An unexpected Romsey building celebrates its 177th birthday this month.

Romsey Train Station opened in May 1847 and was built for the line from Eastleigh to Salisbury.

During its long life, the station saw much action, including being the station where Florence Nightingale’s special funeral train stopped before she was returned to her home of Embley Park nearby.

Not only this, but the station saw action during both the first and second World Wars, acting as a major embarkation for troops going to France.

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During the First World War, thousands of warhorses were moved through the train station to get to Romsey’s remount depot and is why the station has a war memorial outside.

It’s not just a sad legacy it leaves however; at a stretch, the station can take some of the inspiration behind the original Thomas the tank engine and friends' books.

Original author Reverand W. V. Awdrey was born in Ampfield just outside Romsey, he and his family grew an affection for trains, which inspired how to write his famous books.

When the station got a new branch, connecting it to Redbridge, a signal box was needed to control the junction, the preserved box that was created when the train station was first built was used to store it.

This means that at the time the box closed in 1982, it was one of the oldest ever boxes still in service.

The station was hurt by the Beeching cuts of the mid to late 20th century, losing lines as well as customer and freight trains.

This includes line dating back to 1865 that connected Andover to Redbridge carrying an estimated 800 passengers a day.

The station also saw use by Princess Diana and at the time Prince Charles, after they used to get to Broadlands for part of their honeymoon.

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The historic building was given Grade 2 listed building status in 2004, meaning the station is of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve it.

Romsey station goes on inspiring people old and young with the town having a live and thriving railway modelling community.

The station was given a lick of paint last year as part of South Western Railways' £6.5m improvements to stations big and small across its network.

People from Romsey and beyond will be keen to see the station maintained and will hope it can go for another 147 years.