The Amesbury and Military Camp Light Railway (also known as the Bulford Camp Railway) was a branch line in Wiltshire, England, constructed under a

light railway order The Light Railways Act 1896 ( 59 & 60 Vict. c. 48) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. History Before the act each new railway line built in the country required a specific act of Parliament to ...

, the Amesbury and Military Camp Light Railway Order 1898, dated 24 September 1898. It was opened for military traffic from

Amesbury Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settl ...

to the east-facing Newton Tony Junction (on the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...

main line from

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, part of the

West of England line The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a British railway line from , Hampshire, to in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter; the line intersects with the Wessex Ma ...

) on 1 October 1901. A west-facing junction, Amesbury Junction, where the branch burrowed under the main line, opened on 2 June 1902. The line closed in 1963.

Previous proposals

Although the line did not open until the early 1900s, various other proposals had been put forward, but none had succeeded in being built. Before the Bulford Camp branch opened, all nearby railway routes had skirted

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...

, but none led through it.Harding, Peter. ''The Bulford Branch Line''. Binfield Printers, 1991, pp.4-5

Bristol and London & South Western Junction Railway

This was a proposal by the

(LSWR) which was designed, essentially, to poach traffic from the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

. A bill was deposited in Parliament in November 1882, for a line to branch away from the between

and

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

at a point around two miles west of

Grateley railway station Grateley railway station serves the village of Grateley, Hampshire, England, and the surrounding countryside. It is down the line from . It is operated by South Western Railway. The station opened on 1 May 1857. It was built southwest of Gra ...

. It would cross the plain via Amesbury and

Shrewton Shrewton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, around west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. It lies on the A360 road between Stonehenge and Tilshead. It is close to the source of ...

to Westbury and then on to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

via either the

Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR, also known as the S&D, S&DR or SDJR), was an English railway line Joint railway, jointly owned by the Midland Railway (MR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) that grew to connect Bat ...

or the

North Somerset Railway The Bristol and North Somerset Railway was a railway line in the West of England that connected Bristol with Radstock, through Pensford and further into northern Somerset, to allow access to the Somerset Coalfield. The line ran almost due so ...

. The Great Western Railway was bitterly opposed to this plan and succeeded in defeating it in 1883.

Pewsey and Salisbury Railway

Having defeated the scheme of the , the Great Western Railway then put forward a scheme of its own. This proposed a route from

Pewsey railway station Pewsey railway station serves the large village of Pewsey in the county of Wiltshire, England. The station is on the Berks and Hants line, measured from the zero point at , and served by intercity trains operated by Great Western Railway betw ...

on their main line, leading south over the Plain and then onward to Southampton. However, Southampton was considered to be within territory, and the encroachment was opposed in much the same way as the had been. Although a section between Pewsey and Salisbury was authorised on 16 January 1883, this was never built.

Light railways

No more schemes were proposed until the passing of the

Light Railways Act 1896 The Light Railways Act 1896 ( 59 & 60 Vict. c. 48) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. History Before the act each new railway line built in the country required a specific act of Parliament to ...

( 59 & 60 Vict. c. 48). The Great Western Railway swiftly saw the advantages of this approach and proposed a route which was very similar to their failed scheme of 1883. This light railway was to run up the Avon valley from

Bemerton Bemerton, once a rural hamlet and later a civil parish to the west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, is now a suburb of that city. Modern-day Bemerton has areas known as Bemerton Heath, Bemerton Village and Lower Bemerton. History In 1086, th ...

(near Salisbury) to Amesbury via Stratford, Woodford, Durnford and Wilsford. From Amesbury, the line was to continue to follow the Avon upstream to

Pewsey Pewsey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and i ...

via Durrington, Netheravon, Upavon and Manningford. The line was authorised on 6 August 1898. In the meantime, the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

had been purchasing large areas of Salisbury Plain, and had already commenced negotiations with the for a light railway, very like the 1882 scheme. This would run from Grateley station and over the Plain, via

Newton Tony Newton Tony (formerly Newton Toney) is a rural English village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, close to the border with Hampshire. Situated in the River Bourne, Wiltshire, Bourne Valley, Newton Tony is abo ...

and Amesbury, to a terminus just east of Shrewton, making the line 10 miles and 62 chains long. It was intended to serve both the new military camps and the agricultural community. This line was authorised as the ''Amesbury & Military Camp Light Railway''. Of the two proposals, this scheme won out because the Great Western Railway's proposal involved crossing over four miles of land owned by the

, which was supporting the .

Construction

The awarded the contract for the railway to

Joseph Firbank Joseph Firbank (c. 1819 – 29 June 1886) was an English railway contractor. Early life Joseph Firbank was born at Bishop Auckland in about 1819, the son of a Durham miner. At the age of seven he was sent to work in a colliery, but he attended a ...

, who was already involved with other work in the area, principally the

Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway The Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway was opened in 1901, by the London and South Western Railway. It was the first English railway authorised under Light Railway legislation. It ran through unpromising, lightly populated terrain, and was pro ...

. He is also believed to have been the contractor who worked on the

Charnwood Forest Railway The Charnwood Forest Railway was a branch line in Leicestershire constructed by the Charnwood Forest Company between 1881 and 1883. The branch line ran from Coalville (joined from the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway (ANJR)) to the town of Lou ...

. Although the line was officially a

light railway A light railway is a Rail transport, railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more Grade (slope), steep gradients and Minimum railway curve radius, tight curves to ...

, it was built to far more substantial standards, with heavy engineering works required. The way was laid with steel bullhead rails weighing 87lbs (heavier than some ordinary railways) and land had been obtained for double tracks, which was unusual for a light railway. In the event, the track ''was'' doubled.

Opening

The line opened to goods on 26 April 1902 and passenger traffic commenced on 2 June 1902. From the outset, the line was worked by the L&SWR. When passenger services commenced, the first train to arrive at Amesbury brought the newspapers announcing the end of the

South African War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

Operation

Traffic consisted of six passenger trains and one goods train per day. The line was extended to

Bulford Bulford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England, near Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington, Wiltshire, Durrington and about north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is sep ...

on 1 June 1906 and, at some stage, under the Amesbury and Military Camp Light Railway (Bulford Extension) Order 1903, to

Bulford Camp Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about north-east of the town of Amesb ...

World War I extensions

Further extensions were constructed during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, consisting of lines from Amesbury to Larkhill Military Camp, and then westward to Rollestone Camp where there was a

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

school. A further extension was added south-east from

Rollestone Rollestone is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Shrewton, on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, England. It is near the River Till. Its nearest town is Amesbury, about away to the east. In 1931 the parish had a popula ...

to Fargo, where there was a military hospital; this line then dividing with one branch going south to

Druid's Lodge Woodford is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in southern-central Wiltshire, England, on the west bank of the River Avon, Hampshire, Salisbury Avon, about north of Salisbury. Its settlements are the villages of Lower Woodford, Middle W ...

and one to

Stonehenge Aerodrome Stonehenge Aerodrome or Stonehenge Airfield was a short-lived military airfield of the Royal Flying Corps on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, in use from 1917 to 1921. It was built around south-west of Stonehenge on the site of existing co ...

Aircraft hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s existed at both these locations. These extensions were operated by the R.O.D. (

Railway Operating Division The Railway Operating Division (ROD) was a division of the Royal Engineers formed in 1915 to operate railways in the many theatres of the First World War. It was largely composed of railway employees and operated both standard gauge and narrow ...

) of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

and they remained in use until about 1923.

Closure

The stations closed in 1952 along with Amesbury junction. The branch as a whole (including Newton Tony junction) ceased goods traffic in 1963. Part of its route became the Winterbourne Downs nature reserve, owned by the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

. Although there has been significant development in the region since the closure, it is still possible to trace the original route that the railway took from aerial photographs. In many places, the railway trackbed now forms footpaths and bridlepaths, and elsewhere it is possible to identify the route in agricultural fields. The platform at Sling Camp remains in undergrowth behind a building housing the Sling borehole on Tidworth Road. An old railway signal can be found in Bulford, at the junction between Double Hedges and Newmans Way.

References

Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in ...

Feb 1963 p149 and April 1963 p284 (the latter from L.C.Stewart)

External links

Google map showing basic track layout
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amesbury And Military Camp Light Railway Amesbury Closed railway lines in South West England Pre-grouping British railway companies Rail transport in Wiltshire Railway lines opened in 1901 Military railways in the United Kingdom