Station Name: BISHOPS WALTHAM[Source:
Nick Catford]
Bishops Waltham Station Gallery 2: c1920 - 3 May 1953
waltham_old15.jpg) No close-up views of the engine shed have come to light. The timber shed, seen here from across Bishops Waltham pond c1920 was built in about 1877 and was probably paid for by the L&SWR, as the Bishops Waltham Board had pleaded poverty over a long period when asked by the L&SWR to provide overnight accommodation. The shed closed from 2 January 1933, the day after the station closed to passengers. It was quickly demolished as it was on a through line to the gas works.
Photo from Roger Griffiths collection waltham_old40.jpg)
Another distant view of the engine shed, top right, seen from the roof of Abbey Mill c1920s. The livestock pens are seen on the dock immediately left of some trees, between the engine shed and the main station building. The clay works siding is seen curving away to the north from the station building. The level crossing over Sawmill Lane is seen at the top of the picture.
waltham_old36.jpg) In this aerial view of Bishops Waltham taken in 1951 the station was now open only for goods traffic but, from this side, little has changed apart from the removal of the small canopy in front of the entrance to the booking office. The lamp room with its sloping roof is seen at the south (left) end of the building and to its left is the gents' toilet. A wooden hut is seen to the north (right) of the station building, this was an engineers' store. Click here for a wider aerial view, also showing the goods shed. Bishops Waltham pond is seen in the foreground.
Reproduced with the kind permission of Simmons Aerofilms Ltd waltham_old7.jpg) This is the first of three railtours to visit Bishops Waltham station in the 1950s.The The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (RCTS) Bishops Waltham Branch Railtour was a return trip from Eastleigh on 14 June 1952. This was the first passenger service running into the station since 31 December 1932. No.30589 was built at Nine Elms works in January 1907 and first numbered 744. This diminutive tank was a class C14 and these numbered 10 in total. Only three of these passed into Southern Railway ownership where it was numbered 3744 and then onto British Railways ownership. Withdrawn from Eastleigh shed in June 1957, it made the short journey back to Nine Elms and was broken up two months later.
Photo from Jim Lake collection waltham_old8.jpg)
Another view of Drummond C14 0-4-0T 30589 standing in the cattle dock at Bishops Waltham station on 14 June 1952. On the left the water tank is seen; this stood at the rear of the engine shed which was demolished in 1933. The top of the goods shed is visible in the background.
Photo from Jim Lake collection waltham_old9.jpg) The C14 design was born out of desperation as the earlier rail-motors designed by the Drummond team had fallen a long way short of expectations. Ten examples of the original 2-2-0T design were built between September 1906 and January 1907 but were largely redundant by 1913. No.744 gained a fortuitous new lease of life when it was leased by the Admiralty in 1917 for dockyard shunting, and when returned to the L&SWR it was rebuilt as a 0-4-0T engine with a long working life ahead. As 30589 it distinguished itself by being the only member of the class to haul a passenger train after their rail-motor days had ended when it hauled a two-coach motor set along the Bishops Waltham branch as part of the RCTS railtour.
Text by Mike Morant, photo from Mike Morant collection waltham_old25.jpg) No.30589 is seen running round its coaches before making the return trip to Eastleigh on 14 June 1952. A large crowd of local people has gathered on the platform to see the first passenger train running into the station for twenty years; far more people turned out on this occasion than for the last train in 1932. Many were carrying Union Jacks and the station was decorated with bunting for the occasion. At this time, the station still handled a large quantity of goods traffic with 5,420 tons of coal arriving that year.
photo from John Mann collection
waltham_old24.jpg) Bishops Waltham station forecourt during a visit by the RCTS ‘Bishops Waltham Branch Railtour’ on 14 June 1952.
photo from John Mann collection waltham_old29.jpg) Bishops Waltham station forecourt during a visit by the RCTS ‘Bishops Waltham Branch Railtour’’ on 14 June 1952. While the loco and its two coaches waited in the cattle dock its passengers were free to wander around the station and yard at will: no ‘health and safety’ issue in those days even though Bisho's Waltham was still a busy goods station. The small building in the left is an engineers’ store. photo from John Mann collection waltham_old38.jpg) A Bedford OL parcel delivery van waits on the forecourt at Bishops Waltham station on 3 May 1953. The Bedford O series dated from pre-war days. They came in several variations, including a wartime militarised version; there was also the OB bus version. Production continued until the early 1950s. The BTC logo on the cab door is worded 'British Road Services'. No.27F19 is the vehicle's fleet number; the ‘F’ may have stood for Fareham, its home depot. The livery of BRS vehicles at this time was green with white lettering. The BTC logo, on green vehicles, was black background, gold lion & wheel, red outer circle bordered with gold.
Photo by John Aston waltham_old16.jpg) The second of three railtours to visit the Bishops Waltham branch was the Stephenson Locomotive Society (SLS) Bishops Waltham Special which ran from Gosport to Bishops Waltham then back to Havant on 3 May 1953. The tour was booked to leave Gosport at 1.20pm arriving at Bishops Waltham at 2.05pm. After a 35 minute wait at the terminus it departed arriving at Havant at 3.27pm. The tour ran in conjunction with the SLS Portsmouth Special which departed from London Victoria at 9.36am, arriving at Portsmouth & Southsea at 12.13pm. Enthusiasts were then able to catch the ferry to Gosport in plenty of time for the departure of the ‘Bishops Waltham Special’ at 1.20pm. Returning to Havant they were then able to connect with the returning Portsmouth Special at 3.57pm, arriving at London Waterloo at 5.37 pm.
Photo from Mike Morant collection waltham_old17.jpg) The driver's end of push-and- pull set 36 seen during the SLS ‘Bishops Waltham Special' at Bishops Waltham on 3 May 1953. The locomotive (seen above sandwiched between two push-and- pull sets 31 and 36) used for this tour was an auto-fitted M7 class 30110. This Drummond-designed 0-4-4T was built in March 1904 at the L&SWR's Eastleigh works and received the push-and- pull apparatus in 1925. Withdrawn from Bournemouth shed in June 1961, it was not scrapped until May 1965, probably at Eastleigh Works.
Photo from Mike Morant collection Click here for Bishops Waltham Station Gallery 3:
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