Butts Junction

Basingstoke &
Alton Light Railway
South West Main Line
to Waterloo
 Basingstoke
South West Main Line
to Weymouth
Thornycroft sidings
Viables level crossing
 Cliddesden
Bushywarren Lane crossing
Bagmore Lane crossing
 Herriard
Salter Hatch crossing (Spain Lane)
 Bentworth and Lasham
level crossing
 Treloar's Hospital Platform (private)
Treloar's Hospital siding
Alton line
to Brookwood
 Alton
Butts Junction
Watercress Line
to Alresford
Watercress Line
Meon Valley Railway
to Fareham

Butts Junction was a railway junction located in Alton in Hampshire, England. The junction was the location at which the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway[1] and the Meon Valley Railway[2] diverged from the Mid-Hants Railway which runs from Alton to Winchester. The junction became operational in 1901.[3]

All of the Junction's railway lines had closed by 1973, with the Mid-Hants Railway subsequently reopening as a heritage railway known as the Watercress Line in 1977.[4] The location of Butts Junction can still be seen from trains on the Watercress Line, with an embankment tailing off in a different direction.

Location

Butts Junction was located at grid reference SU711384[5] in an area southwest of Alton town centre[6] known as The Butts, from which the junction takes its name. The Butts is a triangle of open land which in medieval times was used for archery practice,[7] leading to its name in reference to the archery butts formerly located at the site.[8][9] Butts Junction was just 20 chains (0.25 miles, 0.40 km) from the former Treloar's Hospital Platform railway station,[10][11] and 1.05 miles (1.69 km) to Alton railway station[12] located northeast of the junction. The railway crosses Butts Road at the junction over a bridge which was replaced with the opening of the line to Basingstoke.[13]

The junction was home to an LSWR type 4 signal box which was built on the site in June 1903.[14]

References
  1. Dean, Martin; Robertson, Kevin; Simmonds, Roger (2003). The Basingstoke & Alton Light Railway. Southampton: Barton. pp. 9 & 10. ISBN 0-9545617-0-8. OCLC 53030800.
  2. Patmore, John (1982). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Southern England.
  3. Course, Edwin (1976). The Railways of Southern England. Batsford. ISBN 0713431962.
  4. Butcher, Alan (1996). Mid-Hants Railway in colour. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2465-0.
  5. "Butts Junction". Old Hampshire Gazetteer. 2001. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  6. Grant, Donald (28 September 2017). Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain. Troubador Publishing Limited. p. 34. ISBN 978-1788037686.
  7. "The Butts, Alton". Alton Events. Alton Town Council. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  8. "More About Alton, Hampshire". River Wey and Wey Navigation. 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  9. "The Butts Church". Alton, Hampshire. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  10. Quick, Michael (September 2022). Railway Passenger Stations in England, Wales and Scotland: A Chronology (PDF) (version 5.04 ed.). The Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 50.
  11. Maggs, Colin (15 January 2016). Maggs's Railway Curiosities. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445652665.
  12. Benn, Don (2017). Biography of British Train Travel. Pen & Sword Transport. p. 238. ISBN 978-1473858442.
  13. "Basingstoke & Alton Light Railway". Friends of Alton Station. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  14. "Butts Junction". The Signalling Record Society. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2023.


51.140367°N 0.982847°W / 51.140367; -0.982847

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