Winchester

Winchester Station was opened on 10 June 1839 by the ‘London andSouthampton Railway Company’ (the company name later changing to the ‘London & South Western Railway’).

Trains initially only ran between Winchester and Southampton Terminus station until the section of line north to Basingstoke was completed in May 1840. The station was called ‘Winchester City’ between 1949 and 1967 to avoid confusion with ‘Winchester Chesil’ which was located at the foot of St. Giles Hill.

The former goods shed which closed in 1969 still stands behind platform 1. There were sidings for goods traffic on both sides of the line. The ‘Baltic Siding’, under Andover Road bridge, was built in 1918 with a long platform specifically for use by troops based in camps in and around the city. This siding remains in use to avoid passenger trains starting or finishing their journey at Winchester having to wait on the main line. Today, Winchester is a busy station used by commuters, students and tourists.