Blandford Forum railway station

Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum railway station in April 1963
General information
Location	Blandford Forum, Dorset England
Grid reference	ST888067
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Somerset and Dorset Railway
Pre-grouping	Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
31 August 1863	Opened as Blandford
21 September 1953	Renamed Blandford Forum
7 March 1966	Closed for passengers
1969	Closed for goods

Blandford Forum railway station served the town of Blandford Forum, in Dorset, England. It was a stop on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, which connected Bath with Bournemouth.

History

An Up freight train at Blandford Forum station in 1963

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. ^[1] 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. ^[2]

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. ^[3]

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. ^[4]

Today

The site of the station now lies within a housing estate. ^[5]

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. ^[6]

References

1. Atthill, Robin; Nock, O.S. (1967). The Somerset & Dorset Railway. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN   0-7153-4312-2.
2. Atthill, Robin (1964). Old Mendip. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN   0-7153-5171-0.
3. "Dorset Historic Towns Survey: Blandford Forum" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
4. "The Musical Slow Train". BBC Cambridgeshire. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
5. "Blandford Forum". After Closure: The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
6. "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

• Blandford Forum station on navigable 1946 O. S. map
• Disused stations in the UK

50°51′35″N2°09′38″W / 50.85970°N 2.16050°W / 50.85970; -2.16050

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