The Ludgershall branch in the diesel era
In the first of a series of features David Lindsell charts the history of the Ludgershall branch, beginning with its use by MOD traffic.
The former Midland and South Western Junction Railway between Andover Junction and Cheltenham closed to through traffic in September 1961, leaving several short branches at Swindon, Marlborough and Andover. This article specifically concerns the seven-anda-half-mile branch the majority of which, at the southern end, is in the County of Hampshire although the village of Ludgershall itself is in Wiltshire.
History
The Tidworth branch from Ludgershall had already been closed to passengers and public goods in 1955, but Ministry of Defence traffic was maintained until the end of July 1963. A short stub of the branch still remains at the Ludgershall end. Ludgershall yard closed to public goods in March 1964, leaving just the Ministry of Defence traffic. This survives to this day, albeit to a lesser extent than in the past, when it served two depots,; a central vehicle maintenance depot and a defence medical equipment depot, both of which have now closed.
The two depots originated in 1939, at the start of World War Two, when a mobilisation depot and workshops for the manufacture and repair of vehicles were built for the army on a site south of the Tidworth Road. In 1943/44, the United States Army and Navy prepared vehicles there for the invasion of Europe in June 1944. Rail access to the vehicle depot was via a junction, known as Perham Junction, on the stub of the former Tidworth branch, and then over a gated level crossing across the A3026, Tidworth Road. This armoured vehicle storage depot remained in use after the war, but following a government review it was closed at the end of March 1997. The work was transferred to the Ministry of Defence, at Ashchurch in Gloucestershire, which is now the United Kingdom’s primary vehicle storage and distribution site and is rail connected. Also in 1939, the War Office transferred the army medical stores to Ludgershall, which from 1969 became the defence medical equipment depot. The depot was rebuilt between 1971 and 1982 to modern standards but closed in 2005.
Both depots have since been totally demolished and army housing has been built on the site of the vehicle depot with more housing proposed for the medical depot site commencing in summer 2021. A third military facility existed on the branch in Weyhill Station Yard, which was the railhead for RAF Andover, the airfield that existed about a mile to the south of the station until 1977. The yard itself had closed to public goods on December 1, 1969, but apparently remained open for military traffic well into the 1970s. The run-round loop was still in existence in 1988 but secured out of use.
Description of the line
The junction proper was at Andover Junction Station, which was later just Andover after the closure of the Romsey line in 1964, and it was controlled by Andover B Signal Box. The line then ran parallel with the West of England main line for two miles until forking north-west at the site of Red Post Junction, where a signal box and wartime connection had existed with the main line from 1943. The signal box was closed in September, 1963 and the connection was out of use by August, 1960 when the line to Ludgershall was singled, but the junction points were not removed until October 1966. A further two miles towards Ludgershall is the site of Weyhill Station where the station house still exists. A run-round loop still exists at the station site and the network rail branch proper finishes at double metal gates situated on the north side of the rebuilt A3026, Tidworth Road overbridge.
In later years, control of the branch changed with the abolition of the signal boxes at Andover in December 1973 when a new ten-lever ground frame was provided nearby, which had gained a roof in the intervening years. The frame was mostly removed in July, 2007 when control was passed to the Basingstoke Signalling Control Centre and a small one lever ground frame was provided just to control access to the branch itself at its junction with Andover Yard. The branch has a speed limit of 25mph and is worked on a one-train-only basis.
Workings
Trains serving the branch over the years have come from several freight centres, namely, Basingstoke, Eastleigh, Salisbury, Woking and Didcot. Initially services ran using the British Rail Speedlink wagonload network, which ended in 1991 and was followed by Railfreight Distribution (RFD). However, on February 24, 1996, the three British Rail trainload freight companies were acquired by English, Welsh and Scottish Railways (EWS). This company was then sold to Deutsche Bahn (DB CARGO UK) on November 13, 2007 and the rebranding as DB Schenker occurred on January 1, 2009. Finally, the MOD rail contract was awarded to GB Railfreight with effect from April 1, 2017 and it currently still provides the services.
The freight working timetable (WTT) for 1968 lists a daily train Monday to Fridays (code 4E) departing Andover at 0900, Ludgershall at 0925 to 1030, calling at Weyhill between 1045 and 1130 and arriving back at Andover at 1145. I understand that the train originated at Basingstoke and would have conveyed other freight to and from Andover and, indeed, possibly Weyhill.
The WTT for May 1970 confirms that the daily freight originated in Basingstoke in the following manner. The 0620 Basingstoke 8L81 arrived at Andover at 0658 and continued at 0910 as the 8L85 to Ludgershall, arriving there at 0928. It left at 1005 as the (8L86) and arrived back Andover at 1023. It was not due to leave Andover until 1500, as the 8L84, and, after calling at Overton from 1525 to 1610, reached Basingstoke at 1623. In practice there was probably no traffic for Overton therefore the return would have run much earlier.
The October, 1972 to May 1973 edition of the WTT is now regional. The (8L81) was unchanged, as was the 8L85, except that it now reached Ludgershall at 0931. It still left at 1005 but was then due to be at Weyhill from 1017
to 1042 and reach Andover at 1055. The 8L84, now coded 3E, was the 1325 from Andover reaching Basingstoke at 1402.
It is known that in 1978/79 Ludgershall traffic combined with other Andover freight from Basingstoke, departing at 0650, Ludgershall at 0930 to 1030 and returning to Basingstoke at 1200.
We now head to the WTT for May 1982 to May 1983, which shows that the 6L63 still came from Basingstoke Down Yard but departed at 0815, arriving in Andover at 0847. It then departed as the 6L67 at 0925 for Ludgershall, arriving there at 0946. The return was the 6L72 at 1020, which reached Andover at 1041. The 6L73 left Andover at 1111 and reached
Basingstoke Up Yard at 1144.
The WTT covering September 1985 to May 1986 details the 6L60 departing Salisbury at 0800 Mondays to Fridays, arriving in Andover at 0830 and departing for Ludgershall at 0920, arriving there at 0941. The return working was the 6L65, which departed Ludgershall at 1019, arrived at Andover at 1040 and finally departed for Salisbury at 1156.
The WTT from September 1991 to May 1992 details the 6Y09 company train departing from Eastleigh East Yard at 0716 and arriving Andover at 0819. It departed for Ludgershall at 0837 and arrived there at 0857. The return working, the 6L09, departed Ludgershall at 0922 with arrival at Andover at 0942 and departure for Salisbury at 1020. The WTT for May to September 1995 included the 6O19 0658, Didcot to Ludgershall, calling at Andover from 0822 to 0828, and Ludgershall at 0848, returning as the 6V39 0918 Ludgershall to
Didcot, which departed Andover at 0940.
The Freightmaster publication for Summer and Autumn, 2000 notes a 1005 Eastleigh to Ludgershall (6Y20) returning as the 6Y21 1240 Ludgershall to Eastleigh. The same publication for July to September, 2011 shows the Ludgershall freight as an occasional service from Didcot. The current working timetable has paths that show trains running as required from Kineton or Bicester (6044), arriving Andover at 1014 and Ludgershall at 1048. The return 6V48 working is timed to depart from Ludgershall at 1150, arriving at Andover at 1217 and departing west via Salisbury at 1326. Sometimes, where there is no return traffic, the light engine returns to Eastleigh as the 0Z44.
For services originating from Eastleigh via the Laverstock Loop or Salisbury there was a requirement to carry out a run-round of a loaded train in Andover Yard and, sometimes, if a long set of bogie wagons were involved, the train would have to be split in two to complete the manoeuvre. Alternatively, there was a long loop adjacent to the down main line that could be used to run round long MOD trains, and one such ran on May 22, 1992. When the loaded workings came from Basingstoke or Didcot, an incoming load after reversal in Andover’s Platform 1 could proceed almost immediately up the branch after a shunter had been collected. Likewise on the return, once clearance to access the main line had been given by Basingstoke Control.
Shunters to work the trains mainly came from Salisbury and Eastleigh by road transport. If the local enthusiast saw a shunters van, then they knew a train was imminent! Very occasionally a light engine would arrive but no shunter was available, so it was either sent onward or shunted into the yard by station staff to await further instructions. It sometimes returned a day or two later to work the train allocated.
Mishaps and failures
At an unknown date, possibly in the early 1990’s, 47145 Merddin Emrys derailed on the point between the yard and the branch while running around a train. On August 11, 1992, 37235 ran into the side of its train with one VGA wagon, crushing the ground frame in the process. A breakdown crane from Eastleigh had to attend to right the wagon. On November 9, 1998, 47284 failed while returning light engine towards Andover, expiring near the old Isolation Hospital at Weyhill. It was not rescued
until the 11th and then by 58043, which had brought 19 empty wagons up from Eastleigh. The 58 ran up the branch to rescue the 47 and deposit the loco in the Andover Yard so that it could take the empty wagons to Ludgershall. The pair then left towards Salisbury, and presumably Eastleigh, after a run-round in Andover Yard.
At 1410 on July 24, 2012, the rear bogie of 73201 Broadlands derailed, along with one bogie of the leading four coach SERCO train, on the points leading on to the branch. No London-bound trains could pass the scene until the rear loco, 73107 Redhill 1844-1944, and two coaches were removed at 1730.
Motive power
Locomotives known to have worked on the line since steam days included examples from Classes 33, 37, 47, 58, 66 and 73. In addition, I have photographic evidence that a Class 31, 31178, appeared on a short train in the 1980s. Also, Class 50 50030 Repulse in large logo livery put in an appearance between September 1983 and January, 1988. The long train of bogey flats and vans also included three grain wagons from Andover Yard. It is thought that Class 50 50002 Superb also worked on the line at some time. These locos may have been spare at Salisbury when no other class was available.
The ubiquitous Class 33s were most common prior to 1998, including some workings by 33/1s, but on November 27, 1982 33116, named Comet, was noted working a train of military vehicles. There then followed a period when Class 73s took over, working mostly from Woking Yard, with some Class 47s beginning to appear in 1998. From 1990 to 1994 the trains were almost exclusively worked by Class 47s, with the occasional Class 37 employed from Salisbury.
From 1995 to 1999, services were again mostly Class 47 worked, but in this instance from Didcot. However, on November 11, 1998 the first Class 58 working was recorded (58043). This class dominated the workings during 2001. From 1999 the Class 66 began to appear and, apart from 2001, mentioned above, they now dominate the Ludgershall branch freight diagrams. To finish this section, mention must be made of some movements in 2004 when, apart from Classes 37, 47 and 66, 60013 appeared on February 3 and 67004 on the 24th. Class 67s have occasionally appeared since, with some six sightings recorded.
The future
The branch track work was repaired in 2018 and this year a new run-round loop is due to be provided between the Mylen Road and Weyhill Road overbridges, to allow part of the Andover Yard to be sold off for housing. This loop is to be laid using the route of the existing siding, with a new point installed at the Weyhill Road end.
"The Tidworth branch from Ludgershall had already been closed to passengers and public goods in 1955, but Ministry of Defence traffic was maintained until the end of July 1963."