Ringwood | |
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General information | |
Location | Ringwood, New Forest, Hampshire England |
Grid reference | SU153047 |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway |
Pre-grouping | Southampton and Dorchester Railway London and South Western Railway |
Post-grouping | Southern Railway Southern Region of British Railways |
Key dates | |
1 June 1847 | Opened |
4 May 1964 | Closed to passengers |
7 August 1967 | Closed to freight |
Ringwood is a closed railway station in the county of Hampshire, England which served the town of Ringwood. It lay on the former Southampton and Dorchester Railway, the original main line from a connection with the London and South Western Railway at Southampton, through Brockenhurst to Dorchester.
The later development of Bournemouth as a major town led to the building of a branch from Ringwood through to Christchurch, later extended to Bournemouth. This was the Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway.
In 1885, the present main line from Brockenhurst to Christchurch and on to Poole, via what is now Bournemouth station, was opened. The Ringwood to Christchurch line relegated to branch status; it closed to all traffic in 1935.
The Southampton and Dorchester line continued to carry all the trains to Dorchester and beyond to Weymouth until the Holes Bay Curve linking Poole with Hamworthy Junction opened in 1893. From then, passenger trains were mostly restricted to local services between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth West, although at various times there were through services on a daily or weekly basis to places such as Weymouth, Southampton Central and Eastleigh.
With the build-up of holiday traffic in the 20th century, the route also proved a useful alternative to the congested Bournemouth line for summer Saturday trains to Weymouth and Swanage; through goods trains also continued regularly to use the line. The central section of the Southampton and Dorchester Railway from Lymington Junction (exclusive) to Broadstone Junction (exclusive) was closed to passengers on 4 May 1964, one of the first closures following the Beeching Report of March 1963. The line east of Ringwood was closed completely and the track was lifted in 1965; however, public goods services continued from the Poole direction until August 1967 and the track was shortly thereafter lifted back to the RAOC fuel depot at West Moors.
The station was demolished after closure and most of the site has been redeveloped with industrial units. The trackbed approaching the town from each direction is now part of the Castleman Trailway.
Cast iron canopy columns from the station were used to build a new shelter at Ropley Station on The Watercress Line [1]
A report from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) published in June 2009 recommended the rebuilding of part of the Brockenhurst to Poole line from Brockenhurst to Ringwood. The report (Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network) looked into the feasibility of reopening disused lines and stations, it concluded that there was a business case for investing £70m in the new link with an hourly service. [2]
In 2023, The Ringwood Society, a local amenity group, were awarded £43,880 by National Lottery Heritage Fund for a project to restore an area of land formerly part of the railway station and for a 'Memories of Ringwood Railway' exhibition and memory capture project. [3] A digital version of the exhibition was added to their website. [4]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
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Holmsley Line and station closed | British Rail Southern Region Southampton and Dorchester Railway | Ashley Heath Line and station closed | ||
Terminus | Southern Railway Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway | Avon Lodge Line and station closed |
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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.
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.
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.
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Brockenhurst railway station serves the village of Brockenhurst in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South West Main Line between London Waterloo and 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, with some CrossCountry trains also calling here.
Southampton Central is a main line railway 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. It is the busiest station in Hampshire and the fifth busiest in South East England.
The South East Dorset conurbation is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England.
Christchurch railway station serves the town of Christchurch in Dorset, England. The station is a stop on the South West Main Line between London Waterloo and Weymouth. It is located 104 miles 28 chains (167.9 km) down the line from Waterloo, with services currently operated by South Western Railway
Dorchester South is one of two railway stations that serve the town of Dorchester in Dorset, England; the other is Dorchester West. The station is on the South West Main Line and is situated 135 miles 70 chains (218.7 km) down the line from London Waterloo, between Moreton and Upwey. The station is managed by South Western Railway, who operate all trains serving it.
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Hinton Admiral railway station is a station serving the villages of Bransgore and Hinton and the seaside 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 a stop on the South West Main Line, located 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. Owing to its position on the English Channel coast, and its natural sheltered harbours, it has a maritime history, though lack of inland transport routes has led to the decline of its ports.
Verwood railway station served the town of Verwood, Dorset, England from 1866 to 1964.
The Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway was a railway company, that built a line from a junction near Salisbury to another near West Moors on the Ringwood to Wimborne line. It ran through the counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset in England. It opened the line in 1866, and was worked by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR).
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.
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 later operated by the Southern Railway from 1923 to 1947 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. 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 formed 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.