Abbotsbury branch railway
Encyclopedia
The Abbotsbury Railway was a standard gauge
line which ran in the west of the county of Dorset
in England
opening in 1885. Although great hopes of westward links and mineral traffic drove the original construction of the line, these failed to materialise and after a quiet existence carrying local passengers and agricultural produce, the line closed in 1952.
and ironstone around the village of Abbotsbury
itself, the first Parliamentary Bill was opposed by a local landowner and withdrawn in 1873.Further application was made in 1876 and received Royal Assent
on 6 June 1877. Difficulty raising promised capital caused problems with the contractor and construction first slowed then stopped in 1881. The company were as a result obliged to seek an extension of Parliamentary time to complete the works, and to extend the limits of deviation to avoid a speculator who had bought up land at Portesham and Upwey in the hope of selling it to the railway an at inflated price. This was a common problem during the construction phase of early railways. The amending Act passed in 1882. In February 1883 an agreement with the GWR
on the maintenance and operation of the line upon its completion was undertaken. Work was restarted with a new contractor but after they went bankrupt in 1884, the GWR advanced £10,000 towards the completion of the line and appointed a director to the Abbotsbury Railway Company board. The line opened for traffic on 9 November 1885. Six miles of railway had taken 8 years to build.
Initially intermediate stations were provided at Upwey and Portesham. Coryates Halt, between the two, was opened in May 1906 as part of a GWR scheme to run railmotors to compete with the rising threat of local buses. There was also a platform used solely for loading milk, at Friar Waddon. Its location is now uncertain.
An incline was constructed at Portesham to link local quarries on the hill near the Hardy Monument
to the line although the actual traffic from this source proved disappointing.
tender 0-6-0 locomotive and train on the tight curve between Upwey Junction and Upwey stations led to the discovery that the curve was sharper than had been noted in the official plans. A check rail was fitted to the curve and a ban introduced on six coupled locomotives that nominally lasted until the remaining goods spur was reduced to a siding. This change of rules, ironically, meant that in later years these engines could be used by British Railways to service Upwey goods yard after the closure to passengers, even though the only part of the line operational at this point was the curve that had caused the problems.
This ban in the meantime left the motive power duties on the line to other designs, notably the 0-4-2T's which ran for many years. The "517" class gave way to the "14xx"class
which were used for passenger and goods traffic until closure. Steam rail motors
ran on the line for a few years but having the same weaknesses here as elsewhere were converted to auto trailers. Towards the end of the line's existence GWR diesel railcars
were used to reduce costs.
and around the area during the Second World War. An early victim of nationalisation, the line closed, to local protest, completely to passengers on 1 December 1952. A stub remained to serve the goods depot at
Upwey
,http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/u/upwey/index.shtml as the position of Upwey Junction station on the embankment leading to Bincombe Tunnel had always made that station unsuitable for this use. This spur was closed on the first day of 1962.
film The Small Back Room
.
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
line which ran in the west of the county of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
opening in 1885. Although great hopes of westward links and mineral traffic drove the original construction of the line, these failed to materialise and after a quiet existence carrying local passengers and agricultural produce, the line closed in 1952.
Planning and construction
First proposed in 1872, to tap the stone deposits at PorteshamPortesham
Portesham is a village in the English county of Dorset, situated close to the south coast, between the towns of Weymouth and Dorchester. The village has a population of 708...
and ironstone around the village of Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a large village and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset, England; situated north-west of Weymouth. It is located from Upwey railway station and from Bournemouth International Airport. The main road running through the village is the B3157, connecting Abbotsbury to...
itself, the first Parliamentary Bill was opposed by a local landowner and withdrawn in 1873.Further application was made in 1876 and received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 6 June 1877. Difficulty raising promised capital caused problems with the contractor and construction first slowed then stopped in 1881. The company were as a result obliged to seek an extension of Parliamentary time to complete the works, and to extend the limits of deviation to avoid a speculator who had bought up land at Portesham and Upwey in the hope of selling it to the railway an at inflated price. This was a common problem during the construction phase of early railways. The amending Act passed in 1882. In February 1883 an agreement with the GWR
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
on the maintenance and operation of the line upon its completion was undertaken. Work was restarted with a new contractor but after they went bankrupt in 1884, the GWR advanced £10,000 towards the completion of the line and appointed a director to the Abbotsbury Railway Company board. The line opened for traffic on 9 November 1885. Six miles of railway had taken 8 years to build.
Initially intermediate stations were provided at Upwey and Portesham. Coryates Halt, between the two, was opened in May 1906 as part of a GWR scheme to run railmotors to compete with the rising threat of local buses. There was also a platform used solely for loading milk, at Friar Waddon. Its location is now uncertain.
An incline was constructed at Portesham to link local quarries on the hill near the Hardy Monument
Hardy Monument
The Hardy Monument is a high monument erected by public subscription in 1844 in memory of Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, a commander at the Battle of Trafalgar ....
to the line although the actual traffic from this source proved disappointing.
Operation
An accident which occurred on 23 January 1894 involving the derailment of an ArmstrongArmstrong Whitworth
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...
tender 0-6-0 locomotive and train on the tight curve between Upwey Junction and Upwey stations led to the discovery that the curve was sharper than had been noted in the official plans. A check rail was fitted to the curve and a ban introduced on six coupled locomotives that nominally lasted until the remaining goods spur was reduced to a siding. This change of rules, ironically, meant that in later years these engines could be used by British Railways to service Upwey goods yard after the closure to passengers, even though the only part of the line operational at this point was the curve that had caused the problems.
This ban in the meantime left the motive power duties on the line to other designs, notably the 0-4-2T's which ran for many years. The "517" class gave way to the "14xx"class
GWR 1400 Class
The GWR 1400 Class is a class of steam locomotive designed by the Great Western Railway for branch line passenger work. It was originally classified as the 4800 Class when introduced in 1932, and renumbered in 1946....
which were used for passenger and goods traffic until closure. Steam rail motors
GWR steam rail motors
The steam rail motors were self-propelled carriages operated by the Great Western Railway in England and Wales from 1903 to 1935. They incorporated a steam locomotive within the body of the carriage.-History:...
ran on the line for a few years but having the same weaknesses here as elsewhere were converted to auto trailers. Towards the end of the line's existence GWR diesel railcars
GWR railcars
In 1933, the Great Western Railway introduced the first of what was to become a very successful series of railcars, which survived in regular use into the 1960s, when they were replaced with the new British Rail "first generation" type diesel multiple units....
were used to reduce costs.
Closure
The line settled down to purely local traffic, only increased by the activity of military installations on Chesil BeachChesil Beach
Chesil Beach, sometimes called Chesil Bank, in Dorset, southern England is one of three major shingle structures in Britain. Its toponym is derived from the Old English ceosel or cisel, meaning "gravel" or "shingle"....
and around the area during the Second World War. An early victim of nationalisation, the line closed, to local protest, completely to passengers on 1 December 1952. A stub remained to serve the goods depot at
Upwey
Upwey (formerly Broadwey) railway station
Upwey was a railway station on the Abbotsbury branch railway in the county of Dorset in England. It was opened with the branch line in 1885 as Broadway, renamed Broadwey in 1896 then the name was changed to Upwey in 1913, to avoid confusion with Broadway in Worcestershire...
,http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/u/upwey/index.shtml as the position of Upwey Junction station on the embankment leading to Bincombe Tunnel had always made that station unsuitable for this use. This spur was closed on the first day of 1962.
Reading
- The Abbotsbury Branch Brian L. Jackson. Wild Swan Publications Ltd. 1989 ISBN 0-906867-80-0
- Railways of Dorset J.H. Lucking Railway Correspondence and Travel SocietyRailway Correspondence and Travel SocietyThe Railway Correspondence and Travel Society is a national society founded in Cheltenham, UK in 1928 to bring together those interested in rail transport and locomotives....
1968 (no ISBN)
Film
The line makes short appearances in the Powell and PressburgerPowell and Pressburger
The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers, made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1981 they were recognized for their contributions to British cinema with the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the most prestigious...
film The Small Back Room
The Small Back Room
The Small Back Room is a film by the British producer-writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring David Farrar and Kathleen Byron and featuring Jack Hawkins and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the novel of the same name by Nigel Balchin...
.