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Great Western Coffee Shop > Journey by Journey > Heart of Wessex (Data Manager: rogerw) > Closure of Bridport branch
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Author Topic: Closure of Bridport branch  (Read 1198 times)
rogerw
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« on: May 04, 2025, 11:56:03 »
It is worth noting that the Bridport branch closed 50 years ago on 5th May 1975
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grahame
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« Reply #1 on: May 04, 2025, 12:07:54 »
Quote from: rogerw on May 04, 2025, 11:56:03
It is worth noting that the Bridport branch closed 50 years ago on 5th May 1975

Sadly, it is. Sad ...  Editorially, I have limited "on this day" entries off closures, deaths and accidents but this is one that I feel *is* worth a mention and it will pop up in the forum headers tomorrow.

The sad story of many branches off the Heart of Wessex
Yeovil Town (from Pen Mill) - 3rd October 1966 (3.3.1967 / freight)
Yeovil Junction (from Pen Mill) - remains open
Bridport (from Maiden Newton) - 5th May 1975
Poole etc (from Dorchester Junction) - remains open
Abbotsbury (from Upwey) - 1st December 1952
Portland (from Weymouth) - 3rd March 1952 (1965 freight)
Weymouth Quay (from Weymouth) - 26th September 1987 (special train 26.5.1999)
« Last Edit: May 04, 2025, 12:19:35 by grahame » Logged
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bradshaw
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« Reply #2 on: May 04, 2025, 13:43:51 »
That the Bridport branch was built was the work of one man - Edward Gill Flight. A solicitor in Bridport in the 1820s before moving to London. He returned in 1852 to note the town in an economic low. That year the Chambers Journal printed an article on cheap railways, a number of which were built in Scotland. Using this idea Flight promoted the railway, getting the local business men behind him.

He employed Mathieson as contractor, who had built a couple of these lines in Scotland. Using a route from Maiden Newton reduced the engineering costs versus a route via Dorchester or Beaminster but meant that it needed connections at Maiden Newton which were at the mercy of the GWR▸ (Great Western Railway), especially as there were no passing loops on the line.

I arrived in Maiden Newton a few months after it closed and, after being transferred to teach at Colfox School in Bridport, use the 73 Bus on a daily basis for a number of years.
In July Bridport Museum are holding a series of talks on the line as part of Rail 200. I am giving two, one on its opening and early years an the other on the West Bay extension.
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PhilWakely
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« Reply #3 on: May 04, 2025, 16:19:01 »
Quoting from a previous thread relating to a proposal to reopen the Bridport Branch.....

Quote from: PhilWakely on November 15, 2023, 10:08:46
Although I no longer have any direct connection with Bridport [both my parents and all grandparents came from Bridport or surrounding villages], I have retained an interest in 'the Bridport railway'. Knowing closure was imminent, Mum and I wanted a photographic record. The quality is not brilliant as the pictures were 'home' developed and the negatives were kept in a drawer in the loft for many years before being recovered and scanned.

A photographic record of the Bridport Branch
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #4 on: May 04, 2025, 17:13:52 »
Blimey!  Shocked

Thank you for posting those historic images here, PhilWakely.  Smiley

I'm now inclined to merge various previous posts into this one, to become a definitive topic on 'the Bridport Branch.'
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William Huskisson MP▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: Stop, Look, Listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
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« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2025, 17:25:43 »
Quote from: Chris from Nailsea on May 04, 2025, 17:13:52
Blimey!  Shocked

Thank you for posting those historic images here, PhilWakely.  Smiley

I'm now inclined to merge various previous posts into this one, to become a definitive topic on 'the Bridport Branch.'


Hmmm ... please take care of the "On this day" nature of this thread - leave it until after tomorrow?
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #6 on: May 04, 2025, 18:34:21 »
Will do!  Grin
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William Huskisson MP▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: Stop, Look, Listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Surrey 455
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« Reply #7 on: May 05, 2025, 17:02:32 »
The Dorset Echo also has a piece about the closure today

Quote
IT has been 50 years since the railway branch between Maiden Newton and Bridport closed.

This railway closed on May 5, 1975, the goods service having been withdrawn on April 5, 1975.

The line first opened on November 12, 1857.

It was extended to West Bay in 1884, but the extension was not well used and it closed to passengers in 1930, however the extension remained open for goods until December 3, 1962.

Although it was a little used service, on the last day 50 years ago extra carriages had to be laid on for the huge interest with local people wanting to ride the last train.

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/25128279.50-years-since-bridport-maiden-newton-railway-closed/
 
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PhilWakely
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« Reply #8 on: May 05, 2025, 21:15:55 »
Quote from: Surrey 455 on May 05, 2025, 17:02:32
The Dorset Echo also has a piece about the closure today

Quote
IT has been 50 years since the railway branch between Maiden Newton and Bridport closed.

This railway closed on May 5, 1975, the goods service having been withdrawn on April 5, 1975.

The line first opened on November 12, 1857.

It was extended to West Bay in 1884, but the extension was not well used and it closed to passengers in 1930, however the extension remained open for goods until December 3, 1962.

Although it was a little used service, on the last day 50 years ago extra carriages had to be laid on for the huge interest with local people wanting to ride the last train.

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/25128279.50-years-since-bridport-maiden-newton-railway-closed/
 

The caption on the image at the top of the piece is incorrect. The train is at Bridport station, not West Bay!
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bradshaw
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« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2025, 22:29:58 »
Bubble car W55033, which is preserved at the Colne Valley Railway, was the last train to leave Bridport station on May 3rd 1975.
The CVR▸ (Cockpit Voice Recorder, an item of safety equipment installed on aircraft, in case of problems: it forms part of the so-called 'black box' - which is actually bright orange, to make it easier to recover, in case of need) commemorated the event this year.
https://www.colnevalleyrailway.co.uk/marking-the-closure-of-the-bridport-branch/
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