south of broadstone

Route was just to the left of the footpath.

 



Looking north past the road pinch.

Overview of the site - the railway took a route from this point to a point close to the road in the distance.

 

Back to last Wednesday's site visit this was the potential third pinch point. There's been some road works here that whilst not impeding on the route does make it a little more difficult than had the trackbed been properly protected as a transport corridor. The biggest issue is the road that joins the main road and this may require some (expensive) remodelling in the area. But still of course doable! It would be interesting to see how the railway and roads originally coexisted here as it may of course be easier to simply restore it as it was. Whatever the outcome Broadstone is desperately in need of its railway and surely can't go much longer without modern transport?



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!

today's adventure

Had a bit of an adventure today right at the southern end of the S&D. I was helping out with a survey of the route between Hamworthy and Broadstone, to check its viability for reopening. It was a  successful day - I'll do a fuller report tomorrow when I've recovered from the five hours of driving!

super sunday!

This Sunday will see action at all FIVE S&D sites - Midford and Spetisbury both have work parties (see sidebar for contacts), Midsomer Norton and Gartell will be running trains and Shillingstone will be doing their thing.

This is the first time this has happened since closure and such a hive of activity is a credit to all of you who have supported the S&D since the misguided attempt to close the line back in 1966. Did anyone seriously think the S&D wouldn't be back? It's taken a while, and we've all had to cross that belief barrier, but no one would now deny that the S&D is returning, yard by yard, station by station, and one day we'll be able to travel from Bath to Bournemouth again by train.

I'm even planning to get up to Midford myself this Sunday - which will be a real treat!

broadstone meeting

(All copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing 28.4.1977)

This via Geoff Newman -

I thought you might like to let people know that there is to be a meeting of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society next Monday, 19 March when there will be talk on the Broadstone Railway Accident of 1890. It’s to be held at the Allendale Centre in Wimborne, tickets £3.00 by ringing 01202 888368. Unfortunately I can’t go but I thought some of the local members might be interested.

 

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!

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