The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Line

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From here the railway turned towards the south as it passed Chilton


Then through the first Chilton Bridge which Mick Crawley managed to get a photo of before it was filled in. After that is was downhill as all the cutting is now filled in which in my mind was sacrilege. SODC allowed this to happen and in doing so removed from sight the history surrounding the place. It could have stood testament to the navvies who dug it and been used for recreational purposes, instead personal gain was what was thought of.
Link


From the bridge the railway carried on along the cutting to a second bridge near Prospect farm, now the whole length is filled in wiping away the history with it. The bridge again filled in to the road level leaving one parapet to tell you what had been there.


I came away feeling disappointed from that bridge and disgusted at seeing how the landscape had been treated. The pile of wood you see in the next photo showing what I mean but nature would get its own back as 700 odd tons of wood stored for biofuel spontaneously combusted and burned for a week.


The next part I have yet to go and visit though the photos show the track bed to be overgrown and if there was a bridge at Tile barn it looks to be gone.


From Tile Barn the railway went to Churn where it went under a bridge that is still there. The old railbed which runs towards tile Barn is now used by farm traffic and has been adopted by walkers rather than use the path to the side of it. On the Churn Halt side of he bridge the trackbed is nigh on impassable.


Churn Halt is next, a Godforsaken place in the downs which would have been very bleak in the winter for anyone stopping off there. It was used originally for the National Rifle Association but because of the lack of facilities (no roads or waiting room on the platform) they moved to Bisley. Little is left of the halt other than parts of the platform. The bridge nearby remains mostly intact. On the Compton side the track bed is covered in impenetrable shrubbery but a little further along it is clear as it is used by farm traffic.
More about it here. Link


From Churn the railway carried on through some bleak countryside to Compton


where it runs through a cutting and over a bridge.


Eventually coming into Compton Station which is still standing and now a private residence.
The goods yard and part of the railway now covered in industrial units.


Just outside the station on the way to Newbury the line crosses a road and you can still see the superb bridge there, unfortunately access is not possible

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