Rowlands Castle 1977

ROWLANDS CASTLE

(All pics 6.7.1977 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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Four lovely shots I managed to take back in 1977 at the neat station at Rowlands Castle in Hampshire. I took the motorbike up from Littlehampton on a hot summer's day, the roads round Rowlands Castle weaving in and out of Hampshire before I got there.

Back in 1977 the Portsmouth Direct Line wasn't that busy, one express and one stopper per hour I think, but I snapped one train passing through. The station looked in pretty much original condition with few if any passengers. I suspect it's a lot busier now, hopefully all the buildings survive.

A piece of luck was the elderly car in the exterior shot making the picture look like it was taken about ten years earlier!

Haslemere 6.7.1977

HASLEMERE

(All pics 6.7.1977 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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On a warm July afternoon in 1977 I motorbiked up the Portsmouth Direct line, stopping at each station to take pictures. This is Haslemere, a neat station with an extra platform and substantial buildings and canopies. I only caught one train going through sadly!

Haslemere station

Haslemere is a station that from  a small wayside stop has grown into a very busy commuter station over the years. It lies on the Portsmouth Direct line, which was electrified in 1938. The station was opened on 1 January 1859.

It has an excellent service to London Waterloo of four trains an hour, two of them are express services. It is the only station on the Portsmouth Direct line between Guildford and Havant with more than two platforms, platform 3 is used to allow northbound expresses to overtake stopping services.

The station would have become a junction (or will in the future) if the direct line to Midhurst via Fernhurst had opened in the 19th century.

Passenger usage in 2014-15 was 1,785,000 and has been steadily growing year on year.

Liphook 1977

LIPHOOK

(All 6.7.1977 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

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This intermediate station on the Portsmouth Direct main line was opened on 1 January 1859 and is today served by one stopping train in each direction.

Back in 1977 the station was still in nice condition with buildings intact, services provided by slam door stock. In the 30 minutes or so I was there I managed to get pics of trains in both direction but I think these were non-stoppers. I particularly like the photo of the station exterior, nicely dated (like many of my exteriors are) by a selection of contemporary cars gracing the forecourt.

Farncombe 1977

7406

(All 6.7.1977  copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing)

A station I've only visited once, on a line I've probably only travelled on a couple of times, in 1977 Farncombe was a surprisingly big station for a small place! I only spent a brief time there 

and only one train passed through - 7406 on a Portsmouth to Waterloo train.

More info (from Wikipedia)

Farncombe railway station opened in 1897 as a minor stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line between Guildford and Godalming, England. It is said to have been built at the instigation of General Sir Frederick Marshall, a director of the London and South Western Railway Company, who lived nearby at Broadwater.

The station lies in the centre of Farncombe, a northern suburb of Godalming. Nowadays it is served by South West Trains on the mainline from Waterloo toPortsmouth Harbour. It would have been served by the old Southern Railway.

Despite being of little significance, Farncombe station is staffed most of the time, and has a café on platform 1 in peak periods. As well as the ticket office,Farncombe has two ticket machines, both of them on platform 1. There are two full barrier level crossings at Farncombe, one at each end of the station. The two platforms are connected by an old, metal, bridge. There is a large carpark located by the exit of platform 1, this is pay and display and is open all day, 7 days a week.

Services

The classes of trains that use it are South West Trains class 444s and 450s with occasional freight workings. There are two stopping trains an hour and two fast trains (non-stop) an hour in each direction. These consist of:

2tph to London Waterloo via Woking

1tph to Portsmouth & Southsea (These services do not call at Milford and Witley)

1tph to Haslemere

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Guildford		South West Trains Portsmouth Direct Line (stopping services)		Godalming

Gallery

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  Station entrance
 
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  Asymmetrical platforms
 
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  Looking across to the down platform
 
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  Signal box
 
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  A 1912 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Farncombe railway station