Disused railways

[www.railwaywalks.co.uk]

Just wanted to ask you guys out there for any informaiton you may have or know about the following trackbeds:

1. Isle of Portland
2. Weymouth
3. Isle of Wight lines
4. Gosport to Fareham

If anyone can help, please feel free to email me. Appreciate your help guys...

Cheers,
Paul
http://www.railwaywalks.co.uk

 

[W14Fishbourne]

I suggest you join Britain's Lost Railways: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Britains_Lost_Railways/

Ralph Rawlinson has probably posted extracts from his gazetteer on there covering all these lines.

 

[paul1609]

Gosport to Fareham, Although the main line connection has been removed track remains in situ although heavily overgrown over the section that was used for freight trains to the Royal naval armanent depot at Frater. The headshunt for this ends alongside the Holbrook recreation centre and is as shown on the latest os maps. I think it would be very difficult to walk all the way through although some stretches have recently been cleared. The level crossing remains at Newgate lane AOCL but the tracks have recently been tarmaced over. It was the intention to use this route for the South Hampshire Light Railway.
Beyond Holgate as far as the old junction with the Stokes Bay Branch the route is used as a cycle route. From the Junction the direct route to Gosport is lost under an industrial estate. The cycle track takes you round 2 sides of the Junction. On the final approach to Gosport Station a primary school and housing estate have been built over the route but the cycle track threads through the centre on approximately the original route.
Gosport Station itself is dilapidated but fenced off. it has not been redeveloped as it is a listed building.

 

[Dennis]

Part of the old Weymouth - Portland trackbed is now used as a cycleway, the Rodwell trail.

 

[AlexS]

Weymouth Quay branch is fully in situ, apart from about half of the platform which is closed off by a gate.

Portland branch is definately gone over the causeway, didn't see much evidence of the rest of it either!

 

[paul1609]

The Portland Branch is a cycle track from just the other side of Radipole lake from Weymouth station out to the causeway. The bridges at this end are gone but the trackbed is evident all the way accross and on to the island itself. Never yet worked out where the terminus was though.

 

[www.railwaywalks.co.uk]

thanks all.

 

[W14Fishbourne]

The Isle of Wight

Ryde to Ventnor line:
Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin is still a railway.
A permissive footpath occupies the trackbed from Shanklin to Wroxall.

Ryde to Cowes line
Smallbrook to Wootton is still a railway
Wootton to Binfield is a public footpath/cycle route
Fairlee to Newport is a public footpath
Newport tunnel is now a subway under the road.
Newport Station site has vanished under a bypass and industrial estate
Newport to the outskirts of Cowes is a public path/cycle route.

Ashey to Ashey Down (former quarry siding ) is a public footpath

Newport to Sandown line
Most of this is a public path/cycle route.

Brading-Bembridge branch
Almost all of this is a public path/cycle route.

Freshwater line
Freshwater to just east of Yarmouth is a public path/cycle route, which there is talk of extending eastwards.

Ventnor West branch:
A public bridleway runs alongside the trackbed from near Godshill in the direction of Merstone.
A road occupies the last bit of the trackbed and the site of Ventnor West station.


Weymouth Tramway

Some recent pictures here but I'm not sure if this counts as a disused railway: officially it's just "not used".

 

[TheSlash]

Dis used railways are a passing interest of mine, especially patrolling the mainline track and seeing the marks on the land of a former junction.
Using Flash Earth, i've traced parts of the Meon Valley line, especially around it's southern end. It's more difficult to see in the car, often a bridge here and there.
I frequently walk past the site of Knowle junction, but the hardest bit to trace is Knowle junction to Wickham, this might be due to the redevelopement on the site of Knowle hospital.
I've seen bits of the Gosport line on my travels but Paul has covered that quite well.
I've also got the Hayling Billy line on my doorstep. The bridge supports are still visible in Langstone Harbour as a permanent reminder to the motorists stuck in the summer queues trying to get on and off Hayling Island.

 

[W14Fishbourne]

Using Flash Earth, i've traced parts of the Meon Valley line, especially around it's southern end. It's more difficult to see in the car, often a bridge here and there.

I frequently walk past the site of Knowle junction, but the hardest bit to trace is Knowle junction to Wickham, this might be due to the redevelopement on the site of Knowle hospital.

Wickham to West Meon survives 'intact' as a railway path. As far as I know the land of the Knowle Junction to Wickham section has been sold off (to the adjoining golf course?) but a reduced-width, dead-end bridleway exists on the course of the line. Knowle Junction was some way south of (and across the River Meon) from Knowle Hospital.

 

[Spaceflower]

 

[WessexWarrior]

Weymouth Tramway

Some recent pictures here but I'm not sure if this counts as a disused railway: officially it's just "not used".

I'd love to know why that redirected to Wikipedia...

 

[Guinness]

I'd love to know why that redirected to Wikipedia...

I take it your on Firefox. http// (etc) will direct to Wikipedia.

http://ronstruttsrailwaypics.fotopic.net/c1167722.html is the correct link.

 

[W14Fishbourne]

I'd love to know why that redirected to Wikipedia...

There were two https in the link, though I'd have expected it to come back with a "URL not found".

This one should be correct.

 

[nowananorack]

There's a useful book "LOST RAILWAYS OF HAMPSHIRE" by Leslie Oppitz which may be of use

 

[Andrew Tiffin]

I think someone should do the Northern Heights walk.

 

[matt]

Please don't bump old threads unless you have something constructive to add