DIDCOT, NEWBURY & SOUTHAMPTON RAILWAY 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF CLOSURE GALA. 5-7TH MAY

Just seen this mentioned in the new issue of The Railway Magazine. Didcot Railway Centre | Events | Gala Events

Should be a good event with 3717, 31806 and 80104 visiting and residents 5322, 3738 and 3650 in use. Note the T9 was originally requested but is unavailable and will visit Didcot in 2013.

 

Might have to make space in the diary for this one, I grew up in Whitchurch and the DN&S has always held a particular fascination for me.

 

straight isn't a word I'd have chosen.... hilly maybe.

 

Which is the preserved loco that fell off back in the day?

 

76017 (and 76016)

 

Yes and no. From Didcot to Eastleigh via Reading and Basingstoke is only 6 more miles than on the DN&S, and of course the DN&S was single track south of Woodhay, the first station south of Newbury. Of course, with the weight of container traffic coming out of S'ton now one can argue with the benefit of hindsight that it should not have been closed to alleviate pressures on the GWML, Reading-Basingstoke link and Southern ML as far as Eastleigh but I doubt it - I certainly think that at the time in the 1960s its closure was not as silly as it may appear now.

 

It was closed to provide a route for the widened A34

 

Now that is an interesting one. I already have the weekend off as it's the Swanage Diesel Gala but I'm sure I can sweet talk the better half into another day out for this.

 

it was not...that came later. If anything it was to provide for the widening of the A33 Winchester Bypass, and they didn't need to close it to do that as they could have used the wartime connection to the Southern Main Line north of Winchester.


It was a dying line across the empty Berkshire Downs that probably should never have been built. The GWR didn't want it built at all. It was at it's most useful during WW2 when it was partly doubled

 

Realistically that is probably true. It was a victim of inter-railway politics - the GW didn't want to upset relations with the LSW. Had relations been less cordial, it may have been built properly - that is to say all the way to Southampton, and if the GW had made a go of it it may have realised its potential - even the original promoters knew that as a branch it was a poor idea - its value was as a through route.

 

the S&C was built as a Main line for a major company that wanted to get it's trains to Scotland. The DNS was a local line built by local people reluctantly taken over by the GWR to stop anyione else getting it . Not really comparable.

 

http://dnsrr.angelfire.com/

re-opening on the cards?

 

I think this at best could be described as 'hopeful', especially as it appears to be a preservation/heritage effort rather than as a container traffic alternative. The map on the site appears to almost literally be on the 'back of a fag packet'!

Looking at it from a reopening as part of the network perspective - the A34 has obliterated much of the trackbed and until such time as the current movements of containers out of S'ton can't cope no-one is going to be thinking of alternatives - and at a guess there are much cheaper ones than this. Do containers go north on the Romsey - Salisbury line? If not, that's an alternative for starters.

 

with tthe investment going in at Reading, freight will be going that way and no other I'd say.

 

It may have come later - but it was planne dlong before the line was closed.