History
A railway was originally proposed in 1843 as a link between Basingstoke, Newbury and Didcot by the London and South Western Railway. A new company, the Berks and Hants Railway had the idea of building the link between Basingstoke and Reading. The Berks and Hants Railway joined the Great Western Railway before the track was laid.
The railway was built by the GWR, with the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who used broad gauge, from Reading's railway station to Basingstoke. Since the main line at Basingstoke used standard gauge, it was impossible for the railways to share the same station. The GWR built a small station to the north of the L&SWR's station.
In 1846, prior to the line being built, the Gauge Commissioners (Regulation of Gauge Act) recommended to Parliament that the line from Reading to Basingstoke should be built to standard gauge. In 1854 the Great Western was ordered to convert the railway to standard gauge between Reading and Basingstoke by 7 February 1856, or face a fine of £200 each day. However, it was not until 22 December 1856 that a mixed gauge track was opened. Basingstoke kept its separate Great Western station until 1 January 1932 when trains were diverted into the L&SWR station with addition of one platform, still in use today, from the old station.
In 1895, a railway station was opened at Bramley, then in 1917, a large depot was opened at Bramley Ordnance Depot, which had a complex network of sidings. The depot was used to manufacture and store ammunition, and lasted until 1987. Another station was opened at Reading West, and allowed long-distance trains to call at Reading without the need to reverse at Reading's main station. This became less of an issue when diesel multiple unit trains were introduced, which could easily reverse at Reading General.
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The northern terminus at Reading
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The station at Mortimer, looking towards Basingstoke
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Looking towards Basingstoke - Bramley Station
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The southern end station at Basingstoke
Read more about this topic: Reading To Basingstoke Line
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