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Picture source: Barry Taylor

The Railway was situated on the High Street, Cosham.

The fields to the west of Cosham were not developed until the 1920s and 1930s. "The Railway Hotel" can be seen on the right in the old photo below, later changing it's name to "The Railway". Taking its name from the adjacent railway line, this pub spent a number of years trading as 'the Rocket' before undergoing a major refurbishment in the early 1990s, when the pub was returned to its original name and the two bars were converted to a large single room, seperated into two distinct areas. A further extension was completed later in the decade, with the addition of a conservatory area to the north side.The pub had a mainly younger clientele, drawn from the surrounding area. In its latter years the pub suffered a decline in reputation and subsequently its popularity diminished in parallel. By early 2010 the pub was put up for sale, and was demolished in 2011. "I visited this pub purely for convenience whilst waiting for a delayed train recently, being yards away from the station it seemed like a good idea. On the plus side the staff were welcoming and helpful, and the Guinness was fine though no real ales were to be had. On the downside the few punters present gave the place the ambience of a run down youth club, and the gents toilet was truly the worst I have seen for some time.....welly boots recommended!" My brother and I went in there for the last time and we were confronted early evening by a bloke playing music so loud we couldn't speak, we were the only people in the pub,We walked out! As a claim to fame, professional darts player Andy Jenkins played for the pub. On November 29, 2009, the Darts Regulation Authority gave Jenkins a 24 month ban (20 months suspended) for an assault on Terry Jenkins that took place at the Nuland Players Championship in the Netherlands on October 25, 2009. Barry Taylor (November 2011)

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Other Photos

Picture source: Barry Taylor

Picture source: Barry Taylor