Blandford Forum Railway Station
History
Originally part of the Dorset Central Railway, the line to Blandford opened on 1 November 1860 to a station at Blandford St Mary, to the south of the River Stour. The Dorset Central merged with the Somerset Central Railway in 1862 and a new extension connecting the two railways was built. The extension opened on 31 August 1863, requiring a bridge over the Stour and a newly relocated Blandford Forum station to the north of the river.
The station remained open until 7 March 1966, when the entire line from Bath to Bournemouth closed to passengers. Goods traffic continued for a further three years, but the station was finally fully closed in 1969 and the track was lifted.
The impending closure of the station was lamented by musical duo Flanders & Swann, being one of some 30 stations mentioned in their 1964 song Slow Train ("No more will I go to Blandford Forum …"). The song was written in the wake of the first Beeching report, published in 1963 and was written as a tribute to the lines and stations that were to be closed.
Today
The site of the station now lies within a housing estate.
A working model of Blandford station and its environs is in the process of being built in 1/76th scale at the Blandford Museum in the town centre.
References
- ^ Atthill, Robin; Nock, O.S. (1967). The Somerset & Dorset Railway. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4312-2.
- ^ Atthill, Robin (1964). Old Mendip. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5171-0.
- ^ "Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Blandford Forum" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "The Musical Slow Train". BBC Cambridgeshire. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Blandford Forum". After Closure: The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Railway Club". Blandford Town Museum. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
Further reading
- Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
- 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.
External links
50°51′35″N 2°09′38″W / 50.85970°N 2.16050°W
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlton Marshall Line and station closed |
Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway LSWR & Midland Railways |
Stourpaine & Durweston Halt Line and station closed |