The Portsmouth Direct line Havant to Guildford: A travelogue

摘要

The route between Havant in Hampshire and Guildford in Surrey is part of what is often known as the Portsmouth Direct line from Portsmouth Harbour through to Woking, the principal line between Portsmouth and London. In fact, the name harks back to a proposed scheme of 1845, and of the contractor's railway built in its wake to link the London & South Western Railway's Godalming branch with the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) main line at Havant, and all of that, and most of the wider route, are covered here as we travel north from Havant. However, the short hops between Portsmouth and Havant to the south, and Guildford and Woking to the north will, for now, go unseen.