The
London and Southampton Railway (L&SR) was opened in stages. Most of the portion south of was opened on 10 June 1839, to a temporary terminus in Southampton called Northam Road. Not long before the opening, on 4 June 1839, the L&SR was renamed the
London and South Western Railway (LSWR). The temporary station was closed when the line was completed and the permanent was opened on 11 May 1840. The need to open a temporary station at Northam Road arose because of a dispute during construction of the line. There was a disagreement between the L&SR and the Northam Bridge Company (NBC), owners of the
Northam Bridge, concerning how the railway would cross Northam Road, which connected the bridge with the centre of Southampton. The plans for the railway specified that there would be a level crossing, but the NBC requested that the Northam Road be carried over the railway on a bridge. The NBC began legal proceedings on 13 March 1839, and the L&SR took legal advice which recommended that the road bridge not be built, but even so the L&SR acceded to the NBC's demands and built the bridge over the railway. During the 1860s, Northam residents campaigned for a local intermediate station, but the LSWR was not in favour because Northam would be only a short distance away from the main terminus, which would become known as Southampton Terminus. Nevertheless, a site was investigated between, what is now, Mount Pleasant level crossing and the current
SWR train depot. Eventually the station was built on the south side of Northam Road bridge, not far from where the temporary terminus once stood. The new Northam station opened on 1 December 1872. It was built by a company called
Joseph Bull & Sons, The station offices on the up line to
London were made out of wood and each platform could be accessed only by steps from Northam Road bridge. Northam also had an engine shed, which was 14 tracks wide but short in length, with room for only two locomotives under cover. It opened in October 1840, but closed on 1 January 1903 when Eastleigh Railway depot was opened. With traffic booming for both Northam and Southampton Terminus in the early 1900s, the bridge crossing the line at the station was rebuilt in 1908. Only one entrance was retained, but a new footbridge connecting the platforms was provided, as well as new station buildings. Northam station closed on 5 September 1966. By the 1960s, with most traffic now going to Southampton Central, business at Northam and Southampton Terminus was in decline. Both stations were closed prior to electrification of the main line in 1967. Northam station was demolished in 1969 and no traces remain of it. However the former up line still runs through the site of the station and is used for freight trains going to the docks. The down lines which ran through Northam are now connected to the nearby
Siemens Mobility train care depot for
South Western Railway. ==Future station==