Waltham Station Gallery 3: 3 May 1953 - c1961

Bishops Waltham station entrance on 3 May 1953. During the 1950s the small canopy over the entrance to the booking office (left) was removed and the partition wall between the waiting room and the stationmaster's office was removed to allow the building to be used as a goods and parcel office. These offices were located in the goods shed, but by this time the shed was no longer required and by 1953 it had been rented to Dukes of Abbey Mill as a grain store.
Photo from Mike Morant collection


Bishops Waltham station looking south-west in the 1950s. Apart from the removal of station signs and posters the station remained largely unaltered after closure until the early 1960s. The signal box on the far side of the level crossing has gone; it was demolished shortly after closure in December 1935.
Photo from John Mann collection


Looking north-east at the Bishops Waltham goods yard in the 1950s. There was no ramp at the north end of the passenger platform as it was used as an end-dock with the cattle dock set back from the platform to allow the siding, seen here, to run alongside. Livestock pens were sited on the dock where bushes are seen in this view. They were removed after the cessation of local livestock sales. In the middle distance the water tank is seen; when the engine shed was closed the adjacent tank was retained as a stabling and servicing point until closed by BR in 1958. The goods shed is seen on the right; the yard continued for some distance beyond the shed.
Photo from John Mann collection


Although devoid of people and any kind of rolling stock, when this picture was taken in the 1950s there was still a daily goods train and the station was considered sufficiently busy to stave off closure when it was first suggested in 1952. Total receipts for that year were £24,941, and closure of the line would have brought a saving of only £6,476; so the line remained open for another 10 years.
Photo from John Mann collection


In the 1950s the goods shed was no longer required and the siding that once ran through the shed was cut back; the end of it can just be seen on the far left. The building was then rented to Dukes of Abbey Mill for use as a grain store. The building was in a style similar to that of the station, with numerous small decorative features and a canopy with an unusually deep valance providing protection from the weather at the road vehicle loading dock. The building remained in use as a grain store after closure until 1964 when the walls bowed out, owing to pressure from the stored sacks of grain, and the roof of the building collapsed.
Photo from John Mann collection


In a view from Victoria Road an M7 tank is seen with the daily goods service at Bishops Waltham station some time in the 1950s. M7s provided this service until 1958 when they were replaced with ex-LMS Ivatt 2-6-2T tanks. The coal merchant's office is seen on the far left, and at this time the merchant was J E Smith; he continued trading from the station yard long after closure in 1962.
photo from John Mann collection


Probably taken on the same day, the M7 stands at the platform at Bishops Waltham in this view of the station forecourt seen from Winchester Road. The land adjacent to the access road appears to be used as an allotment, presumably by the Grade 1 porter who was the sole member of staff at the station at this time. With only one train a day he would have had plenty of spare time to tend an allotment.
photo from John Mann collection


The third and final railtour to visit Bishops Waltham was the Branch Line Society ‘Portsmouth Area Railtour’ on 7 March 1959. This left Portsmouth Harbour at 12.33pm, travelling via Lavant, Chichester and Fareham to reach Bishops Waltham at 3.52pm. Enthusiasts were given only 10 minutes at the station before leaving for the return journey to Portsmouth & Southsea where the train was due to arrive at 6.27 pm, having travelled via Droxford and Gosport.
Photo by David Pearson


The locomotive used for the ‘Portsmouth Area Railtour’ on 7 March 1959 was another auto-fitted M7 tank, No.30111. Built at Nine Elms in March of 1904, this 0-4-4T lasted in service until withdrawal from Bournemouth shed in January 1964 to be scrapped nine months later.
Photo by David Pearson


With only a 10-minute stopover at Bishops Waltham for the ‘Portsmouth Area Railtour’ on 7 March 1959, enthusiasts visiting the goods shed need to get a move on! Bishops Waltham had a long yard and 10 minutes should not have been sufficient time to inspect it. However, clearly it was: one person has found time to climb the ladder to check the level of water in the tank, another is attempting to walk back balancing on the track. By this time, the goods shed was in use as a grain store and the siding was cut back to just short of the shed.
Photo by David Pearson

Push and pull set No. 6 with the ‘Portsmouth Area Railtour’ at Bishops Waltham station on 7 March 1959. After leaving Bishops Waltham the tour visited Droxford on the Meon Valley line, then Gosport before returning to Portsmouth.
Photo by David Pearson


Another view of the ‘Portsmouth Area Railtour’ at Bishops Waltham station on 7 March 1959.


Bishops Waltham station is seen c1961 from the site of the signal box which closed in 1935 and was quickly demolished. At that time, the crossing gates were converted to hand operation. The two Hants & Dorset buses are either Bristol K or Leyland Titan PD1 types, both with Eastern Coachworks 55-seat Lowbridge bodies with a sunken side gangway on the upper deck. The bus on the left appears to be on route 50. In 1961 this ran from Southampton to Petersfield via Moorgreen, Lower Upham and Bishop's Waltham. The bus on the right is on route 69A which ran from Fareham to Bishops Waltham via Shirrell Heath. Hants & Dorset livery was green at that time.
Photo from John Mann collection

Click here for Bishops Waltham Station Gallery 4:
4 c1961 - June 2015