East Dorset Railways

This file is an attempt to record the advance & subsequent retreat of the railway network across the eastern part of Dorset. Note that I have included the Bournemouth area, as it is now regarded as part of Dorset, but during the development of railways in this part of the world, it was 'allotted' to Hampshire!

Time-line:

1847 (June 1st)	Southampton & Dorchester Railway - "Castleman's Corkscrew": The 'old' road (as it came to be known by 20th century railwaymen), from Brockenhurst to Hamworthy Junction, via West Moors, Wimborne Minster & Broadstone; there was also a branch line from Hamworthy to what was then called 'Poole' station, but this was on the other side of the entrance to Holes Bay, so that passengers had to take the ferry &/or toll bridge (latter opened in 1837 ##) across to the 'mainland'. [This station eventually became Hamworthy 'Goods' once the direct Broadstone - Poole Jc Railway was opened - see later]. The entire line at this date was single track, as was common practice at the time. This was the first public railway in this part of Dorset. The Act enabling construction of this line (along with other Acts that clogged-up parliamentary time at the start of the 'railway mania' period), was passed in 1845, and this was just 15 years after the start of the 'Railway revolution' that began in the industrial north-west, with the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. The Southampton & Dorchester line was always worked by the London & South Western Railway (L & SWR), and was absorbed by that company in 1848; the original service on this line would typically have seen five trains each weekday, each way. I understand that the original intention of the Southampton & Dorchester Railway was to extend to Exeter (hence the curious original layout at Dorchester [South], where 'up' trains had to use a bay platform, even if they were coming up from Weymouth), but this scheme fell through when the L & SWR completed their West of England main line from Salisbury to Exeter (Queen Street / now Central), which ran through the north of Dorset and south Somerset. The 'Castleman' of the nickname comes from Charles Castleman, a Wimborne solicitor, who was a 'big name' in the world of railway development of the time, eventually becoming the Chairman of the board of the L & SWR. [ # this was a wooden, toll swing bridge, sponsored by the local MP ( William Ponsonby ). It had very steep approaches, and proved difficult for horses to navigate. In 1885, it was replaced by an iron swing bridge, with gentler approach gradients, then finally this structure was replaced by the (existing) lifting bridge in 1926. Although tolls were levied initially, it was taken over by the Borough of Poole in 1926. There are plans (2008) to replace this with a fixed bridge. ]
1857	By this time, traffic increase was such that the D&S line had been doubled to Wimborne Minster. This became an extremely important 'railway town', even more so with the arrival of the Somerset Central Railway (later S & DJR) in 1860. Many people wanting to travel to Poole (and the embryonic Bournemouth - very small hamlet at this time), would have travelled to Wimborne then used road transport to get to these places, rather than the tortuous jouney (and change of train) to the old Poole / Hamworthy station.
1857 (20th January)	Early in 1857, the Great Western Railway (GWR) opened its line [ technically the Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth railway - but taken over previously by the GWR ] from Yeovil (Pen Mill) to Weymouth: this was an extension from the GWR main-line that ran from Westbury to Castle Cary. With this line in place, and the L&SWR having 'running powers' from Dorchester (South) to Weymouth (over a 'mixed-gauge' line), traffic on the 'main' line via Brockenhurst, Wimborne & Hamworthy (or 'Poole Junction' as it was then known) became very heavy - Weymouth of course wasn't just an increasingly popular holiday resort, but perhaps more importantly, was to become a growing port for the ferries that linked the Channel Islands with the British mainland. Channel Islands produce quickly became an important part of the goods traffic for both the L&SWR and GWR. [ NB: what we now call Hamworthy Junction (or latterly just 'Hamworthy'), was originally known as 'Poole Junction', as it was the place where the branch line swung away from the main line towards the 'Poole' station, which was of course not in Poole! This is the reason why, when the 'direct' branch from Broadstone to the new Poole station was opened in 1872 (actually in Poole), Broadstone was then known as 'New Poole Junction' - I hope you are keeping up with all this!]
1860 (1st November)	The Dorset Central Railway (DCR) opened it's railway from Blandford Forum to Wimborne Minster, via Corfe Mullen; it also exercised 'running powers' on the section of the Southampton & Dorchester railway as far as Hamworthy Junction. This railway was soon to merge (1862) with the Somerset Central Railway to form the Somerset & Dorset Railway (S & DR), later still, when the L & SWR and Midland Railway rescued them it became the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S & DJR). At this time, the railway only linked up with the Bristol Channel at Burnham-on-Sea. Eventually (1874), with a line to Bath, the main purpose of this line would be to bring trains over the SCR/DCR (then S & DJR) roads to the south coast from the Midlands and beyond. To do this, the engines had to run around the train at Wimborne Minster (i.e. reversing direction), before taking the trains onto the old Poole station (which was in fact on the other side of the harbour at Hamworthy). This railway closed 1966.
1862 (13th November)	The Ringwood, Christchurch & Bournemouth railway (single-track, sharp gradients and curves - severely restricted running speeds) was opened as far as Christchurch - the first attempt to bring the railway to the Bournemouth area: a horse-drawn omnibus service carried passengers to Bournemouth. In fact, the parliamentary Act enabling this line also allowed for the railway line to run into Bournemouth, but the powers were not exercised at this time. This was the first attempt at a direct approach to Bournemouth, though that place at this time was a pretty insignificant hamlet, both compared to today and set against Poole of the day. It is arguable that the development of Bournemouth as a 'warm-water' resort didn't really have a chance until the S&DJR company brought traffic from the Midlands and the North country - and that came of course via Poole into Bournemouth (West): see later. [ This line was abandoned on 30th September, 1935, with line being lifted. Running as it does via Hurn (i.e. Bournemouth 'International' airport) it might have been a good idea to keep it! However, part of the northern leg of this track is now buried underneath the A338 from Ringwood to Bournemouth, so it serves a purpose yet.] NB: apparently Hurn was originally called 'Hearne Bridge' then 'Hearne'.
1863 (31st August)	S&DJR line from Blandford Forum to Bruton (old SCR) completed, thus allowing traffic from the Bristol Channel & hinterland (albeit pretty sparse) to reach Poole (old station).
1863	The 'main' line (Castleman) was doubled-up between Wimborne Minster & Wareham by this time; the lines east of this had been so upgraded by 1857. The line to Poole (old station, later Hamworthy Goods) was also doubled. This would have been in response to the increase of traffic both L&SWR and S&DJR. Wimborne Junction (south of the town) and Hamworthy Junction boxes must have been extremely busy places!
1866 (20th December)	Salisbury & Dorset Junction Railway opened with the line (single throughout it's life, with passing loops at each station) from Salisbury (on the L & SWR West of England main line) to West Moors (becoming West Moors Junction*, on the L & SWR main line from Southampton to Dorchester and Poole (old station)). Once again, this must have meant a significant increase in traffic over the section Wimborne Minster - Hamworthy Junction, with Wimborne in particular being one of the busiest stations in this part of the south of England at this time. [ * as far as I can deduce, this is when the station at West Moors was built - the buildings being opened on the 1st August, 1867.]
1870 (14th March)	A line (single) from Christchurch to Bournemouth (East/old station**) was completed, which for the first time brought the railway to that resort. This Bournemouth station (opened in May of that year) was to the east of the current (Central) station, on the eastern side of Holdenhurst Road (which at the time was a 'main' road into the town from the NE). The station was rather basic (a single wooden platform I understand), and would need upgrading (or, as in fact happened, re-building) to accommodate the growing town. Growth of Bournemouth was rapid during the second-half of the 19th century. In 1851, the national census returns have the population of the 'town' as 691, more a village really! By 1861, this had doubled to reached around 1700 souls. Another ten years on though, years when the railway was closing in from west and east, and the 'official' population is now 5900; it would explosively grow to around 17000 by 1881 and to ~60000 by the dawn of the 20th century, a truly phenomenal rate of growth - and to think that just as late as the first quarter of the 19th century, where the town stands now was marked by a small collection of houses astride the Bourne stream (i.e., at it's mouth), and the greater part of modern Bournemouth was part of Poole Heath, a habitat not unlike that of the modern-day New Forest, with the only inhabitants itinerant tinkers, gypsies and the like. [ ** this would have been known simply as 'Bournemouth' station of course, because there was no other railway station in the town at this date: the L&SWR did not open the 'West' station until 1874. When the current Bournemouth (Central) was opened on the other side of Holdenhurst Road, in 1888, this site became Bournemouth (Goods) station. The entire route (Ringwood - Christchurch - Bournemouth(E)) was now the primary method for travel to the rapidly growing town / resort of Bournemouth and through coaches were worked from London (and elsewhere), being detached at Ringwood from the Weymouth trains. Ringwood therefore became, until the opening of the 'direct' line from Lymington Junction (west of Brockenhurst), a very busy station indeed, with a magnificent covered bay platform to accommodate transferring passengers. It was worked by the L & SWR from the start, which absorbed the company owning the line in 1874. ** Between 1871 & 1881 census returns, the population of the area identified as 'Bournemouth' trebled, and this was probably due to the arrival of the railway. [ Note: 1930/31: line quadrupled ]
1872 (2nd December)	A line (essentially a singled branch line) was opened from 'New Poole Junction' (later just Poole Junction, then Broadstone & New Poole Junction & finally just Broadstone Junction**) to Poole. This work meant that traffic (L&SWR and S&DJR) could for the first time reach Poole 'proper' (rather than passengers having to go to Hamworthy and use a ferry and/or toll bridge). As far as I can work out, this was a genuinely separate line, alongside the older Southampton & Dorchester line running south out of Poole Junction. [ ** when the original railway ran through what is now Broadstone, there wasn't much there! A farm and a few associated cottages etc., but certainly no 'Broadstone' as we know it, hence the main naming point for the two railway companies was the fact that this was the junction station for Poole. ]
1874 (15th June)	The 'branch line' to Poole was extended to the newly-built Bournemouth (West) station, also at the time simply a single-line branch from the 'main' line running east / west to Dorchester. Bournemouth (West) at this early stage, like it's counterpart on the eastern side of the town, was a small affair with very basic facilities. [ The line was doubled by 1885 ] With this extension in place, trains from the Midlands and the north of Britain could reach Bournemouth and thus reach the south coast without going via London. However, the trains from the S&DJR system still had to travel to Wimborne Minster and reverse before continuing south to Broadstone & Poole (and eventually Bournemouth [West]).
1874 (20th July)	S & DR (soon/1875/to become the S & DJR) opened a line from Evercreech Junction to the Midland Railway terminus at Bath (Green Square, later renamed Green Park): by this means, traffic from the Midlands and the North could reach the south coast & goods traffic, particularly fresh produce, milk etc., from the fertile growing areas in Wessex could move rapidly in the other direction. It is from this time that the growth of Bournemouth as a holiday resort is assured, with through coaches being worked between Birmingham & Bournemouth via the Midland and Somerset & Dorset Joint railways.	(See the links page for some sources on the history of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway)
1885 (20th May)	Wareham - Swanage branch (single, except for passing-loop at Castle Cary), opened to traffic 20th May, 1885. Note how the branch leaves the main-line a long way west of Wareham (at Worgret Junction): the good burgers of Wareham were not too keen on the line running through the town, hence the wide sweep to the west before heading for the coast. Apparently, the opposition in the Wareham area was one of the reasons it took so long for the railway to reach Swanage. A local company ran the line for its first year, then this was taken over by the L & SWR. Passenger traffic ceased 1972, January, but the Swanage Railway Trust operate a service between Nordern and Swanage, via Castle Cary.
1885 (20th July)	A new 'Bournemouth (East) opened, on the other (i.e. western) side of Holdenhurst Road, with the old 'East' station relegated to Goods working. This station was designed by William Jacob, the LSWR's Chief Engineer, and was a much more imposing edifice than the orginal station, though at this time, it was still a terminus. It was apparently designed to resemble a 'winter garden' (in keeping with the architecture of the fast-growing town of Bournemouth) with an impressive overall roofed (glass canopy) station. As well as the two 'main' platform/lines through the station (still in use), there were two 'through' roads (though the east-west connection to Bournemouth (West) & Poole had yet to be completed) and both the up and down sides had small bay platforms. An engineering / locomotive depot was located at the western (Poole) end of the the station.
1885 (14th December)	The S & DJR opened a spur, or 'cut-off' line (single-track throughout it's life) from Corfe Mullen (this then becoming 'Corfe Mullen Junction') to Broadstone Junction, so that trains from the north could run direct to Poole and Bournemouth (West), without the reversing at Wimborne Minster. Initially this was for goods traffic, but from 1886 passenger trains passed over the spur. Traffic on the line from Corfe Mullen to Wimborne declined (becoming a carriage siding for many years): the dates I have provisionally are 1920, 11th or 12th July for loss of passenger traffic, with milk & limited goods trains running over the line until 1932 (milk traffic) and 1933, 17th June (all goods traffic). Part of the line (from the Corfe Mullen end) continued in use as a long-siding until 1959, 19th September, and as a store for old wagon stock until 1969.
1886 (May 30th)	Doubled track to Bournemouth (East / later Central) opened for traffic. At same time, the new Bournemouth (East) opened.
1888	Link across 'top' of Bournemouth opened, allowing through running from east to west, and (with reversal), entry of trains from the east into Bournemouth (West). Eventually, the 'third' side of the Branksome triangle was constructed, allowing trains to run direct into Bournemouth (W).
1888 (5th March)	The line from Brockenhurst to Christchurch was opened, allowing trains from Southampton and London to run to Bournemouth direct, without the rather tortuous route via Ringwood & Hurn. The Bournemouth (East) station had already been rebuilt (1885) on the other side of the road, the existing station becoming a goods station. Eventually (1893/1st July), the new Bournemouth (E) was renamed Bournemouth (Central), and by this time also, Bournemouth (West) had been enlarged. From this time, it could be argued, the long decline of the 'Old Road' via West Moors & Wimborne began; however, Weymouth portions of west-bound trains were still 'split' at Brockenhurst, with the Wyemouth sections running via West Moors & Wimborne. However, Ringwood would immediately have lost traffic, as the Ringwood - Christchurch line was relegated to a local, lightly-loaded branch affair just 26 years after it had been opened.
1893 (May/June)	The 'Holes Bay Curve' was opened (18th May), linking Poole (West or 'B' box) with Hamworthy Junction, and allowing trains from the east (i.e. London, Southampton & Bournemouth) to run through to the west (Dorchester & Weymouth) without running over the 'Old Road' further inland. This hastened the demise of this latter route, and relegated it immediately to a 'country' feeder rather than a main line: it was used, however, for 'relief' workings to avoid a congested South Coast route via Bournemouth & Poole - this being so until well into the 1950s. Also in this year (1st June, just two weeks after the above), the final 'side' of the Branksome 'triangle' (or Branksome avoiding line) was opened, removing the need for engines to reverse around trains destined for Bournemouth (West) from either Bournemouth (Central .. renamed from 'East' on this date) or Broadstone & Poole. [ This was the last bit of 'new' line constructed within our area of interest. ] From this latter date, all Weymouth trains (apart from holiday reliefs, emergency workings etc.) travelled via Bournemouth (Central), the situation as it is today.
1896 (1st July)	Passenger traffic on the Hamworthy Junction to Hamworthy line ceased.
1899	Bournemouth (East/'new' station), renamed Bournemouth (Central).
1932	Line Broadstone - Hamworthy Junction singled.
1935 (30th September)	Ringwood to Christchurch, via Hurn closed. This route had been rendered redundant in its original role (as a direct link to Bournemouth) since 1888. It is perhaps unfortunate that some vestiges had not been retained to service the airport at Hurn.
1961	Poole station to Poole Quay line closed.
1964 (4th May)	Brockenhurst to Ringwood closed to passengers (& possibly all traffic, but I haven't ascertained that yet). All traffic (goods and passenger) ceased on the Salisbury & Dorset Junction line north of West Moors, and all passenger traffic on the 'Old Route' ceased as far as Broadstone. Limited goods traffic continued to West Moors (Army Fuel Depot) and to Wimborne.
1965 (20th September)	General goods traffic ceased to West Moors, but fuel trains continued to the Army depot (until 1974).
1965 (4th October)	Bournemouth (West) & all access roads [ from the Branksome 'Triangle' ] closed. All residual traffic destined for Bournemouth from the S & DJR was diverted to Bournemouth (Central).
1966 (28th February)	General goods traffic ceased to Wimborne. Apparently the station was used to store / service an exhibition train until 1977.
1966 (7th March)	With the closure of the entire route of the Somerset & Dorset Joint line [ Bath / Green Park to Poole ], all passenger traffic ceased from that route. This meant that Broadstone Junction closed to passenger traffic - it had already lost its 'old road' passenger traffic a couple of years before. Limited goods traffic continued.
1967	Broadstone - Ringwood (general goods) closed. Some limited special goods traffic continued to Wimborne and West Moors (military siding).
1970 (October)	Line from Poole (Holes Bay Junction) to Creekmoor and Broadstone singled .. at this time, only limited goods traffic was passing via this route to Wimborne & West Moors, and limited milk traffic to part of the old S&DJR line. Also by / around this time, the S & DJR lines were being lifted, or had been abandoned / lifted.
1972 (3rd January)	Passenger traffic Wareham to Swanage ceased; local goods traffic continued to use the northern section as a siding. The line has since been reopened from Swanage to Nordern by the Swanage Railway Trust, this effective from 1975.
1974	Fuel traffic to West Moors military storage depot ceased, with the line then being abandoned back to Wimborne. The line east of West Moors had been closed many years before.
1975	Swanage Railway Trustre-open part of the branch to Swanage.
1977 (2nd May)	All lines north of Holes Bay Junction closed. This included Wimborne residual goods work, which amounted to a twice-weekly working. [ Much of the track of the defunct railways north of Poole have subsequently been buried beneath roads! A commentary on the times. ]

LINKS TO SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
[ Return to Musings Index ]
Line 'singled' at West Moors (and presumably the rest of the line) well before final closure, but I can't work out at the moment whether this was the 1964 passenger closure, or the 1977-ish goods closure (I am coming around to the thought that it was the latter). Photographs for West Moors in 1963 still show double-lines through the station, so not sure when the line was singled-out.


S & DJR lines closed 5th March, 1966.

LYMINGTON JUNCTION TO HAMWORTHY JUNCTION

S57/04 Holmsley

05 Crow Crossing

06 Ringwood East

07 Ringwood West/Ringwood

08 Woolsbridge Crossing/Ashley Heath

09 West Moors

10 Uddens Crossing

11a Canford Crossing #

11 Wimborne

12 Wimborne Junction

S57/13 Oakley Crossing #

14 Broadstone Junction/Broadstone

15 Lytchett Crossing

Difficult for us now to understand the revolution that the arrival of the railway brought about - to all aspects of life. Perhaps the nearest modern-day equivalent would be the advent & growth of the Internet or the Mobile telephone. But I would argue that the railways were even bigger than these ....

It is ironic that if the 'old' network of railways had been preserved from the early 1960s, we would probably have welcomed the apparently profligate provision of metals across the country, and certainly in this area. With modern signalling methods (no need for signal-boxes every few miles, or at each junction), 'open' stations, fast, efficient motive power and rolling stock and a consensus that the love affair with the car & lorry can't go on for ever, such a 'ghost' rail network would probably be well patronised - I wonder what Doctor Beeching is thinking now ........

Dorset experienced the arrival of 'main-line' railways relatively late in the 'mania' period: it had a small, mainly rural / agricultural population, with little industry and no mining; there was little potential for substational revenue as a return for the expense of putting the railway infrastructure in place.
The railways, when they did arrive, encouraged dairy farming (at the expense of arable farming), particularly across the north and west of the county. Milk and associated products could be transferred to the London area (L &SWR, GWR) & the Midlands and North Country (S&DJR/MR) quickly and efficiently; for example, United Dairies eventually had a large processing plant on the S&DJR at Bailey Gate / Sturminster Marshall). There was also seasonal trade involving such as watercress and mushrooms. At Verwood, two brick-making concerns generated inward coal and outward finished brick products which travelled via the Salisbury & Dorset Junction railway. From the Swanage branch, much sought-after Portland stone was transported all over the country.

Problem with the West Moors - line built as a main line (double-track for much of it's life), yet the traffic it was built for was 'diverted' along the south coast from the latter part of the 19th century.

Some notes on local railway history - no particular order at this time; I'll tidy them up in the months & years ahead.

.. Ashley Heath Halt (known as Woolsbridge Crossing before passenger traffic started)
* opened 1st April, 1927 (but the line of course had been open since 1847)
* closed 4th May, 1964 (when the section of the line Ringwood - Broadstone closed to passenger traffic).
* situated on the west side of the crossing.
[ NB: from the photographs this line was still doubled in 1963 ]

.. Bailey Gate( initially named "Sturminster Marshall", after nearest village but renamed November, 1863 to avoid confusion woth Sturminster Newton on same line).
* opened 1st November, 1860 (with Wimborne Minster - Blandford St. Mary section of the DCR).
* closed to 'general goods' traffic 5th April, 1965 (but milk traffic to the adjacent United Dairies depot continued for a number of years thereafter; this company was a major user of the goods yard). There was considerable goods traffic in it's heyday, especially of a seasonal nature, for example watercress and mushrooms.
* closed 7th March, 1966 (with closure of S & DJR line between Bath (Green Park) & Poole to passenger traffic).
* track lifted around/by 21st June, 1970.

.. Bournemouth (Central) (originally Bournemouth [East], but the original station by this name [ & the first true 'Bournemouth' station ] was on a slightly different site, on the site of the old Goods Yard of Central station, on the eastern side of Holdenhurst Road, which is now a 'Retail Park'. )
* linked with the older [see immediately above] Bournemouth (East), the original station for Bournemouth, by a short tunnel.
* re-named 'Central' on 1st July, 1893.

.. Bournemouth (West)
* opened 15th June, 1874, as terminus of the London & South Western Railway branch (as it was then) from Poole & Broadstone.
* closed (all traffic) 4th October, 1965. The line close back to the Branksome 'triangle', which linked in turn to the main line Bournemouth (Central) to Poole.

.. Branksome (early nameplate apparently: " Branksome for Eastern Poole " #)
* opened 1st June, 1893
[ # though in fact, the station could more reasonably be said to serve western parts of Bournemouth! ]

.. Broadstone (see later for various names of this station)
* opened 1st June, 1847 (with the opening of the 'old road', or main-line between Southampton and Dorchester: it would have simply been a 'village' station at this time).
* branch to Poole was opened 2nd December, 1872, then presumably some re-naming occurred: station name changed 7 times during its life!
* Corfe Mullen - Broadstone 'cut-off' opened in 1886, which allowed Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway traffic to pass direct to Poole and Bournemouth, without having to reverse (or exchange) at Wimborne.
* closed 20th September, 1965 for general goods traffic.

.. Christchurch
* opened 13th November, 1862 (as the terminus of the first section of the Ringwood - Christchurch - Bournemouth branch). Until the extension to Bournemouth (East) was opened [ in 1870 ], a bus service ran from Christchurch to Bournemouth.
* in 1870 [ 14th March ], the line (single track) was extended to Bournemouth (East).
* a second (replacement) station was opened on the 30th May, 1886 [on the main line between Brockenhurst & Bournemouth], with the doubling of the line to Bournemouth. However, the original station remained (inactive) on the Christchurch line.

.. Corfe Castle
* opened 20th May, 1885 (with opening of Wareham - Swanage railway branch).
* closed (British Railways) 3rd January, 1972.
* re-opened (Swanage Railway) 12th August, 1995.

.. Corfe Mullen Halt
* opened 27th June, 1928, on the Corfe Mullen Jc. to Broadstone cut-off. Single line.
* this spur was opened in 1885, initially for goods traffic, then in 1886 for passenger traffic, therefore removing the need for train reversal (or passenger exchange) at Wimborne - however, S & DJR trains did continue to run to Wimborne for several years on a reduced basis thereafter.
* closed 17th September, 1956 (long before the spur was closed in the 1960s).

.. Creekmore Halt
* opened 19th June, 1933.
* served the developing Creekmore & Waterloo developments (now suburbs of Poole).
* closed 7th March, 1966.

.. Daggons Road( called 'Alderholt' until May, 1876)
* opened 1st January, 1876 (but note that the single line opened from Salisbury to West Moors in 1866, on the 20th December).
* closed 4th May, 1964, with the closure of the entire line.

.. Hamworthy (originally 'Poole', see below; renamed from Poole to Hamworthy 2nd December, 1872, with opening of Broadstone - Poole line, and subsequently known as 'Hamworthy Goods'.)
* opened 1st June, 1847, as the southern terminus of the Poole Junction (now Hamworthy 'Junction') to Poole branch from the main line - on the 'Ballast Quay'. As well as serving Poole, this was also, effectively, the first (& nearest) station to service the growing resort of Bournemouth. However, by our standards, it was a very poor site - passengers & goods having to cross initially the toll bridge to Poole town, then make a rather tiresome crossing of the extensive heathland between Poole and Bournemouth. Apparently a daily bus service ran along this route. Despite these drawbacks, the route was still better than having to de-train at somewhere like Ringwood and take a long, winding run down to the coast, and traffic grew to the point where the branch was doubled-up in 1863.
* closed 1st July, 1896 [ but some references have this as 1893 CHECK!!!! ] to passengers, with the withdrawal of all passenger facilities on the branch at that time. Poole station (on the other side of the harbour) had been open since 1872.
* closed (general goods) 2nd March, 1981, but limited container traffic continues (as at 2008).
* the old station buildings and remains of the platforms of the original 1847 station could be seen well into the 1970s, with the old buildings being used as a goods office.

.. Hamworthy Junction (originally called "Poole Junction" in 1847, and renamed 2nd December, 1872#; in latter years, just referred to as 'Hamworthy').
.. the branch to Poole (now Hamworthy Goods) left the main (Castleman) line at a place named 'Thurland Farm' in the parish of Hamworthy.
[# this is presumably why Broadstone was originally called 'New Poole Junction' when the branch to Poole opened in 1872].

.. Holton Heath
* opened 3rd April, 1917 (line already open since 1847).
* originally only available to workers at nearby naval cordite works (1914 - 1961); open for public use 14th July, 1924 & unstaffed halt from 1964.

.. Parkstone (regarded as the station for 'Sandbanks')
* opened 15th June, 1874, with the opening of the Poole to Bournemouth (West) extension to the original Broadstone - Poole branch.

.. Pokesdown (originally named 'Boscombe', then re-named in 1891 to "Pokesdown (Boscombe)", then to just 'Pokesdown' when Boscombe got its own station in 1897.
* opened 1st July, 1886, on the Christchurch - Bournemouth (East) extension of the Ringwood to Christchurch railway, which latter was opened in 1870.
* line through this station quadrupled in 1930/31.

.. Poole
* Poole town (& harbour) was served from 1847 by a branch that left the main line at what is now Hamworthy Junction (then known as "Poole Junction") and terminated on the spit of land on the opposite side of Poole, and passengers etc., made their way to Poole via a ferry and/or toll bridge.
* opened 2nd December, 1872 on the present site when the 'branch' from Broadstone was opened for traffic. At this stage it was a terminus on a single line.
* the branch was subsequently extended to Bournemouth (West), opening for traffic on the 15th June, 1874.
* in 1888, station traffic increased dramatically, when the through link to Bournemouth (Central) opened.
* on the 1st June, 1893, the Holes Bay 'curve' opened. From this date, the station served two through routes: Bath (Green Park) to Bournemouth (West) [S&DJR] and Waterloo to Weymouth [L&SWR]. The 'old road' via Ringwood, West Moors & Wimborne now effectively became a glorified branch line served by L&SWR services to/from Bournemouth (West) & Salisbury.
* general goods traffic ceased 18th July, 1966

.. Ringwood
* opened 1st June, 1847
* 13th November, 1862, a branch line (single-track) was opened from a point west of Ringwood, running down the Avon valley, to Christchurch - this latter being some 4 to 5 miles east of Bournemouth. Although a poor route (speeds were severely limited, something around 25 - 30 mph being mentioned, due to some sharp curves and challenging gradients), it provided a considerable improvement for passenger and goods traffic trying to get to Bournemouth. Extensive sheltered interchange facilities were constructed at Ringwood to allow passengers to change trains in comfort. The trains were divided at Ringwood, with the main portion continuing towards Wimborne, Wareham, Dorchester & Weymouth, and the remaining section (where available) being taken down the branch to Christchurch (1862) or Bournemouth (1870). In some timetables, apparently, the station is known about this time as 'Ringwood Junction', but the actual branch ran parallel with the main line for a good way west of the station, before turning left to run down the Avon valley.
* 30th September, 1935 - services on the Ringwood - Hurn - Christchurch line ceased.
* closed 4th May, 1964 (for passengers, with withdrawal of all such services between Brockenhurst & Broadstone.
* closed (completely) 7th August, 1967

.. Swanage

* opened 20th May, 1885, with the opening of Swanage branch (L & SWR).
* closed (British Railways) 3rd January, 1972.
* re-opened (Swanage Railway) 1975.

.. Verwood
* opened 20th December, 1866 (with opening of Salisbury & Dorset Junction Railway between Alderbury Jc. and West Moors Jc.#)
* closed 4th May, 1964 (with closure of entire line).
* the line between Alderbury Jc. and West Moors Jc., was singl-line throughout it's length and life, with passing places co-located with the stations along the route.
* there were two nearby brickworks, which generated considerable goods traffic: coal inward (firing the furnaces/kilns), and bricks and other like products outward.
[ # interesting that Verwood station was therefore opened before West Moors station, the latter not being in service until the following year q.v.]

.. Wareham
* opened 1st June, 1847, with main line opening.
* new, larger station opened 4th April, 1887, following opening of Swanage branch in 1885.
[ note that the Swanage line doesn't leave the main line directly at Wareham, but a little further down the line at Worgret Junction. ]

.. West Moors Junction [ more notes re: West Moors and the Railway ]
* opened 1st August, 1867 (8 months after the Salisbury & Dorset Jc. Rly. was opened to connect at this point with the main Southampton to Dorchester line - this latter line had been 'in traffic' since 1847). The delay of 20 years in providing a station at this point suggests that the community of West Moors was very small - and maps up to the early part of the 20th century show few building in the immediate vicinity, and there does not appear to be a local source of goods traffic, apart from a scattering of small farms. The local population, within the area we now know as 'West Moors', probably numbered a hundred or so well scattered about on the farms / estates. What I have yet to find is whether there was a facility of sorts between 1847 & 1867; I have found a passing reference to the station replacing a 'Halt' at this point - it makes sense to have something, as what we now know as Station Road / B3072 was a route north-south from the coast to the 'forest' community of Verwood.
* the scattered community of 'Fern Down' (as it was known until well into the 20th century) lay some two miles to the south of the station. The station nameboard showed 'West Moors for Ferndown'. Prior to the opening of the more direct routes to Bournemouth (from both west, then east), there was some irregular overland carriage from West Moors to the rapidly growing resort - and it may be that the 'Railway Inn' was a result of this - don't know: needs checking.
* the principal buildings were on the up platform (i.e. towards Ringwood & Southampton); a concrete footbridge was added early in the 1900s [ presumably road traffic was increasing and it was dangerous to allow passengers to continue to use the level-crossing to transfer from one side to the other?]
* the signal box controlling the crossing was on the up platform, on the east side of the road, before the footbridge. The 'main' junction signal box was on the south side of the main line, within sight of the Salisbury & Fuel Depot junctions. Presumably when the line was opened in 1847, the crossing of what is now known as Station Road was controlled by the crossing keeper in the cottage that still stands.
* in 1943 the station became the location of a War Department petrol depot [pre-D day?]. It is arguable that it is this event that ensured that West Moors remained a coherent community once the railway was dispensed with - it is difficult to see what other reason would require the maintenance of a local community: the WD depot grew after the war, and is still (as at 2008) a major factor in the economy of the village.
* closed 4th May, 1964 (to passenger traffic, with the complete closure of the line to regular traffic to Salisbury, and the withdrawal of passenger services between Ringwood & Broadstone. Good traffic continued - see below).
* closed 20th September, 1965 to general goods traffic (i.e. via the goods yard/sidings)
* closed 1974 - when rail-borne traffic to the Army fuel depot (nearby) was finally ceased. This traffic [ direct to the depot via a system of private sidings ], had been irregular from the Wimborne / Broadstone direction since the general closures in the 1960s.

.. Wimborne (Minster, I don't think the various railways really used the 'Minster' tag.)
* opened 1st June, 1847 (with the opening to traffic of the Southampton & Dorchester Railway)
* 31st October, 1860: short branch opened (single track), leaving the 'main line' just south of Wimborne station and curving sharply west towards the Dorset Central Railway (DCR) at Blandford (via. Corfe Mullen).
* services on the DCR were worked from the outset by the L & SWR (presumably with engines & carriage stock based at Wimborne).
* 31st August, 1863 - DCR line from Wimborne & Blandford extended north to meet the Somerset Central Railway at Bruton. By this time (for about 12 months), the combined SCR/DCR operation had become the Somerset & Dorset Railway (S & DR).
* closed 4th May, 1964 (to passenger traffic).
* closed 28th February, 1966 (to general goods traffic).
* closed 2nd May, 1977, when the station stopped being used as a 'siding' to store exhibition trains.
* from the opening of the DCR (later S & DR, then S & DJR) line in 1860 to the opening of the single-line spur between Broadstone & Corfe Mullen Junction in 1886 [26 years], this was the busiest station in Dorset - this was because passengers or whole trains used the station as an interchange / reversing point with the 'main line' to Poole, Dorchester & Weymouth. It therefore handled north-south & east-west traffic, much as, for example, the modern-day Reading General might be viewed.

Notes re: growth of Bournemouth
.. 1841: probably no more than 20 to 30 dwellings in the 'core' area of what we now know as Bournemouth. Part of the vast heathland east of Poole.
.. 1871: (census return) - pop. Bournemouth ~6000.
.. 1881: (census return) - pop. ~17 000.
.. 1950: - pop. ~ 130 000.

[ Last entry: 01 APR 2008 ]