A SMALL team at the Mid-Hants Railway Watercress Line is embarking on a journey of discovery to collect people’s memories of travel by steam locomotive in or through Hampshire. 

The aim is to build up a bank of memories from a wide range of people relating to the railways in Hampshire and areas of London between 1940 and 1965.

Everyone is welcome to share their memories as the railway is looking for a broad range of stories to paint a picture of what life was like during the last years of steam travel. Examples could include memories of evacuation or troop movement on the railways during the Second World War, collecting goods from stations, or even going on holiday to the south coast or emigrating through Southampton docks – all using the steam railway.

Other stories to be told are those from trainspotters and, of course, those who worked on the railways.

Collecting people’s oral histories is part of the Heritage Lottery Fund-supported Canadian Pacific project. This project will see the return to steam of the Watercress Line’s flagship steam locomotive, No 35005 Canadian Pacific, and two rare wooden bodied carriages. 

Alongside this restoration work comes a wide range of outreach and educational activities that reflect how the rich and precious heritage of railways lies not only in preservation work but also in the human stories that show how these railways impacted the everyday lives of so many people.

It’s often forgotten that railways were used for all manner of things from moving home to delivering newspapers and were central to people’s lives – very different from the road and rail equivalent today.

The Watercress Line’s Canadian Pacific project aims to capture this.

If anyone reading this has memories of steam rail travel in the south of England, Canadian Pacific team would love to hear from you. Sharing your memories will usually involve a simple face-to-face voice recording. Alternatively, you can write your story or share pictures or film.

To can get in touch, e-mail [email protected] or call 01962 733810 and asking to speak to Becky Peacock or Dave Deane.

Dave Deane, the Canadian Pacific Project supervisor, said: “The story of the railways is one of massive social change and it is the human stories that bring this to life.

“With this project we want to tell these stories whilst we work on creating new ones.”