chains (169.4 km) down the line from London Waterloo. Today it is managed by South Western Railway. The main offices,designed by Sir William Tite,stand on the north side of the line.
Exeter Central railway station is the most central of the stations in the city of Exeter,Devon,United Kingdom. It is 171 miles 30 chains (275.8 km) down the line from London Waterloo. The station is smaller than Exeter St Davids on the west side of the city. Great Western Railway manages the station and operates most services,with South Western Railway providing the rest. With 2.783 million entries and exits from 2023-2024,it has overtaken Exeter St Davids as the busiest station in Devon.
Pinhoe railway station is a railway station located on the eastern edge of the city of Exeter in Devon,England,that serves the village of Pinhoe. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1871,but is now operated by South Western Railway,which provides services on the West of England Main Line. It is 168 miles 44 chains (271.3 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Whimple railway station serves the village of Whimple in east Devon,England. It is operated by South Western Railway which provides services on the West of England Main Line. It is 163 miles 2 chains (262.4 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Feniton railway station serves the village of Feniton in Devon,England. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1860 but is now operated by South Western Railway which provides services on the West of England Main Line. It is 159 miles 24 chains (256.4 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Honiton railway station serves the town of Honiton in east Devon,England. It is operated by South Western Railway and is 154 miles 60 chains (249.0 km) down the line from London Waterloo,on the West of England Line.
Axminster railway station serves the town of Axminster in Devon,England. It is operated by South Western Railway and is situated on the West of England Main Line. It is 144 miles 41 chains (232.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Sherborne railway station serves the town of Sherborne in Dorset,England. It is situated on the West of England Main Line,118 miles 4 chains (190.0 km) down the line from London Waterloo and is currently operated by South Western Railway.
Templecombe railway station serves the village of Templecombe in Somerset,England. It is situated on the West of England Main Line,112 miles 2 chains (180.3 km) down the line from London Waterloo. The main station opened in 1860 but a smaller station on the lower line opened in 1862. It was closed in 1966 but was reopened in 1983 following local community pressure. It is currently operated by South Western Railway.
Salisbury railway station serves the cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire,England. It is 83 miles 43 chains (134.4 km) from London Waterloo on the West of England line to Exeter St Davids. This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and served by South Western Railway (SWR),and is also served by Great Western Railway (GWR).
The Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with the Great Western Railway (GWR),which built its main line between London and Bristol,and in time formed part of a through route between London and Cornwall.
Exmouth Junction is the railway junction where the Exmouth branch line diverges from the London Waterloo to Exeter main line in Exeter,Devon,England. It was for many years the location for one of the largest engine sheds in the former London and South Western Railway. The sidings served the railway's concrete casting factory as well as a goods yard.
This article describes the history and operation of the railway routes west of Salisbury built by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and allied companies,which ultimately became part of the Southern Railway in the United Kingdom. Salisbury forms a natural boundary between the Southern Railway core routes in the counties surrounding London,and the long route connecting with the Devon and Cornwall lines.
The Chard branch lines were two lines serving the town of Chard in Somerset,England. One was a northward branch,opened in 1863,from the Salisbury to Exeter main line,and the other,opened in 1866,ran south-eastwards from the Bristol –Taunton main line. Each branch had its own Chard passenger station at first,although the two lines connected in Chard.
Chard Junction railway station was situated on the London and South Western Railway’s West of England Main Line about 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the village of Tatworth in Somerset,England. It was the junction of a short branch line to Chard. It was opened in 1860 as Chard Road,and closed in 1966. An adjacent milk depot was served by its own sidings from 1937 to 1980. Chard Junction signal box remained open to control Station Road level crossing and a passing loop on the long section of single track railway between Yeovil Junction and Pinhoe until March 2021,when control was passed to Basingstoke.
Chard Central railway station was the principal railway station in Chard,Somerset,England. It was opened in 1866 and closed in 1962,during which time it was known by three different names.
The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway linked Salisbury (Wiltshire),Gillingham (Dorset) and Yeovil (Somerset) in England. Opened in stages in 1859 and 1860,it formed a bridge route between the main London and South Western Railway (LSWR) network and its lines in Devon and Cornwall. Its trains were operated by the LSWR and it was sold to that company in 1878. Apart from a short section in Yeovil it remains open and carries the London Waterloo to Exeter service of South Western Railway.
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