Hayling Island Branch Line

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Hayling Island Branch
KBFa
Havant (for main line services)
BHF
Langston railway station
BHF
North Hayling railway station
KBFe
Hayling Island (Terminus)

The Hayling Island Branch was a railway in Hampshire, England. It was sometimes known as the Hayling Billy, a name now given to the footpath along the old track[1].

Contents

[edit] History

The line was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) for goods on January 19th 1865, and for passengers on July 16th 1867[2]. It ran from Havant to Hayling Island station. There were two intermediate stations at Langston (sic)[3] and North Hayling. Neither were ever "halts", in spite of their small size[4].

The remains of the Hayling Billy line, as seen in 2005
The remains of the Hayling Billy line, as seen in 2005

The line itself was mainly used during the summer months as people from the South Coast would travel down to the beach on Hayling Island. The coaches would often be overflowing during these months, however would be virtually empty during the Winter[5] , which would become a problem.

The LBSCR quickly ran into difficulty during the construction of the railway, as they had attempted to save on the cost of buying land on Hayling Island for the line by constructing an embankment on the mud flats in the sheltered waters of Langstone Harbour -- This was an ambitious plan, which also involved the construction of wet and dry docks at Sinah Lake. Though they were given a grant to the mudlands by William Padwick, who was himself behind the plan, and the promoters offered to build the embankment and Railway at a cost of £80,000[6] , the area was not sheltered as had been hoped: the bank was severely eroded before the railway could be completed.

The board of trade inspector was invited to certify the line as being fit for passenger traffic, but he initially refused to do so as he found that many of the sleepers had begun to rot in the original section of the railway, and there was also an unauthorised level crossing at Langstone. The former problem was quickly fixed but the level crossing remained until the closure of the line.

The line was taken over by the Southern Railway in 1923 and by British Railways in 1948. Because of the weight restriction on the bridge[7] it was worked, for many years, by small LB&SCR A1 Class locomotives.[8]

[edit] Closure

Over the winter of 1962 it was decided to close the branch line[9]. , the reason being the old timber bridge that crossed Langstone Harbour needed expensive repairs. British Railways took a view that the repairs were an unreasonably large investment, and thus the line took its final fare paying passengers on November 3 1963. It had, however, been operating at a small profit at that time.

[edit] The line today

Today the lines have been torn up but on the Havant side of the line, the area where the tracks once stood has been turned into a footpath. This enables people to walk from Havant station all the way to where the bridge and the level crossing was located, by Langston station, serving the village of Langstone[10].

If one were to continue walking south from Langston station (the railway never spelled it with the final "e") across the road bridge they would join the Hayling Island side of the line. This section of the line passes down the west side of the island, passing through where North Hayling station used to stand, and terminates at West Town, the main area of population in the south of the island.

This section is now a combined footpath, bridleway and cycleway. It has recently become part of route 2 of the National Cycle Network, sponsored by Sustrans, a charity for sustainable transport.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ “The Hayling Billy Leisure Trail” Marshall,B Havant, Bosmere Hundred Society,1992 ISBN 101922442X
  2. ^ "Catching the train to Hayling Island: a history" Newell, L: Havant, Havant Borough Council,2005 ISBN 200076629X
  3. ^ Truncated by the Railway Timetablers, a common practice with place names ending with e
  4. ^ Hampshire railways remembered Oppitz,L Newbury, Countryside 1988 ISBN 1853060208
  5. ^ "Southern Holiday Lines in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight" Bennett,A Cheltenham, Runpast 1994 ISABN 187075431X
  6. ^ called South Hayling until 1892"Branch Line to Hayling" Mitchell,V./Smith,K (In association with Bell,A): Midhurst, Middleton Press, 18984 ISBN 0906520126
  7. ^ "The Book of Hayling Island-more than a millennium"Rogers,P: Tiverton, Halsgrove, 2000 ISBN 1841140783
  8. ^ Memories of the Hayling Island Branch:Produced by Ian Heys for "Branch Line Videos", Catalogue Number 418-514424
  9. ^ Closure details
  10. ^ ”A Guide to Hayling Island ” Pierce Jones,V/Walton,R. :Hayling Island, waltondesign,2005 ISBN 200070960X

Station Master's House at Langston(e).

Site of the old station at North Hayling.

The line ran very close to the coast in places.

Hayling Island Station is now a Theatre.