The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Starting as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in Hampshire and Berkshire, including Portsmouth and Reading. In the grouping of railways in 1923 the LSWR amalgamated with other railways to create the Southern Railway.
The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south western suburbs of London and the conurbations based on Southampton and Bournemouth. It runs through the counties of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset. It forms the core of the network built by the London and South Western Railway, today mostly operated by South Western Railway. Network Rail refers to it as the South West Main Line.
The Castleman Trailway is a footpath in Southern England. Portions of the trailway are also used as a cyclepath but the middle section from East Wimborne to the River Allen bridge is not cyclable.
Bournemouth railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside town of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. It was previously known as Bournemouth East and then Bournemouth Central. It has long been treated as an obligatory stop on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. It is 108 miles 2 chains (173.8 km) down the main line from Waterloo and is situated between Pokesdown and Branksome.
Brockenhurst railway station serves the village of Brockenhurst in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. It is also the junction of the Lymington Branch Line with the main line. It is 92 miles 66 chains (149.4 km) down the line from Waterloo. It is managed and served by South Western Railway and it is also served by CrossCountry trains.
Southampton Central railway station is a main line station serving the city of Southampton in Hampshire, southern England. It is on the South West Main Line and also serves the Wessex Main Line and the West Coastway Line. The station is approached from the London direction by passing through Southampton Tunnel and is 79 miles 19 chains (127.5 km) measured from London Waterloo.
The South East Dorset conurbation is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England. The main population centres are Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, which together form the single unitary authority of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; however, the urbanised area spreads into the Dorset unitary authority and into the New Forest District as far east as Barton on Sea. There are a number of satellite towns peripheral to these main urban centres. In clockwise rotation these include: Wareham, Verwood and Ringwood (Hampshire). The urban area is generally surrounded by a green belt.
Christchurch railway station serves the town of Christchurch in Dorset, England. The station is on the London Waterloo to Weymouth line operated by South Western Railway. It is 104 miles 28 chains (167.9 km) down the line from Waterloo.
Dorchester South railway station is one of two stations serving the town of Dorchester in Dorset, England, the other one being Dorchester West. The station is on the South West Main Line. It is 135 miles 70 chains (218.7 km) down the line from London Waterloo and is situated between Moreton and Upwey.
Sway railway station serves the village of Sway in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. It is 95 miles 45 chains (153.8 km) down the line from Waterloo.
Hinton Admiral railway station is a station serving the villages of Bransgore and Hinton and the town of Highcliffe on the Hampshire/Dorset border in southern England. It is 101 miles 5 chains (162.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Hamworthy railway station serves Hamworthy, an area of Poole in Dorset, England. It is 115 miles 77 chains (186.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Dorset is a county in South West England. The county is largely rural and therefore does not have a dense transport network, and is one of the few English counties without a motorway. Due to its position on the English Channel coast, and its natural sheltered harbours, it has a maritime history, though lack of inland transport routes have led to the decline of its ports.
Verwood railway station served the town of Verwood, Dorset, and its hinterland, from 1866 to 1964. It was one of many casualties of the mass closure of British railway lines in the 1960s; the last train running on 2 May 1964. The village is now much larger than when the line ran as it is within reasonable travelling distance of the South East Dorset conurbation.
The Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway was a railway that ran in the English counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset from 1866 until its closure in 1964. Working from Salisbury, trains left the Salisbury to Southampton line at the remote Alderbury Junction. Here there was a signal box, some railway cottages and two platforms on the main line for staff use only. The line ambled south through rural surroundings to meet the Southampton and Dorchester Railway at West Moors. Trains continued through Wimborne to Poole and Bournemouth West.
The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was an English railway company formed to join Southampton in Hampshire with Dorchester in Dorset, with hopes of forming part of a route from London to Exeter. It received Parliamentary authority in 1845 and opened in 1847. It was promoted by Charles Castleman of Wimborne Minster, and became known as Castleman's Corkscrew because of the meandering route it followed.
Wimborne was a railway station in Wimborne Minster in the county of Dorset in England. Open from 1 June 1847 to 2 May 1977, it was sited just north of the River Stour in what is still Station Road. Built for the Southampton and Dorchester Railway, the station was operated from the start by the London and South Western Railway, which took over ownership in 1848. It was then operated by the Southern Railway (1923–47) and from 1948 by the Southern Region of British Railways which traded as British Rail from 1965.
Broadstone was a railway station in the northern part of the Borough of Poole in the county of Dorset in England. It opened in 1872 under the name of New Poole Junction and closed to passengers in 1966 and to goods in 1969. Between these dates there were several changes of name for a station which at its height provided a suburb of Poole with four substantial platforms and a goods yard. A prominent feature of the station was the large footbridge needed to span the four running lines.
Holmsley is a closed railway station in the county of Hampshire which served rural settlements in the New Forest.
The Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway was a railway company to link Christchurch and Bournemouth, England, to the London and South Western Railway's Southampton and Dorchester line at Ringwood. The RC&BR opened in 1862 from Christchurch to Ringwood, and was extended to Bournemouth in 1870, sharing in the growing popularity of the town. However the route was circuitous, and the London and South Western Railway opened a shorter route between Brockenhurst and Christchurch via Sway in 1888, making the Ringwood to Christchurch section a branch line.
