Lyndhurst Road (Ashurst New Forest)

The main signal box was located north of the station, situated on the "up" side of the line, adjacent to a level crossing. This was built to a standard LSWR design, featuring a brick base supporting a timber cabin, the latter of which sported a hipped slated roof and horizontally-sliding windows. On the "down" side were the remaining two cabins, the first of which was located behind the southern half of the platform. This was a diminutive timber-built structure with a hipped slated roof, which rested upon a shallow brick base bringing the floor up to platform level. Unlike the station's canopies, this cabin, known as "Ground Frame A", sported a decorative valance. About 100-yards south of the "down" platform was the third cabin, designated "Ground Frame B", which was built to the same outline as its "A" counterpart. This was once a commonplace design, which could be found in large numbers on the LSWR's main line to Exeter.

By 1909, further alterations to the layout had been made. A wagon turntable had re-appeared on the ''up'' side, this time at the end of the stunted siding which fed off the dock line. The head shunt of the latter was also extended further south a second time.

In December 1926, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu raised the subject of level crossings in the House of Lords, citing both the danger and traffic delays they caused:

In conclusion I will give particulars, taken a very few months ago, of the delays at level crossings in Hampshire. I obtained them from the county council and they relate to the time lost at level crossings between the 9th and 15th August this year between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., a period of sixteen hours. At the Blackwater crossing, which no doubt the noble Earl knows well, between Camberley and Hartford Bridge Flats, the gates were closed 17.7 per cent of the whole time between those hours; in the case of Bedhampton, near Portsmouth, for 24.1 per cent of the time; at Lyndhurst Road Station, on the main Southampton-to-Bournemouth road, 25.8 per cent.; and at Totton outside Southampton, on the main road between Southampton and the West of England, 28.6 per cent. That is to say that the level crossing was closed to traffic for nearly one-third of the time between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. I think that this is more than an anachronism; it is a scandal, and it has come to such a pass at Totton that the Minister of Transport, the railway company, and the county council have joined together and are going to build a great new causeway over the head of Southampton Water.

In 1932, the above scenario was remedied at Lyndhurst Road by abolishing the level crossing, setting the road upon an embankment and carrying it on a bridge over the line. The New Forest's busiest crossing, that at Brockenhurst, was retained, it naturally not being possible to elevate the road there within town centre environs. A third level crossing at Ashurst, 1½-miles north of Lyndhurst Road station, was also kept. By this time, the small wagon turntable at Lyndhurst Road had been abolished.

Further alterations during the 1930s at Lyndhurst Road included the installation of concrete lampposts on both platforms. This was followed around the time of the 1948 Nationalisation by both platforms being refaced and re-edged with prefabricated concrete, this having been produced at the ex-LSWR's works at Exmouth Junction.

Like so many stations across the country, the British Railways era marked one of decline for Lyndhurst Road. This began with the withdrawal of goods traffic on 6th July 1964. In conjunction with the Bournemouth electrification, the main line was re-signalled, which involved replacement of semaphore signals with colour aspect lights, closure of local signal boxes, and removal of redundant crossovers and sidings. The main signal box at Lyndhurst Road closed on 23rd October 1966, when this section of line was converted to colour light operation. Ashurst Crossing, 1½-miles north of the station, was equipped with automatic lifting barriers, and the full accelerated electric timetable on the route came into effect on 10th July 1967. On 6th November of the same year, Lyndhurst Road became an unstaffed station, forming part of a nationwide measure to cut costs and concentrate ticket inspections on the train.

By the late 1970s, rationalisation had taken hold of the site. The enclosed footbridge was taken down and replaced by a large plain metal type, exposed to the elements. The platform canopies and offices were also removed and superseded by diminutive glazed shelters, but the Station Master's house survived, this becoming a private dwelling. In 1984, Ashurst Crossing was abolished, being replaced by a road bridge over the tracks.

Lyndhurst Road station took its name from the highway which ran over the line to the north of the platforms. The town of Lyndhurst is 2½-miles distant as the crow flies and the station is in very close proximity to the village of Ashurst. As a result, an agreement was made between the local council and South West Trains (then a shadow franchise in the run-up to privatisation) in 1995 to rename the station "Ashurst New Forest". The council had made the request, being of the opinion that the revised name better reflected the area the station served. The new name came into effect on 24th September 1995, at the start of the National Winter Timetable (The Railway Magazine, Volume 141, 1995).

Lyndhurst Road

Ashurst New Forest

1st March 2010

1st March 2010

1st March 2010