A railway branch line was, he believed, essential, and he paid for one to be built, connecting with the Gosport branch. It opened in 1894, but it never had through trains on to the LSWR. It closed to passengers in 1931 and completely in 1935. Aldershot and Alton The LSWR opened a line from Guildford to Farnham in 1849, extending to Alton in 1852. At the time the establishment of the army garrison at Aldershot led to a massive increase in population there, and consequently demand for travel, and the LSWR constructed a line from Pirbright Junction, on the main line near Brookwood, to a junction near Farnham via Aldershot. The new line opened in 1870. A curve was opened in 1879 at Aldershot Junctions enabling direct running from Guildford to Aldershot; the original line via Tongham declined as a result. The local network was electrified in 1937 and the Tongham line was closed to passengers at that time. Bentley and Bordon branch line The Bordon Light Railway was constructed to serve large areas of military encampment around Bordon and Longmoor, and in the speculative hope of civilian residential development. It opened on 11 December 1905. The reduction in army manpower after 1945 led to a serious decline in use and the line was closed to passenger traffic from 16 September 1957, and completely in 1966. Meon Valley line In 1897 the LSWR went to Parliament for authority to build a new main line railway between Alton and Knowle Junction, near Fareham. At this late date the railway network was almost complete, and this line was promoted as a spoiler, to frustrate entry into LSWR territory by the Great Western Railway. It was laid out as a fast-running line, although the difficult terrain made steep gradients unavoidable; many intermediate stations were remote from the places they served because of the direct alignment of the route as an intended main line. The line was opened on 1 June 1903, and some through trains between London and Gosport ran, but the mainstay of the line’s business settled down to local passenger trains. The decline continued and on 7 February 1955 the passenger service ceased, followed by total closure in 1968. Mid Hants Line The independent Mid-Hants Railway opened its line between Alton and Winchester Junction, not far north of the city, on 2 October 1865. The promoters had imagined building a first