Memories of the Bridport Branch, Dorset

[Aarchive]

I was recently given some footage of the Bridport Branch, from Westbay to Maiden Newton in Dorset. I believe the footage is from around 1965-66.

I will hopefully have some more footage on the way and I have started a script about the journey. If anyone has any stories, information, photos or movie footage, I would love to hear from them. Thank you.

 

[[.n]]

Thanks for this

 

[Magdalia]

The first copy of Railway Magazine that I ever bought, September 1973, has an article about a journey on the Bridport branch in 1972.

I suggest that you also track down some accounts of the Bridport Belle railtour of 22 January 1967.

 

[Bevan Price]

This was the last platform ticket in stock at Bridport when I made my only trip there

 

[Taunton]

The line went back and forth from Western Region to Southern, and not too many years after back to Western again. I see that nevertheless the Southern had been to all the stations down this obscure twig, and repainted the old GWR station nameboards green.

When it went back to the Western it was separated from the Southern crew depot at Weymouth, and Yeovil then closed, so in its later times it had to be crewed from Westbury depot, whose staff spent half the shift travelling to and fro on the cushions. The single car diesel was attached to an early/late train on the Weymouth line to get it back to Westbury. What an expense, for a line with so little usage.

 

[randyrippley]

It would have shut earlier, but they couldn't find anyone daft enough to run a rail replacement bus on a non-route which ran from a small town via nowhere to a rail junction in nowhere with no obvious source of passengers.
Bridport needed direct links to Weymouth/Dorchester/Lyme Regis/Crewkerne, not a link to a rural black hole which then needed another train to get anywhere.
It's not as if there was any freight to speak of - Bridport's industrial heritage was rope, net, and sail making, plus of course milk and meat from the farms. Most of which had gone from rail by the 1960s (The beach shingle extraction had been long lost).

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

I went on the line a few weeks before closure - there were a few other enthusiasts paying their respects but no ordinary passengers. It is a pity that the line to Abbotsbury hadn't been extended to Bridport as intended, as it would have given a direct and useful link to Weymouth.

 

[Taunton]

Bridport's main focus is to Dorchester, the county town, a straightforward run along the A35 with a (for Dorset) frequent bus service, as indeed there has been since the late 1920s. The branch line went nowhere relevant and thus it was assessed no replacing bus would ever have a passenger either. By the logic of the times, the railway could not be withdrawn unless there was a replacing bus service. It took years to square this up.

Bridport doesn't have the traditional relationship with Bristol that Weymouth does, so not much prospect of connecting traffic northwards. The one possible goal was one change to London Paddington, by the GWR/WR boat train expresses from there on the Weymouth line, that ran once or twice a day until 1960. Guess what, they didn't stop at Maiden Newton!

 

[30907]

I went on the line a few weeks before closure - there were a few other enthusiasts paying their respects but no ordinary passengers. It is a pity that the line to Abbotsbury hadn't been extended to Bridport as intended, as it would have given a direct and useful link to Weymouth.

It would have been a challenge to build, though!

Bridport's main focus is to Dorchester, the county town, a straightforward run along the A35 with a (for Dorset) frequent bus service, as indeed there has been since the late 1920s. The branch line went nowhere relevant and thus it was assessed no replacing bus would ever have a passenger either.

Quite so.

By the logic of the times, the railway could not be withdrawn unless there was a replacing bus service. It took years to square this up.

And IIRC the issue was getting a bus anywhere near the intermediate stations/villages.

Bridport doesn't have the traditional relationship with Bristol that Weymouth does, so not much prospect of connecting traffic northwards. The one possible goal was one change to London Paddington, by the GWR/WR boat train expresses from there on the Weymouth line, that ran once or twice a day until 1960. Guess what, they didn't stop at Maiden Newton!

But the ordinary London trains (OK, two of them plus the one-way slip coaches) did - along with pretty much anything else.
But I agree - Bridport/West Bay never was a mass-market holiday resort.

 

[52290]

I traveled on the line shortly before closure whilst staying in Weymouth and changing at Maiden Newton. The train was quite well filled and the old ladies were saying that they didn't know they would do when the line closed. For me the main attraction of Bridport was then, as it is now, Palmers brewery.

 

[Undaunted]

Thank you for posting the video. Bits of the route are still walkable, for example:

1. A short section starting from Maiden Newton station
2. A much longer section from Toller towards Powerstock, part of which is now a nature reserve
3. A small part of the section from Bridport to West Bay, with the platform at West Bay complete with a couple of carriages still in existence. Of course, this section closed long before the Bridport branch itself.

Sustrans has been trying hard to open the whole route, but not all the landowners seem to like the idea. The section between Toller and Powerstock provides some reminders of what a scenically attractive branch this was. Now better seen in winter as the lineside trees have been growing well since the trains stopped running

 

[181]

I suggest that you also track down some accounts of the Bridport Belle railtour of 22 January 1967.

I don't know whether the OP is interested in railtours, but my father was on that trip. (I'm not aware that he has any photos, though). When an article about it was published some years ago, he commented something to the effect that the article had portrayed the tour as more of a failure than it was -- certainly things didn't go entirely according to plan, but it was still a worthwhile and memorable day out. I think his view is similar to that expressed here: https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/60s/670122lc.html.

Some Googling found this picture of the tour at Bridport.

 

[devon_belle]

Lovely, OP, thank you for sharing.

 

[Aarchive]

I popped down to Bridport yesterday to do some filming and did some homework on some older Ordinance Survey Maps. The red was the good shed, yellow was an evening shed, green was the ticket station and blue was the platform.

 

[Rover]

Thanks for posting this, I love old cine films like this, so nostalgic, you just can't get that from a video camera.

 

[nw1]

The big problem with this line in its closing days seemed to be it only ran to Maiden Newton, making it cumbersome to reach from anywhere else.

One wonders if it would have done better had it run all the way into Weymouth and was timed to connect with Waterloo trains e.g. on a two-hourly clockface service.

 

[randyrippley]

The big problem with this line in its closing days seemed to be it only ran to Maiden Newton, making it cumbersome to reach from anywhere else.

One wonders if it would have done better had it run all the way into Weymouth and was timed to connect with Waterloo trains e.g. on a two-hourly clockface service.

I doubt if their would have been capacity on the single track to Dorchester
But seriously there would still have been little traffic. Bridport was the only significant town on the route, and that was small. Southern/Western National provided better direct bus services to the important towns for shopping

 

[Taunton]

The big problem with this line in its closing days seemed to be it only ran to Maiden Newton, making it cumbersome to reach from anywhere else.

One wonders if it would have done better had it run all the way into Weymouth and was timed to connect with Waterloo trains e.g. on a two-hourly clockface service.

Not just closing days. It only ever ran to Maiden Newton. But before the early 1960s the diesel car was crewed and operated, as the steam loco had been, from Weymouth, so did return there, timetabled, last thing at night, although it probably carried no passengers. This was before the mid-1960s singling.

Although Weymouth is the much larger town, the commercial and administrative focus of the area is Dorchester. For those who feel a line should have been extended from Weymouth, the intervening topography is completely unfavourable for that, with a succession on the current road of deep valleys and high hills and clifftops. It's actually a spectacular road to drive, make sure your gearbox is in good condition, but quite impossible for a railway.

I doubt if their would have been capacity on the single track to Dorchester

Quite off topic, but I recounted just a short while back how my journey on the Elizabeth Line in East London was disrupted because of disorganisation on the GWML, back to a delayed stone train from the Berks & Hants, which all had its origins in delays all morning on this part of the Weymouth line at Maiden Newton and elsewhere due to the single track sections ! Described here:

Elizabeth line reliability issues

Abbey Wood readers are supposed to be installed “this summer”. Custom House readers still doesn’t have a date. I believe the issue at Custom House only affects PAYG Oyster users. The announcement on the DLR platforms have changed to reflect this. It now says: ”Please remember to touch out with...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[SteveM70]

I was recently given some footage of the Bridport Branch, from Westbay to Maiden Newton in Dorset. I believe the footage is from around 1965-66.

I will hopefully have some more footage on the way and I have started a script about the journey. If anyone has any stories, information, photos or movie footage, I would love to hear from them. Thank you.

Have you read the book about the branch? It’s very thorough and pretty interesting, and available for a few quid second hand

 

[Irascible]

Although Weymouth is the much larger town, the commercial and administrative focus of the area is Dorchester. For those who feel a line should have been extended from Weymouth, the intervening topography is completely unfavourable for that, with a succession on the current road of deep valleys and high hills and clifftops. It's actually a spectacular road to drive, make sure your gearbox is in good condition, but quite impossible for a railway.

It is, although there's a fair bit of to & fro-ing to Bridport from Axminster/Chard/Lyme/Seaton & associated villages too ( the south-west frontier, you might like to say ). Bit of a pity there wasn't a coastal line ( or at least one that followed where the A35 goes ) - it's really not that much further to Axminster than Maiden Newton! - but yes, challenging would be understating the area's topology. It is a spectacular area to drive around.

 

[Aarchive]

Have you read the book about the branch? It’s very thorough and pretty interesting, and available for a few quid second hand

View attachment 143973

Oddly enough, the person that gave me the cine film let me barrow that book. I have now got my own copy, it's an excellent read.

 

[Chrius56000]

B.R. Southern Region did manage to get to Bridport station with S.R. green enamel signs and totems before closure, and I believe Maiden Newton got them as well but Toller and Powerstock never got B.R. signage!

B.R. Western Region certainly never went back along the branch with any chocolate brown paint or new brown and cream W.R. signs tho', altho' Maiden Newton did get a "Corporate Identity" sign directing passengers to the Bridport Branch trains – I believe the book "Passengers No More" had a picture of this sign with a wreath hung on it on closure day, 4 May 1975!

Chris Williams

 

[yorksrob]

Funnily enough some footage of the line during its last couple of months popped up in my youtube suggestions.

Absolutely enchanting line by the looks of it, and would probably be one of my faves were it still around.

Funnily enough there seemed to be plenty of "normal" looking passengers i.e. children heading to school, elderly ladies going shopping etc in the film. Perhaps the official view that the trains weren't used was overdone.

 

[nw1]

I find it interesting that, had it survived another 18 months, it would have been possible to travel from London to Bridport partly on an HST if you went via Bath. Shows how late it survived - and I agree that thinking "heart over head", a great shame it didn't survive longer, though I would have personally gone with a two-hourly one-unit service from Weymouth with good connections at Weymouth or Upwey with London. I guess it would be something like a 153 these days - or a 150 in summer - had it survived.

 

[Forty29]

I was recently given some footage of the Bridport Branch, from Westbay to Maiden Newton in Dorset. I believe the footage is from around 1965-66.

I will hopefully have some more footage on the way and I have started a script about the journey. If anyone has any stories, information, photos or movie footage, I would love to hear from them. Thank you.

Looking forward to more footage. Lovely video when the countryside was lush and railways had character despite being run down. My favourite part of the country.

 

[nw1]

Looking forward to more footage. Lovely video when the countryside was lush and railways had character despite being run down. My favourite part of the country.

To be fair the former point was still the case in the 90s when, even when the railway was long closed, the countryside had a deeply rural appeal in these parts.

Haven't been that way for a long time now, so no idea whether it's changed.

 

[Enthusiast]

Haven't been that way for a long time now, so no idea whether it's changed.

It is still very picturesque. I have relatives living in West Bay and visit three or four times a year. It is a complete backwater as far as public transport goes. There is, of course, no railway presence along the coast between Weymouth and Exeter. Last time I looked National Express ran no coaches along that stretch either. There is the X53 bus which runs between the Weymouth and Axminster via West Bay and Bridport (taking about two hours) and that's it.

As above, there have been numerous attempts to utilise the trackbed between Bridport and West Bay. None have come to anything. Nearby development has put paid to anything substantial being introduced. There is a housing development on the east side of the route between the B3157 (Burton Road) and the West Bay terminus site and the only access road (Meadowlands) to that estate bisects the railway route.

West Bay station is still extant and a number of enterprises have used it in recent years as a restaurant. Its current incarnation is "The Station Kitchen" which utilises the station building and two carriages berthed at the platform:

Restaurants West Bay | The Station Kitchen | Bridport

Looking for the best restaurants West Bay, Bridport, Dorset? The Station Kitchen offers a mouth watering menu for your special occasion dining experience.

www.thestationkitchen.co.uk

Unfortunately West Bay itself is an absolute nightmare in the summer. Thanks to "Broadchurch" (and the earlier "Harbour Lights", which few people seems to remember) it is mobbed with sightseers and it has very limited space and facilities to cater for large numbers

 

[Western Sunset]

We once stayed for a couple of nights at the B&B that was once Powerstock station. Nice relaxing stay there. The owner had written a book about it too.

 

[Taunton]

I'm sure there were one or two services which carried maybe 10 or 15 passengers, but the majority of the runs through the day had hardly anybody.
I've written before that Weymouth is not a significant destination for Bridport, Dorchester is much more so. When the service was withdrawn there was however quite a good bus service from Bridport to Dorchester, it's rather fallen away since, and unlike the rail route the road is pretty dead straight between the two.

However a further issue is the singling between Maiden Newton and Dorchester much limits what additional services can be run there, quite apart from Dorchester West station being quite a walk from the town centre (and walking back along the main road you can have buses going straight to Bridport driving past you), and Bridport station is even further out. The intermediate branch stations are in the middle of nowhere.

 

[yorksrob]

Going by the lines that have survived, that ten of fifteen passengers would likely be substantially more nowadays.