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In the 1960's, Britain's railway network was in financial meltdown.听 Dr Richard Beeching, chairman of the British Railways Board was brought in to make a radical overhaul. He proposed a wave of closures across the network.

The last British Rail Train

Known as the 'Beeching Axe', he revealed plans to close almost a third of the network, around 5,000 miles. Over 2,000 stations would shut, thousands of passenger carriages would be scrapped along with a staggering third of a million freight wagons.

The Mid Hants Railway was earmarked for closure under the Beeching proposals and, despite protests, was eventually shut down on 4 Feb 1973.

Over 400 people made the sentimental journey on the final run of the Mid Hants railway from Eastleigh to Alton and back paying 拢1 for their fare.

Originally there were three intermediate stations along the line, at Ropley, Alresford and Itchen Abbas.

The line was electrified as far as Alton

While the small stretch between Alresford and Alton station was renovated, the section west of Alresford to Itchen Abbas remains abandoned. Today the track is just a footpath, the platform is in the garden of a modern home and the station is long gone too.

Back then the line wasn't known as the Watercress Line is was referred to as 'up the branch' or 'over the Alps' because it was so steep.

The steam engines would literally thunder through the countryside and it was described by the passengers as like 'being on the roof of Hampshire!'

The line from London opened in 1865, in 1937 it was electrified as far as Alton, but there work stopped reducing the rest of the route to a sleepy branch line.

In the 1930's the topiary on the trees at Ropley station was something to admire, by the 1960's like everything else on the line the trees had seen better days and it was the end of the line for the Mid-Hants Railway.

Part of the line was reopened by volunteers

Four years after the tracks were lifted, the line was reopened by volunteers running steam trains instead of diesels.

The enthusiasts only got their hands on part of the railway line, there is no chance that it could ever be reconnected to Winchester - the M3 is in the way!

Today the line runs along 10 miles of beautiful Hampshire countryside between Alresford and Alton stations and is one of the county's best known tourist attractions.