Highclere, Kingsclere and Basingstoke Light Railway

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Highclere, Kingsclere and Basingstoke Light Railway
Overview
StatusProposed (abandoned)
Locale Hampshire
Termini
Stations8
Service
TypeLight rail
Technical
Line length12 miles (19 km) (approximate)
Highclere, Kingsclere and
Basingstoke Light Railway
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Highclere
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Ecchinswell
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Kingsclere
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Wolverton
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Ramsdell
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Monk Sherborne
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Sherborne St John
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Basingstoke

The Highclere, Kingsclere and Basingstoke Light Railway was a proposed light railway in Hampshire, England, connecting the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DNSR) with the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). [1] [2] Despite public support of the railway proposal, sufficient funding was never obtained and the proposals were abandoned.

Contents

History

The passing of the Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 48) led to the proposal of two light railways in Hampshire—the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway and the Highclere, Kingsclere and Basingstoke Light Railway. [1] The former was begun in 1898, and in 1900 a proposal for the Highclere—Basingstoke line was issued. [3] The proposal called for public subscription, and sufficient interest was gathered to allow an amount of land in Kingsclere (at the present-day Wellmans Meadow, 51°19′46″N1°15′06″W / 51.3294°N 1.2518°W / 51.3294; -1.2518 ) to be purchased for Kingsclere Station. [1] [4] Other methods of acquiring land included offering landowners shares in the railway in return for access to their land. [1]

There was much public interest in Kingsclere about the railway, [1] though sufficient funds—in either cash or shares—were never raised and the proposal was dropped in the early 20th century. [1]

Route

The proposed railway would have diverged from the DNSR south of Highclere near the village of Burghclere. [1] From there it would have headed south-east through the villages of Ecchinswell, Kingsclere, Wolverton, Ramsdell, Monk Sherborne and Sherborne St John. [1] Each of these villages would have been served by its own station. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "RAILWAY MANIA". Kingsclere: Its History and Its People. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. Edwards, Cliff (2000). Railway records. Richmond: Public Record Office. p. 157. ISBN   1903365104.
  3. "Prospectus for the Highclere Kingsclere and Basingstoke Light Railway, with 2 plans 68M72/DDZ2". The National Archives. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  4. "Public Services in Kingsclere". Kingsclere: Its History and Its People. Retrieved 5 January 2014.