Portesham railway station
Portesham was a small railway station serving the village of Portesham in the west of the English county of Dorset.
| Portesham | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Portesham |
| Area | West Dorset |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Abbotsbury Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | Western Region of British Railways |
| Platforms | 1 |
| History | |
| 9 November 1885 | Opened |
| 1 December 1952 | Closed |
| 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 | |
Location
The station was sited across the fields from village not far from an underbridge carrying the line across the Weymouth to Abbotsbury road at a skew angle. Just to the east of the station an incline provided access to quarries near the Hardy Monument.
History
The stationed was opened on 9 November 1885 by the Abbotsbury Railway when it opened the line from Abbotsbury to Upwey Junction on the Great Western Railway (GWR) (former Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway line).[1][2]
The station had a single platform and a passing loop. The goods shed was opposite the platform and functioned for the life of the branch.[3] The station was the site of a GWR camp coach from 1935 to 1939.[4][5]
The station closed with the branch on 1 December 1952.[1][6]
Buildings
A typical William Clarke stone building served the single platform,
The site today
The station building is now part of a private dwelling and is used as a holiday let.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coryates Halt Line and station closed |
Great Western Railway Abbotsbury branch railway |
Abbotsbury Line and station closed |
References
- Quick 2019, p. 329.
- Grant 2017, p. 3.
- "Portisham station on OS 25 inch map CDorset XLVI.11 (Abbotsbury; Littlebredy; Long Bredy; Portesham)". National Library of Scotland. 1889. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- McRae 1997, p. 31.
- Fenton 1999, pp. 153-154.
- Hurst 1992, p. 8 (ref 0331).
Bibliography
- Fenton, Mike (1999). Camp Coach Holidays on the G.W.R. Wild Swan. ISBN 1-874103-53-4.
- Grant, Donald J. (2017). Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain (1st ed.). Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78803-768-6.
- McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
- Quick, Michael (2019) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). Railway and Canal Historical Society.
Further reading
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
- Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
- Brian L. Jackson. The Abbotsbury Branch. Wild Swan Publications Ltd. 1989. ISBN 0-906867-80-0