Memories of Ringwood Railway

Dorset and West Hampshire was regarded as a somewhat neglected part of the country. The area was sparsely populated and there were few industries. Travel was on foot, horseback or stagecoach and goods were carried along badly constructed roads in horse or ox drawn carts. Local solicitor Charles Castleman had offices at Fridays Cross in Ringwood and lived in the nearby St Ives Cottage (this became St Ives House, now demolished and the site of a Care Home). He was involved with toll roads and transport and saw the opportunities that the railways had brought elsewhere and approached local business interests and land owners to promote a railway to open up the area. The initial proposal was for a railway between Southampton and Dorchester bypassing Ringwood with a more direct route through Bistern. The plan also included an extension to Exeter but this never materialised.

Charles had an older brother, Edward who was a friend of William Lambert a skilled lobbyist in the political and the financial world. Edward appointed him to steer the proposal through Parliament and in July 1845 the Southampton and Dorchester Railway Act was passed. Surveyor and Civil Engineer Capt William Scarth Moorsom was appointed to develop the line. He considered it worthwhile to include Ringwood and other towns and his plan was adopted.

Charles, Edward and others including the London and South Western Railway invested capital into the S&DR. Later the L&SWR became the majority shareholder and took over the S&DR.

In 1847 – The Southampton and Dorchester Railway (S&DR) finally opened a line from Blechynden (Southampton) via stations Millbrook, Totton, Lyndhurst Road, Beaulieu Road, Brockenhurst and Christchurch Road (later named Holmesley) to Ringwood and onwards to Dorchester via Ashley Heath, West Moors, Wimborne , Broadstone, Hamworthy (for Poole) Wareham and Wool.

The line connected at Southampton to the existing London and South Western Railway (LSWR) to London (Nine Elms and later Waterloo) .

In 1862 a new separate line was opened by The Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway Company between Ringwood and Christchurch . This line was later extended into Bournemouth (East) due to the towns growing popularity.

Both of these companies were taken over by the London and South Western Railway Company which in turn was taken over by Southern Railways which was Nationalised in 1948 to become the Southern Region of British Railways.

The Southampton Dorchester line was called the Castleman’s Corkscrew because of the somewhat convoluted route taken. It is ironic that whilst named after Castleman it was Moorsom who planned the route (later modified by I K Brunel, the Commissioners of the Royal Woods and Forests and local MPs).

Great celebrations were held in Ringwood when the approval of the line was announced. The Corkscrew name was first mentioned at a celebratory dinner at the Crown Hotel in Ringwood.

The station in Ringwood was built around 1845 to serve the then new Southampton and Dorchester Railway. In 1862 it also served the line to Christchurch and by later extension, Bournemouth (East). A model of Ringwood station is on display in The Ringwood Meeting House.

The station had a ticket office, waiting room etc, W.H Smith kiosk, bicycle racks, Station Masters House – 2 platforms for up and down line and one for Christchurch line (which closed in 1935 ) and a footbridge. On site there were 2 level crossings -signals – signal box – 2 water towers to replenish steam engines – cattle yard – engine room – coal store – blacksmith shop – saw pit – ballast hole (contained gravel ballast for railway bed) – sidings for ballast, coal and other goods.

The station and ancillary buildings associated with the coal, grain and other businesses generated considerable employment. The station alone had a station Master – Superintendents and Inspectors – Signalmen and Policemen – Engine drivers and Firemen -cleaners – Platelayers – ticket office staff – time keepers , gate keepers and porters. A photograph shows a staff group of 22. Another shows a group of around 30 probably engaged in sidings work, repairs and maintenance and the ballast hole.

The station was demolished and the sidings were cleared for redevelopment when the line closed.

Reference Table

SDJR
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway

S&DR
Southampton and Dorchester Railway

L&SWR
London and Southwestern Railway

RC&BRC
Ringwood Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway Company

WS&WR
Wiltshire Somerset and Weymouth Railway

GWR
Great Western Railway

LRC
Lymington Railway Company

S&DJR
Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway

D&DJR
Salisbury and Dorset Junction Raiway

SRC
Swanage Railway Company

At the beginning trains only operated between Southampton and Dorchester on the S&D Railway (S&DR). Over time the company built local branch lines and other separate companies built lines connecting on to the S&DR. Changing trains at the connecting stations gave passengers access to a huge network around the country. Freight trains carried goods to and from many destinations with trucks being marshalled at various yards and sidings on route.

Destinations from Ringwood included:

All stations east including Brockenhurst and Holmsley to Southampton and on into London (originally Nine Elms and then Waterloo) – All stations west including Ashley Heath, West Moors, Wimborne, Broadstone, Hamworthy (for Poole) Wareham and Wool to Dorchester.

Line opened 1847 – built by the Southampton and Dorchester Railway (S&DR) from Southampton to Dorchester. The section between Brockenhurst and Poole closed 1967. Other sections remain as parts of the now electrified main London to Weymouth line.

Weymouth, Westbury, Bristol

Opened 1857 this line was built by The Wiltshire Somerset and Weymouth Railway. It connected to the S&DR line at Dorchester and gave access to trains to Bristol, Bath and Westbury and was later extended south to Weymouth. There were separate stations in Dorchester as at the time Great Western Railway (who had taken over The Wiltshire Somerset and Weymouth Railway) and LSWR (who had taken over S&DR) had different track widths. Main line still operating.

Lymington – Isle of Wight

Opened 1860 – built by Lymington Railway Company -from Brockenhurst to Lymington and later to a second station for the ferry Service to the Isle Of Wight. Line taken over by the London & South Western Railway in 1879. Still operating

Christchurch, Hurn and later Bournemouth (East)

Opened 1862 – built by The Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway, this was a separate line direct from Ringwood to Christchurch and later Bournemouth (East) – last service train 1935 – the track remained for several years before being taken up completely.

Blandford, Burnham on Sea, Bath, Bristol, West Country and North of England

Opened 1863 – built by The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway Connected at Wimborne. After 1872/1874 it routed via Broadstone and Poole to Bournemouth West and formed a notable North/South link (Closed 1966).

Salisbury via Fordingbridge, Breamore and Downton – access from Salisbury to Portsmouth, The West Country, Bristol and South Wales

Opened 1866 – built by The Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway – connected at West Moors (closed 1964).

Poole from Broadstone and later Bournemouth (West)

Opened 1872 line built from Broadstone direct to Poole – extended 1874 to Bournemouth West. Previously trains to Poole went via Hamworthy.

Swanage

Opened 1885 – built by The Swanage Railway Company from Wareham to Swanage . This was primarily to transport stone from the Purbeck quarries and to bring coal into the area. It became a popular holiday route but in 1972 the line was demolished. Enthusiasts completely rebuilt the line (2017 to present day).

There was a multitude of local and longer distance passenger and goods trains through Ringwood. The passenger trains were used for business, visiting and leisure activities. In earlier times there were 1st, 2nd and 3rd class carriages, all were hauled by steam locomotives with one ” motor train “. Passengers could cycle to Ringwood station and leave their bikes in racks on the upside platform.

One of the most used services carried students from Ringwood to Brockenhurst College (there was no 6th form at Ringwood School at the time and students had to travel to Brockenhurst to continue their education). Several Ringwood residents worked in Salisbury and would change trains at West Moors. Apparently famous film star of the day Margret Lockwood was seen on a local train. There were also “specials” to holiday destinations and days out. Many would remember the smoke from the locomotives and their distinctive whistles often used to announce an approaching or departing train.

The railway opened up opportunities for transporting goods around the country. Notable locations were London, Southampton, Poole and Weymouth for the Channel Island trade and Portland. A huge variety of good were carried – notably coal, ballast, bricks, milk , animal feed, fertiliser, grain, sugar beet and other farm produce, parcels, flowers, potatoes and grocery products. Cattle were transported in wagons and there was a yard near the Ringwood sidings for loading and unloading. At one time trucks were moved around the sidings by a large cart horse stabled in the station yard.

Some goods trains were substantial – 40 – 50 wagons. Others consisted of a variety of wagons which would be picked up and dropped off at various locations along the track and sometimes there could be a mix of passenger carriages and goods wagons. In 1910 there were fast night mail trains (ceased 1920).

In 1851, S&DR opened a short branch goods line from Totton into Eling to give access to the quay and Southampton Water and businesses concerned with the chemical, oil and petrol industry, corn, coal, stone and bone crushing. The line was often referred to as the Eling Tramway (closed 1993). It is possible that trains passing through Ringwood would have been involved with the businesses served by the Eling Tramway.

The line played an important role in the war effort. It was used to distribute supplies, munitions and military personnel. During World War I, volunteers departed from the station to join the military campaign and at one time there was a temporary prisoner of war camp in the station Yard. During World War II, Ringwood was a railhead for ambulance trains to the American hospital in St Leonards and the adjacent Minteys Yard was used by American troops.

A side line was constructed to the nearby Wellworthy factory (now demolished and land redeveloped as a trading estate) which produced piston rings for aircraft and tanks. Ringwood station received children who were evacuated from major cities to be looked after by local families. Ringwood also played host to King George VI who stayed overnight on the Royal Train.

In practice the passenger trains passing through Ringwood were operated by the London and South Western Railway. The colour of the locomotives in the Ringwood area in early days is now unknown but the company used several colours from Indian red, dark brown, umber, and light sage green with purple brown edges and white and black lining. Some of the early carriages were salmon pink and brown and others may have been dark brown and black, later they were green.

In 1922 the London and South Western Railway was amalgamated with several other train companies to become the Southern Railway. The primary colour for the carriages and the larger locomotives was a distinctive green. In 1948 the railways were Nationalised. Some locos and the carriages remained green, the locos were mainly black.

The early open and closed goods wagons were apparently painted in a variety of colours, some were pink, orange, black and later brown. Some had LSWR lettering on the sides. Trucks could have travelled significant distances on route to or through Ringwood and may have had distinctive company colours, lettering or logos.

Inevitably, the introduction of heavy machinery and engines led to some disasters. Several trains ran through the crossing gates at Ringwood including a Naval Special from Portland. When the line closed the brakes on one of the wagons collecting the sleepers failed and it and other wagons ran out of control through three sets of crossings before coming to rest. Luckily both incidents were without injury.

It is known that at least two people lost their lives on the line. James Hammet, a cousin of the Tolpuddle Martyr of the same name, lived Ashley, Ringwood with his wife, Elizabeth and seven children. In 1861 Elizabeth died following a railway accident at Ashley Gate level crossing whilst walking from her home to Westover Farm. In another incident, one of the ballast train gang was killed in Ringwood by a passing train.

In April 1941 a Spitfire Mk VB crashed onto the railway line at Bagnam. Mrs Ventham, who lived with her parents at 14 Bagnam Crossing heard the crash and ran along the line to warn the oncoming train. The train stopped within 15 yards of the crashed plane which undoubtedly saved the train. Mrs Ventham was awarded a small reward from Southern Railways.

Fire was always a significant danger associated with steam engines. The sparks from the locomotives caused several fires, one destroyed a row of cottages in Christchurch Road, Ringwood.

Ringwood’s heyday was relatively brief. In 1888 a new direct line from Southampton via Sway was built into Bournemouth East Station. This dramatically affected the amount of traffic on the line through Ringwood which became known as the “Old Road”. Goods trains continued and there were still ongoing passenger services to Bournemouth West. Some main line passenger trains to Weymouth used the line to avoid Bournemouth which could be congested at busy times. The new line led to the demise of the Ringwood to Christchurch and Bournemouth line in 1935 and eventually the Ringwood line in 1967.

For some time there were the two separate stations serving Bournemouth. Bournemouth East originally served the line from Ringwood via Christchurch. This was replaced by a new Bournemouth East station when the new direct line from Southampton was built – this station is the present Bournemouth Station. Bournemouth West Station served trains from Poole and beyond and those from Salisbury and from Ringwood using the ‘old road’ via Wimborne.

A loop line was later constructed, from the East station through Branksome to a section of the line into Poole bypassing Bournemouth West. This and later extensive track alterations in Poole enabled a much faster train service between London and Weymouth. The West station was retained but eventually closed in 1965 due to the closure of the “Old Road” and the Somerset and Dorset line from the north.

Nationally the railways had been in decline for some time with the advent of motor vehicles and improved roads, transport and distribution arrangements. Despite a Modernisation Plan in 1955, the Government owned system was losing millions of pounds each year which was not sustainable. In 1963 the British Railways Board, headed by Dr Richard Beeching, published ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’. Beeching’s brief was to stem the losses and overhaul the whole network as part of a National transport system. To this end he proposed to reorganise passenger and freight services and cut around 5000 miles of track and 2363 stations. In practice not all the elements were implemented but most of the designated lines and stations were closed. Ringwood, which had already been dealt a body blow with the new direct line from Southampton to Bournemouth via Sway in 1888, was an inevitable casualty of Beeching’s cuts. The final fare paying passenger train service ran on 4 May 1964 but some goods trains and a few ‘special’ passenger trains continued until 1966. The line closed completely in 1967.

Whilst much of the line from Southampton to Brockenhurst and from Hamworthy through to Dorchester remains as part of present Waterloo/Weymouth line, all of the track from Brockenhurst through Ringwood was taken up often using diesel hauled trains. Some of the scrap metal was apparently used by the Wellworthy factory to make piston rings. Some of the steam locomotives were dismantled in the scrap yard set up on the site of the Ringwood sidings.

In 1841 the population of Ringwood was around 3700 people. There is no doubt that the operation of the railway along with the coal, goods, transport, distribution and other ancillary businesses brought employment and leisure opportunities. These had significant influences on the growth and prosperity of the town.

The Castleman Trail is probably one of the most obvious legacies of the railway. Whilst some parts are not accessible to the public much of the trackway between Ringwood and Poole and around Holmsley survives and offers a broad and level cycling and walking route safe from busy traffic.

Not all of the station structures were lost. The platform roof columns are in use at Ropley Station on the Watercress Line in New Alresford. Chairs apparently used in the waiting room survived and were recently auctioned. Some the ancillary buildings also survive in situ including the Minteys Yard building, now offices, and the coal store which is now part of a garden machinery business.

The West Country Locomotive Class 34007 Wadebridge is likely to have passed through Ringwood and now resides on the Watercress Line at Alresford where it is undergoing a major overhaul. There is also a much smaller locomotive M7 0-4-4T 30053 in use on the Swanage Railway. It is quite likely to have been used on push-pull services from Brockenhurst to Ringwood. The Swanage Railway Trust has renovated a 1893 London and South Western locomotive which could have operated in the region.

A small part at the end of the original railway platform still survives outside The Railway Inn. In 2025 this will be used as part of a tableau to commemorate the railway in Ringwood.

Publications

(RMH = Ringwood Meeting House)

J.C.Cox ‘Castleman’s Corkscrew 1844-1848’ pub by City of Southampton 1975

The South Western Circular vol 7 numbers 8 &9 articles on ‘The Railway at Ringwood’ by A.W.Fry Oct 1987 & 1988. ( Ringwood Library and RMH file H11F)

Joseph Stephens ‘Castleman’s Corkscrew & other local lines’ pub by Cullabine Books 1990 (Ringwood library)

J.A.Young ‘Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railways’ pub by Bournemouth Local Studies 1988, and 2nd edition 1992. (RMH L99B(TS))

Len Tavender ‘Southampton, Ringwood Dorchester Railway Ringwood Papers no 3’ pub by Ted Baker 1995. (RMH L99B(TS) and Ringwood Library)

Philip A Brown ‘Many and Great Inconveniences – Level Crossings and Gatekeepers cottages of Southampton & Dorchester Railway’ pub by South West Circle 2003. RMH L99B(TS).

Brian Jackson ‘Castleman’s Corkscrew’ Two volumes pub by Oakwood Press 2007, 2008 . ( Ringwood Library)

Phil Grant ‘Memories of Holmsley Station and the Brockenhurst and Ringwood Railway’ pub by Phil Grant 2015 – (Ringwood Library and Ringwood Society)

Phil Grant ‘A Brief History of the Old Station Tearooms – Holmsley’ pub by Phil Grant 2021 (Ringwood Society)

Ringwood Railway Files in the Meeting House – many photos and articles about Charles Castleman, Ringwood Station, trains, railway staff etc RMH11A,B,C,D,E,F

Ringwood & Fordingbridge News – Railway Station article by Tony White (RMH) 1994

Branch Lines around Wimborne Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith items 71-83 pub by Middleton Press 1992 .(RMH file H11F)

How Hampshire got its Railway – article in Hampshire Magazine 1968 (RMH file H11F)

New Forest Watersnake – article in Hampshire Magazine by Malcolm A Harvey pub Hampshire Magazine Dec 1969 (RMH file H11F)

The LSWR In The Twentieth Century – J N Faulkner and R A Williams – ISBN 0  – 7153 – 8927 – 0

Branch Lines Around Wimborne – Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith –  Middleton Press – ISBN 0 – 0906 – 520 – 975

The Dorset Railways Remembered – The Dorset Museum Library , Dorchester

Reflections on local history/ our first railway -Castleman Corkscrew – Lymington and District Historical Society – see website

Railway tales work in progress during Covid – Westmoors Miscellany see website:
https://www.westmoorsmiscellany.co.uk/railway-tales-work-in-progress-during-covid-19-lockdown/

Contacts for further information – Acknowledgements and thanks to:

Mary Baldwin – Ringwood Society

John Hawkins – Ringwood Meeting House

Roger Burfitt – S&D MIdsommer Norton Railway

Peter Brent Russell – East Dorset Railways ( eastdorsetraiways.org )

Philip Benstead – The Railway Club of the New Forest – watchman077@icloud.com

Dorchester Museum Library