new curve

 

S&D bridge in Hamworthy.

 

S&D embankment in Hamworthy.

 

Open ground ideal for new curve.

 

The main Bournemouth-Weymouth route near Hamworthy - the new curve can connect near here, there are many options!

 

The new curve would intersect the SW corner on this map.

 

 

One of the conclusions from our southern site visit on Wednesday was that a brand new curve could be built to the north of Hamworthy station, allowing New S&D trains and, eventually, Park and Rides from north of Broadstone and of course main line trains via Ringwood and Wimborne access directly to Bournemouth. At the same time reopening of the original curve into Hamworthy station would allow direct access to Weymouth and also possibly Poole Quay where freight trains and passenger trains in connection with cruise liners could be run.

 

This whole area is going to become a hive of rail activity in the future, with Broadstone offering a huge variety of trains. 

 

hamworthy

A few shots from yesterday's survey visit to Hamworthy, Corfe Mullen and Broadstone. These are from the Hamworthy end of the line.

Top shot shows the S&D bridge with the main line bridge behind. Second shot is of the S&D bridge and the third shows some encroachment on the embankment near here.

This was the first identified 'pinch point', it can be overcome by some slight modification of the buildings (2) or by some reprofiling of the embankment.

This was of course the original route of the 'Castleman's Corkscrew' route via Ringwood and was not part of the S&D. It is the subject of a possible scheme to link Hamworthy to a park and ride north of Broadstone. We also identified scope for a chord line linking just north of this stretch to the main line with a junction facing Bournemouth (more useful for the S&D) of which more tomorrow!

avoiding project drift

It should sometimes be restated - the New S&D is committed to restoring the WHOLE S&D, not just Bournemouth to Bath but also the branches, plus the Bristol-Pensford-Radstock and Bailey Gate-Wimborne-Ringwood lines, plus the Ringwood to Brockenhurst line if not already restored by the Network when we reach Ringwood.

This doesn't mean that a few hundred mainly railway enthusiasts are going to raise the 1-2 billion pounds needed to restore these routes, rebuild the infrastructure and provide the locos and rolling stock. It doesn't mean that some time in the next five to ten years we will be running trains to all these destinations.

What it does mean is that constitutionally we exist to promote the S&D in its entirety, will encourage and support other groups restoring sections of the route (as at Shillingstone, Midsomer Norton and Gartell), will purchase sections of trackbed etc as they become available to protect them for railway use in perpetuity, and operate sections of the route as they become economocally viable. Full reinstatement may well be by the network, by a consortium of businesses or by emergency government decree. Or we may be so sharp that we manage to do this by ourselves by raising the money on the stock exchange and/or through local and regional share issues.

Whilst discussion about restoring tiny sections for narrow gauge etc are welcome we need to avoid project drift. We need to always state what we are about, and always keep our eyes on the bigger picture.

Whilst I doubt anyone would question the need for and viability of the Midsomer Norton/Shepton to Bath and Blandford-Poole sections we need to remember that the S&D is a network, not two branches, and that we'll have far greater flexibility (and profitability) as a through route with additional connections to the Network wherever we pass by it ie at Templecombe, Bruton etc.

Whilst local passenger and freight traffic will be the lifeblood of the route we also expect that much traffic will originate and/or terminate away from our metals. This is pretty much the same situation as the old S&D but of course the New S&D will, eventually, be far busier than the Old S&D was, even on summer Saturdays in the 1950s.

future junction

(1970s, copyright Rail Thing)

These were the remains of West Moors station in the 1970s. This line retained a freight service until about 1973, when the route was further cut back to Wimborne, which itself lost all its trains in 1983. But until 1964 this was a junction with trains on the main double track route between Poole and Brockenhurst plus trains on the branch to Salisbury.

West Moors has developed surprisingly since the railway closed and would now produce a fair amount of originating traffic. All the routes serving West Moors are likely to reopen over the next 20-30 years, the New S&D has always planned to reopen the old Castleman's Corkscrew route to Brockenhurst to give greater capacity and flexibility for trains on the southern end of the route, and a group is likely to be formally constituted to restore the Salisbury-West Moors line any time now.

Closure of these lines was always a little strange, depriving Ringwood, Wimborne, Broadstone, West Moors and Fordingbridge of modern transport - a mistake that will be corrected soon enough!

wimborne

(All pics courtesy Jim Type, copyright C L Caddy Collection)

Wimborne was the original southern end of the S&D, and at one time was the busiest station in Dorset. It is currently closed completely, and has been since 1977 (1964 to passengers!) Not quite sure what the planners were thinking of in the Silly Sixties when Ringwood, Blandford, Wimborne and Fordingbridge all lost their passenger and freight services! All of these stations should be open again in the not too distant future.

The original connection may seem odd to us now, but the honeypot of Bournemouth didn't really exist before 1870, around which time a direct route from Brockenhurst was built, leaving the original line, nicknamed 'Castleman's Corkscrew' thanks to its rather singular course, as a secondary, albeit double track to the end, route. At around the same time the S&D south of Bailey Gate acquired a direct route into Poole and Bournemouth. The S&D line to Wimborne then became a minor branch line, closing to passengers as early as 1933. Wimborne's final passenger services, to Salisbury, Brockenhurst and Poole all closed in 1964, with freight continuing from Poole until 1977.

From the 21st century this loss may seem insane, but remember in the sixties they hadn't quite twigged that oil was a finite resource and seriously expected roads to last well into the 21st century and perhaps even the 22nd!

Back in the real world our task will be to get these large towns back on the network ASAP. The recent ATOC report had the Ringwood line right at the top of its reinstatement list, though shied clear of making the obvious next step to Wimborne. The New S&D will restore trains to Blandford as quickly as possible, and will also have the second connection to Wimborne, to give greater flexibility of services as well as tap into the traffic of this large town. A group to rebuild the Fordingbridge line is also likely to be launched very soon. So the railways in this part of Dorset are definitely stirring from the rather stupid hibernation they've been in since the mid sixties. About time too!

broadstone

2 above copyright Jim Type.

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A look around Broadstone - 2 top shots are 1980s I think, the second shot is a particularly disgusting attempt at legal vandalism.

Bottom 3 shots are mine from 1977.

No matter what your views are on the reopening of the S&D, only a dinosaur would seriously suggest that Broadstone has no future as a rail transport hub! This whole area north of Poole and Bournemouth is crying out for a modern transport network. With the S&D route from Blandford and the loop from Ringwood and Wimborne and now the beginnings of a revival for the Salisbury to West Moors route, this will become a VERY busy station over the next few decades.

Why on earth did they demolish the station in the full knowledge that the site would be needed for rail again within a few years? I understood that the route was to be retained as a transport corridor, but has it been? It doesn't matter of course, once we start seriously rebuilding south of Blandford if there are any obstacles I suspect a lot of CPOs will be flying about!

Further info (from Wikipedia)

Broadstone was a railway station in the northern part of the town of Poole in the county of Dorset in England. It opened in 1872 under the name of New Poole Junction and closed to passengers in 1966 and to goods in 1969. Between these dates there were several changes of name for a station which at its height provided a suburb of Poole with four substantial platforms and a goods yard. A prominent feature of the station was the large footbridge needed to span the four running lines.

Opened as New Poole Junction in 1872, as part of the Southampton and Dorchester Railway, the station was the junction for the new line into Poole that superseded the old station at Lower Hamworthy. When the line was extended to Bournemouth West Broadstone became the junction for the trains to the Bournemouth station. Then the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway constructed a cutoff line to avoid the need to reverse in Wimborne and Broadstone became the meeting point of two lines, although the construction of further cutoffs to improve access to Bournemouth reduced its importance.

[hide] [  v t e   ] Broadstone (position on network)

Legend Distances Times Km. Hrs/Mins Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 94.83 Bailey Gate 2.42 Ringwood Line Southampton and Dorchester Railway Wimborne 97.69 Corfe Mullen Halt 2.49 102.51 Broadstone 2.55 104.59 Creekmoor Halt 2.59 Hamworthy Junction Poole Quay and original ferry link Poole Original (now Hamworthy Goods Station) Current Cross Channel Ferry Port 108.03 Poole 3.03 South Western Main Line Distances and times from Bath on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway

Decline and closure

The first line through Broadstone to close was the Old Road from Ringwood, closed in 1964. The line to Hamworthy Junction was lifted in 1966. This same year, the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway lost its passenger services. This left Broadstone the junction of two goods lines, one to serve a goods depot at Blandford via a stub of the SDJR and one which passed through Wimborne to serve the RAOC fuel depot at West Moors. The Blandford Forum freight line closed and was lifted in 1969 . The goods traffic to Wimborne maintained a track running through the site until 1977 after which the track was lifted and the land sold for redevelopment.

The site today

Today the site is occupied by Broadstone Leisure Centre, its car park and a traffic roundabout. A subway to Broadstone's shopping area passes under the roads where the railway bridge used to be. This, and the building of some houses on the old trackbed north of the station site, mean that the Castleman Trailway skirts the edge of the former site before regaining the old trackbed on the way to Wimborne.

Preceding station	Disused railways			Following station
Creekmoor Halt Line and station closed		Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway LSWR and Midland Railways Line closed		Corfe Mullen Halt Line and station closed
Hamworthy Junction		Southampton and Dorchester Railway London and South Western Railway Line closed		Wimborne Line and station closed