History
The railway line between Netley and Fareham was built by the London and South Western Railway; it was authorised on 20 August 1883, construction began in April 1886, and the line was opened on 2 September 1889. Swanwick was one of two intermediate stations originally provided, but unlike its neighbour Bursledon, it was provided with a crossing loop so that two trains could pass each other on the single-track route. The local area's strawberry industry provided up to 7,000 tons each year in the late 1800s. During the harvest, Swanwick Station became one of the busiest in the country with "Strawberry Specials" heading to Covent Garden and across the country. Long platforms were constructed to accommodate the trains.
After the Second World War, the station was mainly used for passenger services due to the expansion of the fruit importing from Spain and South America. The availability of large aircraft, which had been used as bombers during the second world war, made the importing of higher quality strawberries more profitable.
Read more about this topic: Swanwick Railway Station
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