For sale . . . the cottage standing on platform 2 (From Daily Echo)

For sale . . . the cottage standing on platform 2

12:40pm Friday 25th January 2013 in News

IT’S the perfect property for anyone hoping to find their station in life. Railway enthusiasts and other potential buyers will soon be making tracks to the vacant building now standing at platform two.

A former stationmaster’s house in the heart of the New Forest National Park has gone on the market for £350,000.

The Victorian cottage at Beaulieu Road would make an ideal home for a trainspotter or a commuter who wants to live conveniently close to the Weymouth to Waterloo line.

Not every train stops at the station – but those that do are only a few steps away. Surrounded by hundreds of acres of open countryside, its nearest neighbours are The Drift Inn, a wooden corral where New Forest ponies are bought and sold in the autumn, and a row of railway cottages.

Lymington estate agent Jeremy Caldwell said: “It’s wonderfully remote – and perfect for anyone looking for something completely different. It would suit a train enthusiast or someone living in London who wants a holiday home surrounded by beautiful scenery.

“The property is in need of modernising and updating, but has a potentially lovely cottage garden and its own private water supply, courtesy of a bore hole.”

Previously two flats, the 120-year-old building was bought in the 1970s by a woman who converted it back into a house. Beaulieu Road station was opened for the former Southampton and Dorchester Railway in 1847.

Some historians say it was built for one of Lord Montagu’s ancestors in return for him allowing the line to cross his estate. Over the years, passengers travelling down from London included guests of the Montagu family – one of which was King Edward VII.

The station was closed in 1860 but re-opened 35 years later. It is thought to have been unmanned since the early 1960s.

One of the longest serving employees was Percy Pearce, who joined the staff as a junior porter in 1914. Every day for almost 50 years he cycled to the station from his home in Dibden Purlieu.

Anyone interested in buying the old stationmaster’s house should call Caldwells Estate Agents on 01590 675875.