Abbotsbury railway station
Abbotsbury was the terminus of the Abbotsbury branch railway in the west of the English county of Dorset. Serving the village of Abbotsbury, it was sited across the fields a mile from the village on the Weymouth to Abbotsbury road, because the railway could not buy the land needed to build the station nearer to the village. Plans for westward expansion came to nothing and led to the railway petering out in a shallow cutting to the west of the station.
| Abbotsbury | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Abbotsbury |
| Area | West Dorset |
| Coordinates | 50.66586°N 2.59139°W |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Abbotsbury Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway Western Region of British Railways |
| Platforms | 1 |
| History | |
| 9 November 1885 | Station opens |
| 1 December 1952 | Station closes |
| Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
| Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z | |
History
Opened by the Abbotsbury Railway Company in 1885, it was operated from the start by the Great Western Railway. The line then passed on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portesham Line and station closed |
Great Western Railway Abbotsbury branch railway |
Terminus |
Buildings
A typical William Clarke stone building served the single platform. The station also had a signal box and engine shed, although neither of these operated for long. The ruins of the engine shed remained until closure. The goods shed however functioned for the life of the branch.
The station closed with the branch in 1952.
The site today
The station building has now been replaced with a private dwelling although the platform remains underneath the length of the building.
Film
The station makes short appearances in the Powell and Pressburger film The Small Back Room.
References
- Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
- Jowett, A. (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas. Atlantic Publishing. ISBN 0-906899-99-0.
- Abbotsbury station on navigable 1946 O. S. map
Further reading
- Jackson, Brian L. (1989). The Abbotsbury Branch. Wild Swan Publications Ltd. ISBN 0-906867-80-0.
- Karau, Paul (1977). Great Western Branch Line Termini Combined edition. Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-369-5.