Medstead & Four Marks Station

Medstead & Four Marks Station is close to the highest point on our railway (which is in the cutting a little to the east) and is the highest operational station in south east England at 644 feet / 196 metres above sea level.

Originally known as Medstead, the station was built by agreement with a local landowner, William Ivey Esq., in connection with a private siding* serving his property. It was originally constructed as a simple “passenger platform” on the single line and the main building is an enlarged version of the platform shelters originally provided at the other stations (none of which survives).

Although completed in this form, the station was not opened with the rest of the railway in 1865. By this time it was realised that a passing loop was needed here for timetabling purposes. There was some wrangling about who was going to pay for this but eventually Mr Ivey came up with £700 to complete the loop line, second platform and stationmaster’s house. The station eventually opened in August 1868.

There was no shelter on the second (down) platform** until 1879 when a rudimentary wooden structure was provided. Both this and the station building were originally open-fronted but were soon enclosed, as the station is exposed to the south west. The signal box on the up platform was installed in 1875 and the goods shed in the 1880s.

Mr Ivey’s private siding ran, via a reversing siding, across the station forecourt to serve a store shed on his property. At first no public goods yard was provided but in due course the siding acquired a loading platform with a crane, and a stacking ground was provided for the local coal merchant.

Today, the station has been restored nominally to represent its appearance in the immediate post-War period under the Southern Railway (1945-47), which is reflected in the period posters on display. However, in reality its appearance changed very little from 1937 (when the station was renamed Medstead & Four Marks and new signage was provided) until 1967, when the signalbox was closed and the down platform taken out of use.

The railway was closed in February 1973 and the remaining track through the station was lifted in 1976. By the time the preservationists took over in 1977, the station was a vandalised shell. Initially the preserved railway operated between Alresford and Ropley, where the track was still in situ. Track was relaid from Ropley to Medstead & Four Marks in 1982-83 and while this was going on the station was extensively reconstructed.

As well as restoring the main station building, a new signal box was needed as the original had been demolished. This is very similar to the original and incorporates a wooden upper storey recovered from Wilton South, west of Salisbury. All the main signals within the station area are semaphore signals of the “upper quadrant” type – that is, the arm is raised from the horizontal to permit the driver to proceed.

Like all our stations, Medstead & Four Marks did not originally have a footbridge. The present bridge was opened in 1996 and incorporates a main span recovered from Cowes, Isle of Wight, where it carried a footpath over the station.
In recent years the goods yard has acquired a new loading dock and a replacement crane on a slightly different site from the originals. Additional sidings have been provided in the yard, which today is busier than ever as it is the home of the railway’s permanent way, signals & telegraph and building departments and goods wagons are repaired here.

* A siding is a length of track on which vehicles can be parked clear of the main running line.
** In this case “up” refers to the platform for Alton and “down” to that for Winchester.