South Coast Trains

[Emily]

I am hoping someone can help me with this query. Was it possible to travel direct by train from Bournemouth to Hastings/St Leonards in 1877, and if so, how long would it have taken?

 

[sprinterguy]

It woud have been theoretically possible, as the entire South Coast route between Bournemouth and Hastings was open within the period 1840-1848. However, I'm not sure if it would have happened in reality, as the route was operated by the London & South Western Railway as far as Cosham from Bournemouth and by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway beyond there to Hastings, and it is often the case that neighbouring railway companies rarely got on well, though I do not know whether this was the case here. Both companies ran into Portsmouth, so it is likely that a change of train would be required there.

It may even have been easier to travel into London, via Southampton & Basingstoke on the L&SW main line, and back out again to reach Hastings than to travel along the coast route, though that would be a journey of a good few hours at the time, unfortunately I do not know any more definite details.

 

[Emily]

Thank you so much Sprinterguy, I was afraid no-one was going to answer me.
I suspect you are right re my person travelling to London from Bournemouth then down to Hastings. Do you think that would still be quicker/more convenient than going by coach?
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Thank you so much Sprinterguy, I was afraid no-one was going to answer me. I suspect you are right about my person travelling form Bournemouth to London then down to Hastings. Do you think this would be quicker/more convenient than going along the coast by coach for example?

 

[sprinterguy]

Hmmm. Google maps give a present day journey time of three hours via the M3 between Bournemouth & Hastings. The stagecoaches prevalent in 1887 would probably average little more than 4mph (At this time “road locomotives” were limited to a maximum speed of 4mph in open country and 2mph in built up areas, so it seems reasonable to assume that average speeds for horse drawn traffic would be similarly low) on such a journey, and there would definitely be a requirement for a change of horses at least once. Therefore I’d suggest, although I do not know for sure, that travelling by train via London would be faster than travelling along the South Coast by coach.

I’d think that the favoured route from London to Hastings (after travelling into London from Bournemouth on the London & South Western main line through Southampton & Basingstoke), would be on the South Eastern Railway through Seven Oaks, Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells. I don’t know what the journey time would be, but I do know that a comparable London to south coast journey with the neighbouring London, Brighton & South Coast Railway from London to Brighton could be done in 1 hour 50 minutes in 1910 (the earliest date I have any sort of info for), by the fastest express trains on the route. The London & South Western Railway main line from Bournemouth would have been quite quick for a railway of the day, and the LSWR were quick to introduce smoother riding bogie coaches from the 1880s onwards to replace the four and six wheel carriages prevalent on passenger trains at the time.

I think it would be reasonable to assert that an eight hour journey time from Bournemouth to Hastings via London would have been possible in 1887, dependant of course on train connections, as direct trains between towns were very much fewer in number then than they are now. There would also be a station transfer across Victorian South London needed, which may not have been to everyone's liking on a journey such as this.

I’m surprised no-one else on this forum has been able to provide any more specific information. My knowledge of railways is much more focused on northern England than the southern end of the country and it would be good to have a further opinion.

 

[bangor-toad]

Hi there,
There would not have been a direct train going along the coastal route in 1877.

The route as we see it today wasn't completed until 1889 when the final direct link between Southampton and Fareham was opened (according to Wikipedia)
Prior to that there was a link via Eastleigh but that would have involved a reversal.

In addition the Bourenmouth to Portsmouth section would have been on the LSWR and the rest on the LBSCR. At the time there would have been little co-operation between the companies (Google "Battle of Havant" for an example).


That said, an intrepid traveller in 1877 could have made the trip by rail without going through London. It would have been a bit complex and involved many tickets and trains but it could have been done. 'Fraid I can't help with the timetables though...

Cheers,
Jason

 

[sprinterguy]

Hi there,
There would not have been a direct train going along the coastal route in 1877.

The route as we see it today wasn't completed until 1889 when the final direct link between Southampton and Fareham was opened (according to Wikipedia)
Prior to that there was a link via Eastleigh but that would have involved a reversal.

Ah, I knew there'd be a little bit I missed. I'll have to take a closer look at my big historical rail map, I'm still untangling the South Coast lines in my head...

I've had a bit of a read up on the railway companies operating along the south coast, and there does indeed seem to have been a huge amount of fighting and squabbling with each other, as I expected.

 

[Emily]

Thanks everyone, I much appreciate your help. From what everyone had said, I think my spinster lady definitely would have travelled to London then down to Hastings. It was Christmas 1877, a cold and tiring journey that began and ended in darkness I suspect. As a matter of rather ghoulish interest... the day after she got there her sister comitted suicide by drinking belladonna liniment!