The South West Main Line From Eastleigh to Bournemouth

The South West Main Line from London to Weymouth was built by the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) in stages. Eastleigh, on the line from London to Southampton, was reached in 1839. Bournemouth was still a village at the time and it was not until 1870 that Bournemouth was first reached, with further stations nearer the centre of the fast-growing resort being built in the 1870s and 1880s. Bournemouth rapidly became a major destination, with famous trains such as the 'Bournemouth Belle'. Over the years the line has seen changes of ownership from the LSWR, to the Southern Railway in the 1923 Grouping, British Railways after Nationalisation in 1948, until privatisation in the 1990s. During this time rolling stock changed markedly too, from steam to modern traction, the line electrified, stations closed and infrastructure and signalling steadily modernised.

This photographic survey of the South West Main Line from Eastleigh, site of a major junction, to Bournemouth, with photographs and other illustrations from the early days of the line under London & South Western Railway ownership to Network SouthEast and the end of BR, will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of railways in this area and in the changes in Britain’s railways in general over the years.