Farlington Halt railway station

Farlington Halt railway station was a disused station between Bedhampton and Hilsea, located immediately to the west of Farlington Junction on the Portsmouth Direct Line railway.^[1]

Farlington Halt
General information
Location	Drayton, City of Portsmouth England
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Opened	26 June 1891; 133 years ago (1891-06-26)
Closed	4 July 1937; 87 years ago (1937-07-04)
Original company	London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Pre-grouping	London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway

The location of the disused Farlington station. (Note: the other disused station: Havant New, labelled here as Denvilles)

The station was originally built to serve Portsmouth Park racecourse, opening as Farlington Race Course on 26 June 1891.^[2] On 23 July 1894, it was the scene of an accident when a brake van next to the engine hauling the 6.35pm from Havant derailed and the first two coaches overturned.^[3] The guard on the train was killed and seven passengers were injured, one of whom seriously.^[3]

The racecourse was closed during World War One, but the station was retained to serve the ammunition dump put in its place.^[4] The station closed in 1917.^[2] Re-opened in 1922 until 1927.^[2] Under the Southern Railway, it re-opened as a general public halt in 1928 named Farlington Halt;^[2] however, this was short-lived as the station closed due to insufficient customers on 4 July 1937.^[2]

When the A2030 Eastern Road was built through the old racecourse site and Drayton Marshes during World War II, piles were driven through the platforms, rendering it unusable thereafter. The road next to the old station site in Drayton still retains the name Station Road and a footbridge over the railway to the Railway Triangle Industrial Estate was in use for many years, but is now closed behind fences.

Future use

According to the long-term plans on the website of Portsmouth City Council, there are plans to build a new Farlington station approximately 500 yards east of the old site near the local Sainsburys and B&M.^[5]

References

1. "View map: Hampshire & Isle of Wight LXXVI.SW (Includes: Havant; Portsmouth.) - Ordnance Survey Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952".
2. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Sparkford, Somerset: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7.
3. "The Why and Wherefore: Accident at Farlington, 1894". Railway Magazine. 123 (919): 571. November 1977.
4. "None". Retrieved 1 April 2023.
5. Portsmouth City Council (18 August 2008). "DF1 Farlington Station". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2012.

50.8381°N 1.0461°W / 50.8381; -1.0461