The Amesbury and Military Camp Light Railway was a branch line in Wiltshire, England, constructed under a light railway order dated 24 September 1898. It was opened for military traffic from Amesbury to the east-facing Newton Tony Junction on 1 October 1901. A west-facing junction, Amesbury Junction, where the branch burrowed under the main line, opened on 2 June 1902. The line closed in 1963.
Previous proposals
Although the line did not open until the early 1900s, various other proposals had been put forward, but none had succeeded in being built. Before the Bulford Camp branch opened, all nearby railway routes had skirted Salisbury Plain, but none led through it.
Bristol and London & South Western Junction Railway
Having defeated the scheme of the LSWR, the Great Western Railway then put forward a scheme of its own. This proposed a route from Pewsey railway station on their main line, leading south over the Plain and then onward to Southampton. However, Southampton was considered to be within LSWR territory, and the encroachment was opposed in much the same way as the B&L&SWJR had been. Although a section between Pewsey and Salisbury was authorised on 16 January 1883, this was never built.
Light railways
No more schemes were proposed until the passing of the Light Railways Act in 1896. The Great Western Railway swiftly saw the advantages of this approach and proposed a route which was very similar to their failed scheme of 1883. This light railway was to run up the Avon valley from Bemerton to Amesbury via Stratford, Woodford, Durnford and Wilsford. From Amesbury, the line was to continue to follow the Avon upstream to Pewsey via Durrington, Netheravon, Upavon and Manningford. The line was authorised on 6 August 1898. In the meantime, the War Office had been purchasing large areas of Salisbury Plain, and had already commenced negotiations with the LSWR for a light railway, very like the 1882 scheme. This would run from Grateley station and over the Plain, via Newton Tony and Amesbury, to a terminus just east of Shrewton, making the line 10 miles and 62 chains long. It was intended to serve both the new military camps and the agricultural community. This line was authorised as the Amesbury & Military Camp Light Railway. Of the two proposals, this scheme won out because the Great Western Railway's proposal involved crossing over four miles of land owned by the War Department, which was supporting the LSWR.
Construction
The LSWR awarded the contract for the railway to J. T. Firbank, who was already involved with other work in the area, principally the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway. He is also believed to have been the contractor who worked on the Charnwood Forest Railway. Although the line was officially a light railway, it was built to far more substantial standards, with heavy engineering works required. The way was laid with steel bullhead rails weighing 87lbs and land had been obtained for double tracks, which was unusual for a light railway. In the event, the track was doubled.
Opening
The line opened to goods on 26 April 1902 and passenger traffic commenced on 2 June 1902. From the outset, the line was worked by the L&SWR. When passenger services commenced, the first train to arrive at Amesbury brought the newspapers announcing the end of the South African War.
Operation
Traffic consisted of 6 passenger trains and 1 goods train per day. The line was extended to Bulford on 1 June 1906 and, at some stage, to Bulford Camp.
Further extensions were constructed during World War I, consisting of lines from Amesbury to Larkhill Military Camp, and then westward to Rollestone Camp where there was a balloon school. A further extension was added southeast from Rollestone to Fargo, where there was a military hospital; this line then dividing with one branch going south to Druid's Lodge and one to Stonehenge. Aircraft hangars existed at both these locations. These extensions were operated by the R.O.D. of the Royal Engineers and they remained in use until about 1923.
Closure
The stations closed in 1952 along with Amesbury junction. The branch as a whole ceased goods traffic in 1963. Part of its route became the Winterbourne Downs nature reserve, owned by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Although there has been significant development in the region since the closure, it is still possible to trace the original route that the railway took from aerial photographs. In many places, the railway trackbed now forms footpaths and bridlepaths, and elsewhere it is possible to identify the route in agricultural fields.
