Butts Junction

v t e 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 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 (2023) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.05. Railway & 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