Eastleigh from Railway Junction to Railway Centre
After an enforced gap of two years, caused by obvious circumstances beyond our control. we were back at Didcot to welcome local member Gordon Adams, He had done a series of talks on the railways of his home city of Southampton. but this time Gordon moved a few miles up the line to the junction and railway town of Eastleigh.
The first train passed through what is now Eastleigh in1839 the year before the line opened between London and Southampton. The nearest village being Bishopstoke and passed through a rural area between Winchester and Southampton, (How different the area is now!) It soon acquired the status of a junction. with a branch to Gosport in 1841 and Romsey via Chandlers Ford in 1847. The LSWR were not allowed to enter the city of Portsmouth, so passengers had to go to Gosport and catch a ferry. The station was completed as part of the Gosport Branch in 1841 and named Bishopstoke which was changed to Bishopstoke Junction in 1852.
A local author Charlotte Yonge was given the honour of naming the area growing up near the Railway Station following a large donation to build a Church in 1868. She chose the name Eastleigh for the area consisting of two hamlets Eastley and Barton. Following this the Station was renamed Eastleigh and Bishopstoke in 1889 and finally Eastleigh in 1923.
Railway development started in 1891 when the Carriage and Wagon Works was opened to replace the one at Nine Elms and many workers and their families moved to Eastleigh. The locomotive works followed in 1910 with a further influx of London families. Following the 1962 review of Railway Workshops and the phaseout of Steam Locos, carriage repair was move to the Loco Works in 1968. Changes in rolling stock meant that the Works was closed in 2004 by the then owners Alstom. Since then, first by Knights Rail Services and then by Arlington Fleet Services Eastleigh Works has been developed to carry out a variety of Maintenance activities for a number of Railway Operating Companies.
The final part of the presentation looked at the Running Shed opened in 2003 to replace the one at Northam and a small one at Eastleigh. Although the shed was demolished at the end of Steam in 1967, a diesel maintenance shed still exists on the site. Fortunately, the area of the old steam shed was retained and this is currently being used to house the new 701 EMU’s while they are carrying out testing on the main line.