Reading–Basingstoke line Reading–Basingstoke line The Reading–Basingstoke line is a short railway link between the South Western Main Line and the Great Western Main Line, constructed by the Great Western Railway between 1846 and 1848. The line is served by Great Western Railway local services between Reading and Basingstoke, which stop at the intermediate stations Reading West, Mortimer and Bramley. The line is also an important through route for longer distance passenger and freight services: CrossCountry services from Bournemouth and Southampton to Birmingham and the North of England and freight trains between Southampton Docks and the Midlands use the line. The section of
B&O Railroad Bridge the B&O replaced the original bridge with the current one. The three-span through truss bridge with a center swing span was built by the American Bridge Company. During construction, a tugboat grounded on the nearby riverbank and was freed by a B&O locomotive. The bridge was struck by the tugboat "Radnor", hauling a barge loaded with oleum, on March 12, 1924. The bridge was originally protected by a mechanical interlocking, which was revised in 1914. It was replaced in 1946 with an electrical interlocking, which also controlled the nearby junction with the Reading Company at Eastwick. In 1977, the Chessie