The Basingstoke Canal Railway

INTRODUCTION - an overview Vehicular access to any waterway is both a practical and financial problem. This was evident when volunteers started dredging at Colt Hill in 1975. Heavy lorries could neither reach the canal-side nor could the Canal Society contemplate the cost of removing silt by road transport.   The solution, conceived by Stan Meller and John Peart, was to lay a narrow gauge railway along the towpath at Swan Bridge for skips to be manhandled alongside the dredger, filled with silt, and tipped on an adjacent site. As the dredger progressed westwards the railway line was extended, sidings added and a 1939 Hudson Hunslet 22hp diesel locomotive was introduced to relieve aching backs. Now with 800ft of track, an 8-skip train could carry a load of 10 tons to the dump site.

When barges, tugs and a dragline crane were introduced, the railway became redundant and was moved to Deepcut to carry construction materials to the equally inaccessible flight of 14 locks. The line was laid from Lock 25 and ran for a continuous length of just over 1 1/2 miles along the towpath between Locks 22 and 28 during the height of its operation. The railway caried some 7,000 tons of bricks, sand and other building materials.   A somewhat 'Heath Robinson' ('Mickey Mouse' for American readers) layout was devised with the line running on a makeshift pier over the dump-site some 20 yards from the dredging area. With oozing black mud everywhere, the railway proved to be a practical method of moving the silt. Although short-lived, the 'Deepcut Railway' has names etched into legend - 'Berrylands Sidings'; 'B.R. Straight' (where the line was parallel to the Londosn-Southampton main line, evoking a 'toot' from BR electrics as they passed); 'Cripps Corner' and 'Caseley Curve' are names with canal associations; 'Southampton Sidings' laid by Peter Oates and the Southampton Canal Society; 'County Bridge' at Lock 28, and 'Guards Loop' by the swimming pool at Lock 22. The main place served by the railway was 'Jonesville Mark I' between Locks 26 and 27, a hutted settlement used by the 30-odd JCP workers and very akin to a cowboy outfit of the Wild West..... The railway was run principally by the Railway Group, a small collection of enthusiasts comprising the Pearts and the Mellers, the two Collins - Raeburn and Hamilton - and Geoff Helliwell. During 1977 and 1978 the Group manned the railway every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year. In 1980 the railway, line stock and engine were transferred to Ash Embankment. It was laid almost the full length of the 1,000-yard long embankment and used to transport 14,000 tons of clay needed to re-puddle the water channel. The Hunslet locomotive was supplemented by two engines loaned to the Society - a 15hp Ruston-Hornsby, and a more powerful 30hp Motor Rail Simplex built in 1960.   (based on text by Dieter Jebens) NEXT - Colt Hill BACK

Last updated February 2000