Ferrocarril ligero de Bordon

El Bordon Light Railway fue una línea ferroviaria ligera de corta duración en Hampshire que conectaba el campamento militar de Bordon , así como los pueblos de Bordon y Kingsley , con la red ferroviaria nacional en Bentley , en la línea principal Farnham-Alton , a una distancia de 7,2 km (4,5 millas  ).

Tras el fin de la Guerra de los Bóers , se establecieron varios campamentos militares para alojar a los soldados que regresaban. Entre ellos destacaban el "Campamento Bordon", construido en terrenos agrícolas cerca del pueblo de Bordon, a 7,2 km al sur de la estación de Bentley, y el "Campamento Longmoor", a 7,2 km más al sur, cerca del pueblo de Whitehill. ^{[ 1 ]} Dos batallones fueron asignados a Longmoor, donde se alojaron en barracones de chapa ondulada construidos sobre terreno blando. Esto provocó quejas de los soldados y, en 1903, se decidió trasladarlos, junto con los barracones, al Campamento Bordon. Para ahorrar costes, se tendió una línea ferroviaria provisional y rudimentaria de 457  mm ( 18  pulgadas ) de ancho de vía hasta Bordon para facilitar el traslado. ^{[ 2 ]}

El aumento de la presencia militar en Bordon, junto con su proximidad a la red ferroviaria nacional en Bentley, llevó a que el 6 de octubre de 1902 se presentara una solicitud para una orden de ferrocarril ligero en virtud de la Ley de Ferrocarriles Ligeros de 1896 .Bentley and Bordon Light Railway Order 1902, authorising a standard gauge connection from Bentley to a point just west of Bordon village. The application received the backing of the War Department which saw the railway as a means of easing troop movements and bringing supplies to both camps. It was also hoped that the local communities along the line would also be able to make use of the new connection. An agreement for the line's operation was reached with the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR), the operator of the Alton line, with whom the War Department had already collaborated in the construction of the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway in 1901. Under the terms of the agreement, the LSWR would manage, work and maintain the railway, providing the engines, rolling stock and plant.^[2]

The necessary land was acquired by the LSWR with the War Department's assistance, and construction was completed within 18 months at a cost of £30,000. The work was overseen by Alfred W. Szlumper of the L&SWR.^[3] In total, 155 men using three locomotives, four tip wagons and three horses were involved.^[2] The line was officially opened on 11 December 1905 from a bay platform at Bentley station. Eight trains were run from Bentley to Bordon on weekdays, with seven return services (except for Saturday when there were eight). Two trains ran each way on Sundays.^[2]

The LSWR managed to acquire sufficient land near the village of Kingsley (3 miles to the south of Bentley) where it decided to site a station in the hope that the area would attract residential development. With fairly basic facilities, the station was only a halt and opened after the rest of the line on 7 March 1906.

In 1905 the War Department began the construction of the Longmoor Military Railway, a standard gauge line which would connect Longmoor Military Camp with the LSWR's terminus at Bordon. This itself was linked to the main Waterloo-Portsmouth line at Liss in 1942. It was possible to travel to Liss from Bordon via Oakhanger Halt on the Longmoor Railway.

The fortunes of the Bordon Light Railway were inextricably linked with those of the Army Camp that it served, so that when army traffic began to decline after the Second World War and the line became a financial liability, the decision was made to close the line to passenger services with effect from 16 September 1957, with the line remaining open to freight to meet army requirements. It might have closed completely had the Longmoor Military Railway been able to serve the Bordon Camp's requirements, but in the event the frequency of services at Liss made the exchange of heavy traffic difficult. This was still the case nine years later when it was decided nevertheless to close the Bordon line completely from 4 April 1966. The Longmoor Military Railway itself closed three years later on 31 October 1969.

Departing Bentley from the Bordon bay platform (created by extending the down platform then separated from the main line platform by iron railings), services would proceed on the main down line in the direction of Alton for 17 chains before reaching the junction for Bordon at which stood the Bentley signal box. The line to Bordon branched off to the south here, climbing up towards Kingsley of 1 in 156. After 1 mile 10 chains it reached Blacknest Road level crossing, an ungated crossing which was protected by cattle grids. The line then gradually dropped towards Kingsley Halt (2 miles 57 chains from Bentley), proceeding again over Blacknest Road level crossing, another ungated crossing with cattle grids.

Continuing towards Bordon, the line passed over several bridges (including one over Kingsley-East Worldham Road) before climbing again on 1 in 358 and then descending on 1 in 145, proceeding on a level over White Hill Road level crossing (known locally as "Marsh's Crossing") and reaching Bordon (4 miles 58 chains from Bentley).

Following the line's closure in 1966, the track was lifted later the same year. None of the stations now survive except Bentley, while the Bordon station is now buried under an industrial trading estate.^[4]

Un servicio de autobús conecta ahora Bentley con Bordon y, posteriormente, con Liss , replicando así la línea y el ferrocarril de Longmoor. Se ha planteado la posibilidad de sustituir este servicio de autobús por una línea ferroviaria, dado su alto nivel de utilización. En agosto de 2007, el concejal liberal demócrata Philip Drury, representante de Whitehill (Hogmoor), propuso la reapertura de la línea para aliviar la congestión en la transitada carretera A325, especialmente ante el probable aumento de la población local con la construcción de 5.500 viviendas tras la retirada del ejército de Bordon. La reapertura de la línea también aliviaría la presión sobre la línea Waterloo-Portsmouth y permitiría a los estudiantes locales asistir a los centros de enseñanza superior de Alton y Guildford . Debido a la remodelación de la estación de Bordon, cualquier plan debería contemplar un desvío para evitar esta zona. ^{[ 5 ]} La propuesta del concejal Drury recibió el apoyo del presidente de Whitehill Bordon Opportunity, el concejal Cowper, quien también es el líder del Consejo del Distrito de East Hampshire . ^{[ 6 ]}

En junio de 2009, la Asociación de Empresas Operadoras de Trenes (ATOC) publicó un informe ( Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network ), que propone la reapertura de la línea entre Bentley y Bordon, como uno de los 20 proyectos que se recomiendan para una consulta posterior. ^{[ 7 ]} 14 de estos son reaperturas de líneas cerradas en los recortes de Beeching.

• Historia de la línea y de la estación de Bordon

51°7′23.35″N 0°52′7.06″W / 51.1231528°N 0.8686278°W / 51.1231528; -0.8686278