About Rail Timetables

There were many influences on the way the railways around Basingstoke developed, both in growth and in decline. Different routes were built by different companies, for varying reasons, some positive, others, it must be said, negative. Naturally, the lie of the land played its part, as did the goods to be transported. The main business of railways is and was carrying people. Even so, within a few miles of Basingstoke , lines were built to carry cargo from biscuits to bombs to bricks (both collecting and delivering!) This history aims to record the development, and the factors behind it.

Dates given in the text and maps have generally been verified by reference to several sources (a list of these and other relevant reading material is included in the Bibliography). Sometimes sources disagree as to the dates when events happened. Mistakes aside, this can partly be explained by the different style and emphasis of each author, but a more significant factor is how one actually determines that a railway is "open" or "closed". For openings, modern practice is to include new stations in timetables before they are open, with a note saying that they are expected to open during the life of the timetable; sometimes they do not. In the past, stations like Newbury Racecourse could be open for several years before first appearing in a public timetable. Closures present different problems: a line might be closed to passengers, but not to goods; or to both, but the track left in place. Even in the extreme case where the track is taken up. there is one line in the area for which this was not the end of the story. Consequently, if you have reason to doubt dates I have quoted, I would be pleased to learn from you.