Station Name: MAIDEN NEWTON
Station still open but included for completeness

[Source: Alan Young]
Date opened: 20.1.1857
Location: East end of Station Road
Company on opening: Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth Railway
Date closed to passengers: Still open
Date closed completely: Still open
Company on closing: Still open
Present state:

Two platforms still in use with buildings on both of them. The Bridport branch platform survives although the track bed has been filled up to platform level and now carries a public footpath. The short goods dock also survives. Although now out of use the signal box is extant.

County: Dorset
OS Grid Ref: SY599979
Date of visit: March.1974, April 1975, August 1977 & December 2011

Notes: Maiden Newton station was opened on 20 January 1857 by the Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth Railway with the section of their broad gauge single-track route from Yeovil Pen Mill to Weymouth. This completed their main line from Chippenham to Weymouth, the first part of which had opened in 1848. The railway was a part of the larger Great Western Railway which meant that through trains ran from London Paddington station.

The station consisted of two platforms with a knapped-flint station building on the up (Yeovil-bound) platform. A long canopy was provided which extended beyond the main building and was attached to the timber trainshed that covered the Bridport bay platform. The down platform had a waiting shed with a small office / store. This too was of flint construction with a pitched
roof and short canopy over the entrance to the waiting area. The footbridge, midway along platform, was of lattice construction, which was an unusual feature on a GWR line. The stationmaster’s house was north-west of the station, beyond the occupation road underbridge. The engine shed and water tank were located in sidings NW of station; the engine shed is no longer shown on the OS map of 1902. There was a goods shed at the south end which contained an island platform with a single track one side and covered road access on the other. Cattle pens were added on short spur immediately southeast of Yeovil-bound platform. A coal siding ended at the south-east end of the down platform, and a further siding extended behind this platform.

A signal box was provided on the down (Dorchester-bound) platform immediately south-east of the waiting shed, but this was replaced by 1925 with a new box immediately south-east of the same platform. In 1938 (summer) the signal box was open from 6.00 am (Mondays), 5.30 am (other days) until 6.00 am the following Sunday, reopening the same morning at 9.30 am and closing at 10.30 pm. The box was provided with a switch.

After passengers had stepped from the branch train, the engine pushed the coaches, usually a B-set, to a gravity siding. Here the engine uncoupled and ran into another siding, then the coach brakes were released allowing the vehicles to gravitate to the platform. Finally the engine could emerge from the siding and couple on for the next working.

By the 1950s the platforms lit by electricity using concrete standards, which were favoured by the Southern Railway, but were also used at some GWR stations. Green totem name signs were installed during the period of Southern Region administration.

On 20 December 1963 the down siding adjacent to the main line was lifted. In September 1967 the other down siding became redundant, and in the following years the layout was trimmed until only the main line (which had been singled on 26 May 1968) and the branch remained. The trainshed over the Bridport platform was removed in 1967 or 1968. A 1972-3 OS map indicates that the goods shed and cattle pens had gone and that the sidings had been simplified.

In 2012 Maiden Newton station is unstaffed and enjoys a service of eight trains in each direction on weekdays and five on Sundays.

Maiden Newton station starred in the second episode of the third series of To the Manor Born, the comedy featuring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, which is supposed to be based somewhere near Taunton. In this 1981 programme Maiden Newton station is renamed 'Marlbury' - some Corporate Identity nameplates in capitals with this name are strategically placed on it. The episode concerns the proposed closure of the station, and the fight to save it is led by Audrey fforbes-Hamilton (Penelope Keith), while Richard DeVere (Peter Bowles), the Lord of the Manor, plans to use the station site for a Cavendish Food's cash-and-carry supermarket. The keen-eyed will observe that in the closing moments of the episode a 'Maiden Newton' sign affixed to a lamp standard makes an unintended appearance! It is ironic that the site of the Bridport terminus did end up in the ownership of a supermarket!

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MAIDEN NEWTON – BRIDPORT – WEST BAY BRANCH
A number of proposals were put forward in the 1840s to connect the small Dorset town of Bridport by railway to a main line. The Wiltshire, Somerset & Weymouth Railway was to run between Weymouth and Chippenham, passing through various towns, including Bridport. The Bristol & English Channel Railway would link Bridport with Stolford, near Bridgwater (Somerset). A further proposal was for a line from Bridport to Watchet, in Somerset, and there was also a plan for a line from Maiden Newton to Exeter via Bridport, Seaton and Honiton. However none of these schemes went ahead. Eventually the reluctance of main line companies to provide a link to Bridport encouraged a syndicate of Bridport residents to undertake the task themselves.

A public meeting took place at Bridport Town Hall in late 1854, where the decision was taken build a branch line to Maiden Newton - which was to be served by the Weymouth to Westbury line which opened in 1857. The Bridport Railway Company was established, and it obtained legal status through an Act of 5 May 1855. Henry J Wylie was appointed
Engineer, and Kenneth Mathieson was awarded the contract to build the 9¼ miles of railway at an estimated cost of £65,000: the work was expected to be complete by late 1856. On 19 June 1855 the first sod was cut by Joseph Gundry, company Chairman, at Loders between Powerstock and Bridport. However, difficulties with stabilising the earthworks along the route, particularly north-east of Powerstock, resulted in a year’s delay in completing the project. At Witherstone where the railway cut through the hills, a slippage occurred in a large cutting; one of the slips required purchase of extra land from a Mr Jenkins, in return for which a 50ft siding was provided for his use.

The line was constructed with bridges which could accommodate only a single track. The ‘MacDonnell road system of Permanent Way’ was used, with rails mounted on longitudinal iron sleepers. The Great Western Railway (GWR) broad gauge of 7ft 0¼in was used, as on the Weymouth – Westbury line. (The branch was converted to 4ft 8½in standard gauge on 19-21 June 1874.)  In May 1856, as a result of public pressure, the company decided to provide intermediate stations at Smokeham (Powerstock) and Toller, but they were to be built as cheaply as possible and closed if they proved unremunerative.  Inhabitants of Loders requested a station, but their wishes were not granted. In October 1857 the Board of Trade Inspector, Captain identified features of the line’s engineering which required rectification. When these had been attended to the railway officially opened on 12 November 1857, the Board of Trade having authorised its use the previous day. The GWR operated the line with its own steam locomotives and rolling stock – and eventually bought the branch in July 1901.

When the line opened the only intermediate station was Powerstock, whose name was ‘Poorstock’ in most sources (including GWR timetable and Bradshaw) until 1860. The station building was in the style of a cottage, which could be used as a dwelling if the station did not pay. On 31 March 1862 a further station was opened at Toller Porcorum – known, simply, as Toller – and this was also an inexpensive structure. The intention was to provide a passing place at Powerstock but this was never installed, and, throughout the life of the branch, trains could cross only at the Toller goods loop, operated by a key on the electric train staff.

The early days of the railway were not without incident. On Boxing Day 1857 vandals placed iron rails across the track at Toller, and on 8 January 1858 a large boulder was dropped on the line at Bridport. On 14 April 1858 cash was stolen from Powerstock station while the stationmaster was at church. Within twelve months of opening another major landslip occurred at Witherstone, and drainage works were required to make the earthworks safe. Some 20,000 cubic yards of spoil had to be removed - but it was found to be suitable for brick-making and was sold at a profit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ROUTE
After leaving Maiden Newton the Bridport branch crossed the River Frome and fell on a ruling gradient of 1 in 100, before climbing at 1 in 150/200 to Toller station. Beyond Toller the line rose at 1 in 85 across moorland to a board reading ‘All goods and mineral trains must stop dead here’. Beyond was a fall at 1 in 37 through a belt of woodland to Powerstock where it became level. Another stop board lay 70 yd beyond, following a ruling gradient of 1 in 52 down to Bridport, the last half mile following the River Brit.

EXTENSION TO WEST BAY
Shortly after the opening of the branch the Bridport Company considered plans for its extension. In 1859 West Dorset Railway scheme would continue the line to Charmouth, and in 1860 there was a scheme for the Bridport, Lyme Regis & Axminster Railway. These were not proceeded with, and in 1863 a proposed line from Clapton Bridge (Crewkerne) to Bridport Harbour was opposed by the Bridport Company. The more modest decision was taken to extend the branch to the coast at Bridport Harbour, and on 21 July 1879 this was authorised by an Act of Parliament. The Bridport Company had authority to raise a capital of £42,000 and borrowing powers of £14,000. The GWR agreed to pay £12,000 towards the cost of construction. Mousley and Lovatt were chosen as the main contractors for the work which began in 1883.

An intermediate station was built at East Street, Bridport, with the terminus at Bridport Harbour. Since the 1830s the prosperity of the harbour had collapsed with the decline of local flax and hemp growing - which had provided the cargo – and the closure of its shipyard. The GWR recognised the holiday potential of the coast and chose to call the terminus the more
appealing name of 'West Bay'. The extension opened on 31 March 1884, when 5,100 passengers used the new line, including 1,100 Sunday school children who were not allowed out of the train at West Bay owing to the inclement weather and were taken straight back to Bridport. Most of the railway’s directors formed the West Bay, Bridport, Land Building Co Ltd to develop a town at the terminus, with an esplanade, hotel and houses. As a result of this initiative The Neptune public house became The West Bay Hotel and Pier Terrace was built in 1886 as terraced holiday houses. Previously the GWR’s only foothold on the coast east of the River Exe was at Weymouth, and West Bay promised to strengthen the GWR presence on the Dorset coast. However, after a promising start, West Bay failed to develop into anything more than a large village.

PASSENGER SERVICE AND MOTIVE POWER
The original passenger service of five trains each way from Monday to Saturday took about 35 minutes to travel 11¼ miles; in the following month the service was reduced to four trains each way. In June 1865 five down and four up trains operated, with two each way on Sundays. In 1884 there were seven trains between Maiden Newton and Bridport, four continuing to West Bay. In 1938 eleven down and ten up trains ran, with six each way on Sundays.

At first the branch was worked by broad gauge 4-4-0STs including Theocritus and Hesiod. In 1862 Aries and Virgo ‘Leo’ class 2-4-0STs were used. ‘Victoria’ class 2-4-0 Brindley also appeared, though tender engines were rare. In standard gauge days 0-6-0STs were used. Around the turn of the century Nos 1304-7, 4-4-0Ts, built by the Monmouthshire Railway & Canal Company and 0-4-4Ts Nos 1708-10 (once owned by the same company) appeared, the latter rebuilt as saddle tanks. When these left early in the twentieth century they were replaced with GWR 0-6-0STs and, in due course, by 0-6-0PTs.

Passenger services on the extension were withdrawn as a World War I economy measure on 1 January 1916, to be restored on 7 July 1919. The service ceased again on 11 April 1921 only to resume exactly two months later. On 24 September 1924 trains were withdrawn for the winter season but began once more after a fortnight, on 6 October. The volume of passenger traffic between Bridport and West Bay was disappointing, as the intended holiday destination had failed to become a serious rival to established south coast resorts, and visitors now preferred to arrive by motor bus or car. Passenger trains were finally withdrawn from 22 September 1930, but goods traffic continued to use the line. In 1935 a camping coach was installed at West Bay (and in 1936 another was placed at Powerstock). From 3 December 1962 goods services ceased between Bridport and West Bay, but on 25 August 1963 two GWR steam locomotives hauled a special passenger train on this section of line. Two years later the track was lifted.

On the Maiden Newton to Bridport section, on 4 November 1940 sidings at Bradpole and Loders were opened for anti-aircraft guns mounted on railway wagons. These were taken out of use on 22 April 1945. Also during World War II train loads of shingle were taken from West Bay for airfield construction. As to locomotives allocated to the Bridport branch, by
June 1936 48XX class 0-4-2T No 4803 had appeared and 74XX class 0-6-0PTs arrived soon after. In 1941 45XX 2-6-2T No 5555 worked the branch.

NATIONALISATION AND CLOSURE
At Nationalisation on 1 January 1948, the Dorchester – Yeovil line and the Bridport branch were allocated to the Western Region. However on 2 April 1950 these routes were transferred to the Southern Region, which installed totems in its green livery at Maiden Newton, but not at the Bridport branch stations, perhaps implying that the branch was not expected to survive long. On 1 January 1963 all stations north of Dorchester West, including the Bridport branch, were restored to the Western Region, but no chocolate-and-cream signage is believed to have been given to the branch stations in this era.

Diesel multiple units replaced steam traction on 15 June 1959; on the same day the single-road engine shed at Bridport closed. At first a 3-car DMU set was used, but later a single-car unit was found sufficient. In winter 1960-1 the down service (Maiden Newton – Bridport) consisted of ten trains on weekdays and 4 on Sundays. In the opposite direction, in addition to the ten weekday trains an extra late working on Thursdays and Saturdays left Bridport at 9.05 pm, and there were three trains on Sundays. Sunday services ceased in 1962. The DMU came daily from Weymouth, and when that shed closed in 1968, the working was covered by Westbury depot. If it lost its path on the single line and was late arriving, a taxi had to be substituted. Following the dieselisation of the passenger service, goods trains continued to be worked by 57XX class 0-6-0PTs and latterly Ivatt class 2 2-6-2Ts until this traffic ceased on 5 April 1965. From this date the branch was operated as a single line siding, the only signals being at Maiden Newton.

The Bridport branch was earmarked for closure in The Reshaping of British Railways (‘Beeching Report’). Formal publication of the proposal to withdraw passenger services took place on 7 October 1965, but on 1 June 1967 the Minister of Transport refused consent to the closure on the grounds of hardship that would be caused – the only criterion allowed for the rejection of the proposal. The railway route between Maiden Newton and Bridport was far more direct than that by the major road, and the intermediate settlements of Toller and Powerstock / Nettlecombe could be reached only by narrow, minor roads. A subsidy from Dorset County Council enabled the service to continue.

From 11 April 1966 Toller and Powerstock stations became unstaffed, platform lamps being sent from Maiden Newton daily, returned by the guard of the last passenger train of the day. At this time it was normally Western Region practice to add ‘Halt’ to station names when they became unstaffed, but the suffix was not given to Toller and Powerstock. Bridport station
was unstaffed from 6 Oct 1969. The May 1974 timetable showed nine trains in each direction on the branch.

A further enquiry into the viability of the Bridport branch found that a suitable replacement bus service could be provided, and the final passenger trains ran on Saturday 3 May 1975, official closure taking place on Monday 5 May. Lifting of the tracks began on 18 November 1975. Shunter 08 636 was temporarily stabled at Maiden Newton for working the brake van and winch, bogie and roller wagons of the lifting train.

The junction station at Maiden Newton remains open to trains on the Heart of Wessex Line. Part of the Bridport / West Bay line can be enjoyed on foot and cycle from Maiden Newton station for about half a mile, and along parts of the old line past Toller Porcorum. Sustrans have funding to use the old line as a cycle path from Maiden Newton to Bridport.

Part of the trackbed between Bridport and West Bay is adopted by the A35 Bridport bypass (Sea Road South). The West Bay section between Burton Road and the station itself is a gravelled footpath which rises to meet Burton Road. The top of the bridge, bore entrance and track bed can still be identified. Towards the site of East Street station, the railway would have passed through Wanderwell and then east of the unction with Burton Road and West Bay Road. Sea Road North uses the former trackbed between East Street and Bradpole Road stations.

Tickets from Michael Stewart. Brian Halford. Bradshaw and BR timetable from Chris Totty . Route map drawn by Alan Young.

Click here for a four minute film of the Bridport branch in 1975

Sources:

Further reading and viewing :

See also: Bridport West Bay, Bridport East Street, Bridport (Bradpole Road), Powerstock & Toller


Maiden Newton looking south-east in 1906. The Bridport branch bay platform has a wooden trainshed of generous proportions, with an awning to shelter the northbound through platform. The iron lattice footbridge, later replaced with one in concrete, connects the platforms.
Copyright photo from John Alsop collection



1902 1:2,500 OS map.The station is in a rural location north-east of the village. The Bridport branch diverges to the west of the Weymouth – Yeovil line at the northern edge of the map. The slip siding can be seen to the left of the branch. Maiden Newton station’s substantial main building is at the head of the approach road. The waiting shelter and signal box can be seen on the eastern platform, and the footbridge is also in place. The goods shed, cattle pens and accompanying sidings are located to the south-east of the passenger station.

Maiden Newton station looking south-east in the early 1960s. The timber trainshed on the right shelters the Bridport bay platform and obscures the station building.
Photo from John Mann collection

Maiden Newton looking west from the southbound platform in August 1963. A DMU is at the bay platform beneath the trainshed. Note the lamps and totem name signs installed between 1950 and the end of 1962 when the station was administered by BR Southern Region.
Photo from John Mann collection

The Bridport bay platform at Maiden Newton looking south-east in the 1960s. This useful view provides internal detail of the trainshed, which survived until 1967/8.
Photo from John Mann collection

Maiden Newton station looking south-east in the 1960s. A DMU is under the trainshed at the
Bridport bay platform.
Photo from John Mann collection

Looking north-west under the timber trainshed of Maiden Newton station in the 1960s. This view allows the internal structure of the trainshed to be examined. The heavily laden trolley on the platform will be noted. The trainshed was demolished in 1967/8.
Photo from John Mann collection

Maiden Newton looking south-east from the road bridge in March 1965. The Bridport branch is seen diverging to the right from the main line. The gravity siding is seen on the right. An incoming train would back into the siding after passengers had disembarked. The engine uncoupled and ran into another siding, then the coach brakes were released allowing the vehicles to gravitate to the platform.
Photo from John Mann collection

Looking north-west from the footbridge at Maiden Newton in May 1967. The Bridport bay platform is covered by a trainshed. The branch to Bridport passes under the left section of the distant road bridge before heading westwards.
Photo by Chris Totty

Looking north from the buffer stop at the end of the Bridport bay platform in 1972. The timber trainshed was removed 1967/8 although a section of the supporting wooden wall can be seen on the left.
Photo by Gerry Andrews

A busy scene at Maiden Newton station in 1972. A Bridport train stands in the bay platform while a northbound (towards Yeovil) train is loaded with mail on the main line up platform. The stationmaster's house is seen alongside the track.
Photo by Gerry Andrews

Looking south-east at Maiden Newton station on 26 April 1975. A southbound class 120 DMU waits at the north-east platform, with a single-car Bridport train in the bay platform. The GWR nameboard ‘Maiden Newton for Bridport Branch) will be obsolete a week later when the branch will close. The concrete footbridge (c1960) is much in demand as passengers from the Weymouth-bound train head either for the exit or the Bridport DMU which will have standing room only. The BR(S) style lamps to the left will be noted – a reminder that this GWR line was under Southern Region administration from 1950 until the end of 1962; the lamp on the other platform was installed when the trainshed was
demolished in 1967/8.
Photo by Alan Young

By the last week of public service on the Bridport branch passenger numbers had dramatically increased, although they were mainly enthusiasts. A northbound (towards Yeovil) train waits
in the up platform.
Photo by Gerry Andrews

Looking north from the Bridport bay platform in December 2011. The platform edge can still clearly be seen, but the trackbed has been infilled up to platform level and now carries a public footpath.
Photo by Nick Catford

Click here for more pictures of Maiden Newton station


 

 

 

[Source: Alan Young]


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