Anchwood Improvements

Just to show that there has been work done on the railway, here are some photos of the improvements that have been made to Anchwood, the little terminus at the end of the branch line from Gunnmere Junction.

A back scene has been added here, which is an immediate improvement to the blue wall that was the previous background.

Some trees, hedging and bushes have also been added to make it appear a bit more rural.

In these photos, a Class 108 DMU waits to depart from the station's only platform. This being the usual motive power for the branch line.

Indeed so rural, now, is this station that the gents toilet is one without a roof. 

That is fine on a day like today, when the sun is shining but, when it rains!

The ladies toilet, meanwhile, is attached to the Ticket Office / Waiting Room.

Now, why is that man holding the door open?

Ah, I see - there, emerging from within, is a BR Class 4MT, about to haul a special, no doubt.

Meanwhile, at Gunnmere Junction, we see a Class 37 departing with a rake of GUVs.

Beyond the Trailway - Bailey Gate and Corfe Mullen

After completing what there currently is of the North Dorset Trailway, we thought we would see what there was of the S&D, further south, at Sturminster Marshall (aka Bailey Gate) and Corfe Mullen.

Well, sadly, the answer is very little at either location. 

The trackbed does still exist between Spetisbury and Sturminster Marshall, although it does cross three roads in the process. However, the station site itself has completely disappeared beneath a large industrial estate that has totally consumed both the station site and the adjacent milk factory.

What was Bridge Nº 220 has also disappeared and has been replaced by a roundabout at the entrance, although the road either side of said roundabout has been named Bridge Street in its memory!

The only other nods to the railway's existence in the village are thoroughfares named Station Road and Railway Drive.

As to why the S&D named the station Bailey Gate rather than Sturminster Marshall is simply to avoid confusion between here and the stations at Sturminster Newton and Charlton Marshall.

Moving on to Corfe Mullen, again, the trackbed between the two stations is largely extant but, as with Bailey Gate, nothing remains of the station site nor of Bridge Nº 235, which carried the Wimborne Road.

The cutting in which the halt was situated was filled in during the 1980s and subsequently developed to form Corfe Halt Close:

This was the location of the station, looking north:

And looking south:

Bridge Nº 236 at Lambs Green Lane does still exist, see below:

The cutting below the bridge is heavily overgrown but, if cleared, could still make an attractive pathway. However, there is a footpath to the side of this cutting which affords great views towards Wimborne:

Further along the trackbed is a little clearer but still inaccessible.

After walking alongside the trackbed for about a quarter of a mile, you can eventually access it as it becomes part of the Corfe Burrows Nature Park which, in turn, is linked to the Happy Bottom Nature Reserve.

From here until the start of the Broadstone Golf Course, which the S&D traversed but which is not, now, accessible, is a lovely, peaceful walk and all the more so because it was unexpected.

It included the three-arched Ashington Lane bridge as well as the odd railway remnant.

Photos of this stretch of line are extremely rare but I did find this black & white image by Ivo Peters, from his excellent and highly recommended book: 'The Somerset and Dorset - An English Cross Country Railway'.

This is rare indeed since Ivo tended to concentrate on the northern half of the line so to find this one in his book was a lovely surprise.

It shows quite nicely how much this cutting has been in-filled since closure.

North Dorset Trailway - Part 5: Charlton Marshall to Spetisbury

The final section of the Trailway begins again on the outskirts of Blandford and, once you have regained it, it is another mile or so until you come to the next station at Charlton Marshall.

This was another halt although, as it was now on double track, it had two platforms.

The top photograph is looking north, towards Blandford, with Bridge Nº 203 carrying a road across the line.The bottom photo is looking south, towards Spetisbury, and on this section of track some fast running was possible with the official speed limit of 70 mph often being exceeded by all accounts.

As with Stourpaine & Durweston, the station at Charlton Marshall had but a brief existence, opening four days before Stourpaine, on 5 July 1928, and closing on the same day - 17 September 1956.

This section of track provided the opportunity for some fast running with an official speed limit of 70 mph although I believe this was often exceeded.

The facilities provided here were extremely basic with just one seat on each platform and no shelter and no lights. As such the train guard would need to shine his lamp to guide any passengers who alighted here up the pathway to the road. After that, and still in the dark, they were on their own!

From Charlton Marshall it is less than two miles to the next station at Spetisbury, and the end of the Trailway, for now. Happily Spetisbury Halt, as it became, has survived and is slowly being restored by a group of volunteers.

It opened as a station on 1st November 1860 but became an unstaffed halt from 13 August 1934. It closed at the same time as the other two halts at Stourpaine & Durweston and Charlton Marshall.

Looking South

New Station Sign

Looking North

Station Vista

Standing on the platform, today, one can quite easily imagine trains calling at this station again although I don't believe any track will be relaid here, at least for the foreseeable future.

Beyond Spetisbury, heading south, the Trailway proceeds for a further quarter of a mile before ending where a bridge over the road has been removed.

There are plans (hopes) to one day continue the Trailway beyond the road and on towards Bailey Gate.

Sadly, however, no more stations survive beyond Spetisbury with those at Bailey Gate, Corfe Mullen and Broadstone all disappearing beneath tarmac and housing.

Such wanton destruction of a line that did, and could now, provide a useful link between the north of the country and the south coast. 

North Dorset Trailway - Part 4: Blandford Forum

Beyond Stourpaine & Durweston Halt, the Trailway continues for another three miles to Blandford where, sadly, all trace of the station has been obliterated by houses and a car park although these two very short lengths of track remain on what was the entrance to the goods yard.

The trailway from Sturminster ends at the entrance to what was Blandford Station, see the photograph below.

As at Sturminster Newton, there is a short section of track and a buffer stop in, roughly, the same alignment as the original track.
The footbridge that can just be seen at the top of the photograph is original and was Bridge Nº 194.

 

Just beyond the station site, heading towards Shillingstone, are these remains of a buffer stop that were originally at the end of a short loading dock siding.

The photograph above shows the trailway heading north, towards Shillingstone with Bridge Nº 193 in the distance.
Of course the line here was single track, doubling through the station and beyond to Corfe Mullen Junction.
On the right, and now grassed over, there used to be lines leading, behind the cameraman, to the Loading Dock and Goods Yard.
There was also a head shunt nearer to the bridge.
To continue walking the Trailway towards Charlton Marshall and Spetisbury, a diversion now must be made through Blandford.
This, unfortunately, means walking through the town and crossing busy roads since all of the bridges, viaducts and embankments that carried the line through the town have long since been demolished and replaced by houses and roads.
However, there is but one exception and it is the two arches of a viaduct (formerly Bridge Nº 198) that carried the line across the River Stour for the fourth and final time.

These forlorn arches of the bridge to nowhere still cling grimly on to a useless existence.
There were a further two arches on the southern bank of the river but these, together with all of the embankments, have long-since been removed.
Before we leave Blandford there was just one more nod to the town's railway heritage in the form of this sculpture.

It was created by Richard Gransby and adorns the wall of the Tesco superstore that now stands where, once, the Pines Express thundered by.
It is an excellent work of art, though, and features many S&D related scenes and subjects.

North Dorset Trailway - Part 3: Stourpaine & Durweston

The next stop on the Trailway is at Stourpaine & Durweston, which is about two miles from Shillingstone.
Happily the little station is, again, still there, albeit in a rather dilapidated state.

Sadly, the person who owns this stretch of line, and on which the station stands, likes his privacy and has refused for it to be included in the Trailway, which is a shame as it is on an embankment and would afford excellent views across the valley. Looking on the bright side, though, at least the embankment is still there.

Forbidden Territory: The embankment on the approach to the station.

Turning to the left, we can just see part of the single platform,
although it is mostly hidden by trees and bushes.

Just beyond the station is this road bridge, aka Bridge Nº 187

And, in an adjacent field, a novel use for some old railway chairs!

Access to the platform was via a flight of steps to the immediate right of the road bridge.

Unfortunately the station had a short life, opening on 9 July 1928 and closing on 17 September 1956.

North Dorset Trailway - Part 2: Shillingstone

We continue our walk along the North Dorset Trailway and, after about three miles of easy and very pleasant walking, we come to Shillingstone where it is wonderful to see that the station still survives and, indeed, thrives!

Yes, it is slowly being brought back to life and they have done an amazing job here in restoring the original buildings and relaying track through the station and beyond.

Looking through Shillingstone station towards Blandford.

They even have their own locomotive - 'Little Eva'.

From the other end of the station - looking towards Sturminster ...

... and, turning around, looking towards Blandford again.

The ambition is to, eventually, relay track towards Sturminster and connect the two locations by rail once more.

Now, wouldn't that be fantastic!

The path from Shillingstone to the next station, Stourpaine & Durweston Halt, is, approximately, another three miles and, again, the pathway takes you through some stunning scenery.

It also includes the third crossing of the River Stour, seen below, and please note that this photograph is not a contemporary of the other ones here, having been taken in March.