This railway branch was completed as a double-track line in 1885. It was built by the
London and South Western Railway in response to the planned
Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway. The DN&SR, with the support of the L&SWR's rival the
Great Western Railway, planned to build a main line route from the Midlands to Southampton in the heart of the L&SWR's territory, with its own terminus and an entirely separate line. The L&SWR was well aware that the DN&SR, like most start-up railway companies, was short of finances. It built Fullerton to Hurstbourne line to provide a complete line between Hurstbourne and
Romsey. The L&SWR would offer the DN&SR the much cheaper alternative of building its line from
Newbury to Hurstbourne, where its trains would then run on the new route along L&SWR track to the
Southampton Terminus. The DN&SR would get its route to Southampton whilst the L&SWR would be able to exercise control over its competitor. Since the Fullerton to Hurstbourne Line was intended to handle heavy freight and express passenger traffic from the Midlands via the DN&SR it was built with double tracks and large stations at
Longparish and
Wherwell complete with extensive goods yards. Despite the line's short length it included some substantial engineering, including a 50-foot (15.2m) deep cutting near Longparish. In the event the DN&SR rejected the L&SWR's proposal and pushed on with its own independent route. Ironically construction of the line stalled for lack of funds at
Winchester, but from there it was impossible to link with the Fullerton to Hurstbourne Line. The L&SWR opened the Fullerton to Hurstbourne Line under its own operation on 1 July 1885 with three passenger trains a day operated by a locomotive and a single carriage shuttling between Fullerton and Whitchurch (the DN&SR had its own station at the latter village). By the 1890s the service had increased to 5 trains a day but the line remained lightly used. An attempt to reduce costs was made by introducing
railmotors on the line in 1910. The line did serve a useful role as a diversionary route between
Eastleigh and
Southampton for special trains or during engineering works on the main line.
Queen Victoria, attracted by the scenery surrounding the line, had the
Royal Train sent down the line on several occasions when travelling between
Windsor Castle and
Osbourne House. It is rumoured that she preferred this route on the way to and from
Osborne House because it did not involve passing through any tunnels. By 1913 it was realised that the substantial investment put into building a line to main line standards would never be repaid on the light local traffic. The line was then reduced to a single-track line on 13 July 1913. A
saw mill near Longparish station employed more than 100 men between 1914 and 1919 and up to 30 wagons a day carried goods from the mill. The passenger services was withdrawn on 6 July 1931. During the
Second World War, an
ammunition storage depot was built near Longparish and the line handled a considerable amount of
military traffic. The stores remained in place until 1953. The freight service last ran on 28 May 1956, but the track remained and was used to store condemned vans and wagons. The line was taken out of use in April 1960, although a short section at Fullerton remained until 1 June 1964. == See also ==