|
Title: Berks and Hants - Why? Post by: grahame on March 08, 2010, 17:47:56 The line from Reading via Newbury and Hungerford is known as the "Berks and Hants" ... yet it doesn't go into Hampshire as far as I can tell (i think it's about 4 miles off). How did it get the "Berks and Hants" name, then - was it originally intended to run a bit further south?
Title: Re: Berks and Hants - Why? Post by: Chris from Nailsea on March 08, 2010, 18:07:55 Wikipedia has an explanation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berks_and_Hants_Railway):
Quote The Berks and Hants Railway consisted of two railway lines built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in an attempt to keep the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) out of the area that it considered to be its territory in England. The two lines were from Reading, Berkshire ("Berks"), the longer one to Hungerford in the same county, and the other to Basingstoke, Hampshire ("Hants"). A later Berks and Hants Extension Railway continued the Hungerford line to Devizes, Wiltshire. In more recent times the term "Berks and Hants" has been used to the whole line from Reading to Cogload Junction which does not run through Hampshire at all but includes part of the old Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway and the newer Castle Cary Cut-Off. Title: Re: Berks and Hants - Why? Post by: inspector_blakey on March 08, 2010, 18:50:07 And for a bonus mark, why on earth was the Reading - Hungerford section of the Berks and Hants referred to as the "Toot and bunny" back in the days of steam (no, I have no idea either)?
Title: Re: Berks and Hants - Why? Post by: moonrakerz on March 08, 2010, 21:26:49 (\_/) (='.'=) (")_(") Here's the bunny ! Title: Re: Berks and Hants - Why? Post by: grahame on March 08, 2010, 21:45:40 Ah - so it was *both* lines through Reading West ... the penny starts to drop. Thanks.
Title: Re: Berks and Hants - Why? Post by: Zoe on March 24, 2010, 14:41:45 In terms of engineer's line references only the section from Southcote Junction to about 2 miles west of Woodborough is Berks and Hants Line (BHL), from there you are then onto Stert and Westbury Line (SWY) to Westbury, then Weymouth Line (WEY) to Castle Cary, joining Frome Avoiding Line (FRA) to avoid going through Frome. At Castle Cary you are then onto Castle Cary and Langport Line (CCL) before rejoining the GWML (MLN) at Cogload Junction.
This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |