Medstead and Four Marks 39 years apart

(All copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing B&W - 24.6.1976, Colour - 18.7.2015)

FACEBOOK - BEECHING REVERSED

One of the biggest transformations - and a good one - is the Mid Hants restoration of Medstead and Four Marks station. When I visited back in 1976 it was at its lowest ebb, with the track recently lifted and the building starting to fall apart.

In fact without knowing the station's history it would be difficult to believe that the top two pictures were real!

The station has been lovingly restored and now also has a shelter on the down platform and a classic LSWR signalbox on the up platform.

This shows what can be done with determination and a long term plan and the Mid Hants is a superb example of a line that has been through the process of run down and closure, slow revival starting with industrial locos and an eventual recreation of what inspired the original preservationists. The line is also an excellent tourist attraction in itself as well as a way of reaching a number of other tourist attractions en route. The line now employs people as well, further regenerating the local rural economy.

Return to Ropley - 39 years on!

 

(All copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing 'Then' (B&W) are 24.6.1976. 'Now' (Colour) are 18.7.2015)

FACEBOOK - RAIL THING - MID HANTS RAILWAY

I was lucky enough to visit the Watercress Line on Saturday, though sadly not able to travel on it. For a change I called in at Ropley and Medstead as I've always found the two termini hard to photograph. There were no such problems at the two intermediate stations!

I last visited Ropley in June 1976, before the line was reopened, and it was in deep sleep. The station is completely transformed now, as is the area it sits in, but fortunately there's no housing development and the location is still very rural. The station has of course been totally restored and the up platform and buildings have reappeared. There's a signalbox and also a large locomotive works. All in all a very pleasant spot and still with plenty of railway atmosphere.

I was lucky enough to travel on the line in BR days a few times, and I've also been a couple of times since reopening. I still find it odd that this useful line was closed, serving the large town of Alresford and also providing an excellent alternative route when the main line is closed or blocked. I'm sure the missing link via Itchen Abbas will be rebuilt in the future and the line morph into a community line with a proper 365 day service but with plenty of heritage atmosphere and trains of course!

Mid Hants Railway website

More info (from Wikipedia)

Ropley railway station is a railway station in Ropley, Hampshire, England, which opened on 2 October 1865.

History

The station was opened by the Mid-Hants (Alton Lines) Railway (MHR) on 2 October 1865. The MHR was leased to the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in August 1880, which fully absorbed the MHR in June 1884. The LSWR amalgamated with other railways to form the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923.

The station was closed by British Rail on 5 February 1973.

Preservation

Ropley railway station was reopened by the Mid Hants Railway (Watercress Line) on 30 April 1977. It is an intermediate station on the preserved Watercress Line, which runs from Alton to New Alresford.

The main locomotive shed and workshops for the Mid Hants Railway are located just to the east of Ropley station.

The station gardens feature notable yew topiary, which has been in situ for over 100 years (an 1898 postcard shows the topiary well established).

A footbridge was added to the western end of the station in 1986. This was recovered from the closed station at North Tawton in Devon in August 1983, restored and installed by volunteers.

Footbridge

In 2012/13, a footbridge, originally located at King's Cross station in London, was dismantled and later re-erected at Ropley station for a new lease of life, above the maintenance shed, where passengers can walk over and view the works below.