another link in the network

There's another SDJR stirring on our doorstep, and a line that will eventually one day link up with us at West Moors. Just a facebook group at the moment but you can do your bit to make it something more!

Reopen the Salisbury & Dorset Junction Railway

We now have 57 likes. We are growing exponentially! OK - here's the deal. 100 likes will mean that amongst those followers, possibly 25 of you will sign up immediately for membership of a group. I really need the first founder members to be able to do something and give some time to lobbying and promoting our cause, the route, the viability, the PR etc. Of course anyone can be a member, but please bear in mind what you may want to offer. It doesn't have to be much - but the sum of parts will be! Thanks everyone so far!

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