A 1910 Railway Clearing House map of local lines, showing the Hayling Island Branch Line
Langston was a small station on the Hayling Island branch.[2] The station along with the rest of the line closed in 1963,[3] and it served the Langstone area of Havant, a former village which had become contiguous with the larger town to its north. The railway companies always used the old spelling "Langston" for the station, in spite of this form not being used by the local community,[4] and it can be seen in many photographs of the station sign.[5]
The line itself crossed the sole road on and off Hayling Island, which is now the A3023, with a gated level crossing[6] and wooden platform (upgraded to concrete in 1950[7]). This would cause huge traffic jams during peak hours, especially in summer, since the Island had the closest sandy beach to Portsmouth, and trains ran every fifteen minutes at peak times.[8]
The station had no freight facilities[9] (neither did North Hayling, the other intermediate station), however in the Victorian period, there was a slipway for a train ferry to the Isle of Wight immediately south of Langston station.[10] The ferry ran to Bembridge, where there was also a railway station, this being prior to the construction of the pier stations at Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier Head by the LSWR to create a direct rail-ferry link for the Island.
The station structure has since been demolished, but one can still walk the route up to Havant station.[11]
The stationmaster's house was destroyed by fire in December 2018.[12]
Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth.
Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island 24.5 square kilometres in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth.
The Isle of Wight Railway was a railway company on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom; it operated 14 miles of railway line between Ryde and Ventnor. It opened the first section of line from Ryde to Sandown in 1864, later extending to Ventnor in 1866. The Ryde station was at St Johns Road, some distance from the pier where the majority of travellers arrived. A tramway operated on the pier itself, and a street-running tramway later operated from the Pier to St Johns Road. It was not until 1880 that two mainland railways companies jointly extended the railway line to the Pier Head, and IoWR trains ran through, improving the journey arrangements.
Langstone is a village near Havant, Hampshire in the south east of England in Portsmouth. It has good railway connections to London, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton, from the nearby Havant railway station. There are many large gated detached houses on the main road, "Langstone Road" and on the roads surrounding this. It has a sailing club, several architecturally unusual buildings, and several historically significant buildings, including a converted (water) millhouse and a converted 18th century windmill, the latter of which is a local landmark.
The West Coastway line is a railway line in England linking the densely populated conurbations of Brighton/Hove/Littlehampton and Southampton/Portsmouth, with 1.3 million people between them. It has short southward branches to Littlehampton and Bognor Regis. Some trains using part of the route operate as direct continuations of passenger services to/from London, particularly those to the branch stations mentioned.
The Portsmouth Direct line is a railway route between Woking in Surrey and Portsmouth Harbour in Hampshire, England. It forms the principal route for passenger trains between London and Portsmouth, and also provides a partial rail link to the Island Line on the Isle of Wight, with passengers disembarking at Portsmouth Harbour before taking the Wightlink catamaran service to Ryde Pier, where the Island Line commences at Ryde Pier Head. The name was derived unofficially, but has entered widespread use for the physical infrastructure between Woking and Portsmouth Harbour, and for the passenger train service from London over the route. The final section of line from Havant to Portsmouth is shared by other passenger routes.
Portsmouth Harbour railway station is a railway station in Portsmouth, England. It is situated beside Gunwharf Quays in the city's harbour, and is an important transport terminal, with a bus interchange and ferry services to Gosport and the Isle of Wight. The station currently has four platforms in use: numbered 1, 3, 4 and 5. It is managed by South Western Railway. Platform 2 is no longer in use, having been decommissioned in the early 1990s following major repair and refurbishment work to the pier that the platforms sit on. The station is located adjacent to Portsmouth Harbour between the Gunwharf Quays shopping centre and the Historic Dockyard. Unusually for a mainline railway station, it is built over water as the station was originally constructed on wooden piles, which were later replaced by iron supports.
Langstone Harbour is a 2,085.4-hectare (5,153-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hampshire. It is an inlet of the English Channel in Hampshire, sandwiched between Portsea Island to the south and west, Hayling Island to the south and east, and Langstone to the north. It is part of Chichester and Langstone Harbours Ramsar site, Special Protection Area and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. Parts of it are in Solent Maritime and Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons Special Areas of Conservation. Three areas are Local Nature Reserves, Farlington Marshes West Hayling and The Kench, Hayling Island. Two areas are nature reserves managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Farlington Marshes and Southmoor Nature Reserve
The Southsea Railway was a branch of the Portsmouth Direct Line, located on Portsea Island, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The railway was opened on 1 July 1885 and closed on 6 August 1914.
Havant railway station is a railway station in Havant, Hampshire, near Portsmouth, located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour.
The Hayling Island branch was a short railway branch line in Hampshire, England, that connected a station on Hayling Island with the main line network at Havant. It was built by the Hayling Railway; at first the company planned to run it along a new embankment built along tidal mudflats, but this proved impractical. The line was opened along firm ground in 1867.
North Hayling station was a halt on the single track Hayling Island branch, most often used to load oysters caught by local fishermen, but also ornithologists and ramblers. The station, along with the line was closed, in 1963. The station was located on the west coast of Hayling Island, very close to the coast. The station was very basic, with a timber concourse and wooden shelter. The station has been demolished and a section of the trackbed is now a footpath.
Ryde Pier Head railway station is one of three stations in the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Situated at the end of the town's pier, it is adjacent to the terminal for the Wightlink fast catamaran service connecting the island with Portsmouth on the English mainland. Passengers can use this to connect with the rest of the National Rail network at Portsmouth Harbour station, which is adjacent to the Portsmouth terminal. Through rail tickets for travel via Pier Head station are available to and from other stations on the Isle of Wight. These include travel on the catamaran service to or from Portsmouth as appropriate.
Hayling Billy is a 42-hectare (100-acre) Local Nature Reserve on Hayling Island in Hampshire. It is owned by Hampshire County Council and managed by Hampshire Countryside Service. It is part of Chichester and Langstone Harbours Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation and Langstone Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The Hayling Seaside Railway, formerly East Hayling Light Railway, is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway on Hayling Island, Hampshire, England. It is mainly a diesel operated railway, though from time to time the railway hires steam locomotives from other narrow gauge railways. It operates passenger trains between Beachlands and Eastoke Corner.
Langstone Bridge connects Hayling Island with the English mainland of Hampshire.
Hayling Island was a station on Hayling Island in southeastern Hampshire, England. It was opened for passengers in 1867 as the terminus of the four and a half mile Hayling Island branch, a single track line from Havant which transported holidaymakers to the resort until its closure in 1963.
There are currently three different ferry companies that operate vessels carrying passengers and, on certain routes, vehicles across the Solent, the stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England. These are Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel.
The Hayling Ferry is a foot passenger ferry across the mouth of Langstone Harbour linking the Ferry Point on the west tip of Hayling Island with Eastney, Portsmouth on Portsea Island. The current owner, Baker Trayte Marine Ltd, has operated the ferry since August 2016 following a period of cessation when the previous operation fell into administration in March 2015.
The Portsmouth and Ryde Joint Railway was a group of three railway lines in Southern England that were jointly owned and operated by the London and South Western Railway and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. The main line was between Cosham and Portsmouth Harbour; there was a branch from Fratton to East Southsea; and a line between Ryde Pier Head and Ryde St John's Road. The last-named section was isolated from the others, being on the Isle of Wight. The first section of line opened in 1847 and the last in 1885; the Southsea branch closed in 1914 but all of the other routes have since been electrified and remain open.
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