Editing Lymington branch line (section)

===Absorbed by the LSWR===
The line had been worked by the LSWR company from the outset, and it agreed to purchase the Lymington Railway Company's line; this was done under the terms of the 6 August 1860 act of Parliament{{which|date=September 2024}} and took effect on 21 March 1879. The local company had paid a dividend of 3.5% in 1877. An urgent task for the LSWR after the takeover was the renewal of many of the underbridges on the line.<ref name = riley/><ref name = paye8>Paye, pages 8 and 9</ref>

[[File:Lymington pier.jpg|thumb|Lymington Pier railway station with paddle steamer waiting]]
The berth at Lymington was cramped and often congested with commercial traffic and the footway from there to the station was lengthy. Moreover at low tide the steamers could not come alongside and passengers had to be taken out to the ferries in tenders. The [[Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway]] was granted its authorising act of Parliament, the [[Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway Act 1880]] ([[43 & 44 Vict.]] c. clxxxvi), in 1880, and this encouraged the LSWR to plan improvements to the Lymington side of the Solent. Authorisation was obtained on 22 August 1881 to extend the line for 34 chains (690m), crossing the estuary to a new Pier station, where ships could berth at any state of the tide. The extension and Pier station opened on 1 May 1884; four trains from London connected daily with steamers, and a cargo steamer operated daily in connection.<ref name = williams2-148/>

After 1 July 1884 the LSWR acquired the Solent Sea Steam Packet Company's paddleships Mayflower and Solent as well as several cargo boats, for £2,750.<ref name = williams2-148/>

The fortunes of the branch line and the ferry services had been limited for many years, in part because of the LSWR's preference for its own Isle of Wight services via Portsmouth. Now that Lymington was completely in the LSWR's hands, the line's use flourished.<ref name = white162/>