Langston was a small station on the

Hayling Island branch The Hayling Island branch was a short railway branch line in Hampshire, England, that connected a station on Hayling Island with the main line network at Havant. It was built by the Hayling Railway; at first the company planned to run it along ...

. The station along with the rest of the line closed in 1963, and it served the Langstone area of

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England. Nearby places include Portsmouth to the south-west, Southampton to the west, Waterlooville to north, Chichester to the east and Hayling Island to the south. The wider borough ...

, a former village which had become contiguous with the larger town to its north. The railway companies always used the old spelling "Langston" for the station, in spite of this form not being used by the local community, and it can be seen in many photographs of the station sign. The line itself crossed the sole road on and off

Hayling Island Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth. History An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island, later developed into a Roman temple in the 1st cent ...

, which is now the A3023, with a gated level crossing and wooden platform (upgraded to concrete in 1950). This would cause huge traffic jams during peak hours, especially in summer, since the Island had the closest sandy beach to Portsmouth, and trains ran every fifteen minutes at peak times. The station had no freight facilities (neither did North Hayling, the other intermediate station), however in the Victorian period, there was a slipway for a

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry Railroad car, railway vehicles, as well as their cargoes and passengers. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with Track (rail transport), railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the f ...

to the Isle of Wight immediately south of Langston station. The ferry ran to

Bembridge Bembridge is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to the implausible claim by so ...

, where there was also a railway station, this being prior to the construction of the pier stations at

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a / biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it ...

and Ryde Pier Head by the

LSWR 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, Exeter ...

to create a direct rail-ferry link for the Island. The station structure has since been demolished, but one can still walk the route up to

Havant station Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England. Nearby places include Portsmouth to the south-west, Southampton to the west, Waterlooville to north, Chichester to the east and Hayling Island to the south. The wider borough c ...

. The stationmaster's house was destroyed by fire in December 2018.

Notes

External links

Langston station on navigable 1946 O. S. map
{{Closed stations Hampshire Former London, Brighton and South Coast Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1963 Disused railway stations in Hampshire