General information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Gillingham, Dorset England | ||||
Coordinates | 51°02′02″N2°16′23″W / 51.034°N 2.273°W | ||||
Grid reference | ST809261 | ||||
Managed by | South Western Railway | ||||
Platforms | 2 | ||||
Other information | |||||
Station code | GIL | ||||
Classification | DfT category D | ||||
History | |||||
Original company | Salisbury and Yeovil Railway | ||||
Pre-grouping | London and South Western Railway | ||||
Post-grouping | Southern Railway | ||||
Key dates | |||||
2 May 1859 | Line opened from Salisbury | ||||
1 June 1860 | Line extended westwards | ||||
1 April 1967 | Line singled | ||||
Passengers | |||||
2019/20 | 0.351 million | ||||
2020/21 | 82,042 | ||||
2021/22 | 0.227 million | ||||
2022/23 | 0.278 million | ||||
2023/24 | 0.302 million | ||||
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Gillingham railway station serves the town of Gillingham,Dorset,England. It is on the West of England Main Line,105 miles 23 chains (169.4 km) down the line from London Waterloo. Today it is managed by South Western Railway. The main offices,designed by Sir William Tite,stand on the north side of the line. [1]
It is commonly suffixed as Gillingham (Dorset) to avoid confusion with a station of the same name in Kent.
On 3 April 1856 Miss Seymour,sister of the company’s chairman,dug the first ceremonial sod for the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway (S&YR) at Gillingham. Three years later,on 2 May 1859,the railway from Salisbury opened to Gillingham,and was completed to Hendford station at Yeovil on 1 June 1860. The station was close to the town centre. The main offices and goods shed were on the north side of the line,further sidings to serve a brickworks were added on the other side of the line,and a signal box opened in 1875. Trains were provided for the S&YR by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR),which bought out the smaller company in 1878. In the twentieth century the LSWR operated motor bus services from Gillingham station to Mere,Zeals and Shaftesbury. [1]
In 1923 the LSWR became part of the Southern Railway,which in turn was nationalised in 1948 to become the Southern Region of British Railways. A new signal box was opened on 28 April 1957,but on 5 April 1965 public goods services were withdrawn. Three years later a fertiliser distribution depot was opened in the old goods yard (it closed in 1993). The line had been transferred to the Western Region in 1963,and through trains beyond Exeter St Davids were soon diverted along other routes. The line was reduced to just a single track on 1 April 1967 with a passing loop retained at Gillingham. [1] Initially the single-track sections were 7-mile (11 km) westwards to Templecombe and 19-mile (31 km) eastwards to Wilton,but the latter was shortened to 9-mile (14 km) [2] in 1986. [1] The former signal box (now reduced to ground frame status following the 2012 resignalling) is at the west end of the station by the end of this platform. [2] [3]
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Semley | London and South Western Railway London Waterloo to Devon and Cornwall | Templecombe |
The track serving the northern platform is signalled for trains to run in either direction so most trains use this platform unless two need to pass. The southern platform,which is reached by a footbridge,is then used for the westbound train.
South Western Railway operate hourly services between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids. [4]
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Tisbury | South Western Railway West of England Main Line | Templecombe |
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter and Plymouth, and to Padstow, Ilfracombe and Bude. It developed a network of routes in Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire, including Portsmouth and Reading.
Yeovil Junction is the busier, but less central, of two railway stations serving the town of Yeovil in Somerset, England; the other is Yeovil Pen Mill. The station is sited 2 miles (3.2 km) outside the town, in the village of Stoford; although Yeovil is in Somerset, the station was in Dorset until 1991. It is located 122 miles 48 chains (197.3 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Exeter Central railway station is the most central of the stations in the city of Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom. It is 171 miles 30 chains (275.8 km) down the line from London Waterloo. The station is smaller than Exeter St Davids on the west side of the city. Great Western Railway manages the station and operates most services, with South Western Railway providing the rest. With 2.783 million entries and exits from 2023-2024, it has overtaken Exeter St Davids as the busiest station in Devon.
Pinhoe railway station is a railway station located on the eastern edge of the city of Exeter in Devon, England, that serves the village of Pinhoe. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1871, but is now operated by South Western Railway, which provides services on the West of England Main Line. It is 168 miles 44 chains (271.3 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Whimple railway station serves the village of Whimple in east Devon, England. It is operated by South Western Railway which provides services on the West of England Main Line. It is 163 miles 2 chains (262.4 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Feniton railway station serves the village of Feniton in Devon, England. It was opened by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1860 but is now operated by South Western Railway which provides services on the West of England Main Line. It is 159 miles 24 chains (256.4 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Honiton railway station serves the town of Honiton in east Devon, England. It is operated by South Western Railway and is 154 miles 60 chains (249.0 km) down the line from London Waterloo, on the West of England Line.
Axminster railway station serves the town of Axminster in Devon, England. It is operated by South Western Railway and is situated on the West of England Main Line. It is 144 miles 41 chains (232.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Crewkerne railway station is located in Misterton in Somerset, England, and serves the area around the town of Crewkerne. It is 131 miles 33 chains (211.5 km) from London Waterloo on the West of England Main Line to Exeter. The main building is listed Grade II and is surrounded by several other old railway buildings.
Sherborne railway station serves the town of Sherborne in Dorset, England. It is situated on the West of England Main Line, 118 miles 4 chains (190.0 km) down the line from London Waterloo and is currently operated by South Western Railway.
Templecombe railway station serves the village of Templecombe in Somerset, England. It is situated on the West of England Main Line, 112 miles 2 chains (180.3 km) down the line from London Waterloo. The main station opened in 1860 but a smaller station on the lower line opened in 1862. It was closed in 1966 but was reopened in 1983 following local community pressure. It is currently operated by South Western Railway.
Tisbury railway station serves the village of Tisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is currently managed by South Western Railway and is on the West of England Main Line, 96 miles 14 chains (154.8 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
Salisbury railway station serves the cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is 83 miles 43 chains (134.4 km) from London Waterloo on the West of England line to Exeter St Davids. This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and served by South Western Railway (SWR), and is also served by Great Western Railway (GWR).
Exmouth Junction is the railway junction where the Exmouth branch line diverges from the London Waterloo to Exeter main line in Exeter, Devon, England. It was for many years the location for one of the largest engine sheds in the former London and South Western Railway. The sidings served the railway's concrete casting factory as well as a goods yard.
This article describes the history and operation of the railway routes west of Salisbury built by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and allied companies, which ultimately became part of the Southern Railway in the United Kingdom. Salisbury forms a natural boundary between the Southern Railway core routes in the counties surrounding London, and the long route connecting with the Devon and Cornwall lines.
Wilton South railway station is a disused railway station which served Wilton in Wiltshire, England, on the West of England line from London Waterloo to Exeter.
The Salisbury branch line of the Great Western Railway from Westbury to Salisbury in Wiltshire, England, was completed in 1856. Most of the smaller stations were closed in 1955 but the line remains in use as part of the Wessex Main Line.
Chard Junction railway station was situated on the London and South Western Railway’s West of England Main Line about 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the village of Tatworth in Somerset, England. It was the junction of a short branch line to Chard. It was opened in 1860 as Chard Road, and closed in 1966. An adjacent milk depot was served by its own sidings from 1937 to 1980. Chard Junction signal box remained open to control Station Road level crossing and a passing loop on the long section of single track railway between Yeovil Junction and Pinhoe until March 2021, when control was passed to Basingstoke.
Chard Central railway station was the principal railway station in Chard, Somerset, England. It was opened in 1866 and closed in 1962, during which time it was known by three different names.
The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway linked Salisbury (Wiltshire), Gillingham (Dorset) and Yeovil (Somerset) in England. Opened in stages in 1859 and 1860, it formed a bridge route between the main London and South Western Railway (LSWR) network and its lines in Devon and Cornwall. Its trains were operated by the LSWR and it was sold to that company in 1878. Apart from a short section in Yeovil it remains open and carries the London Waterloo to Exeter service of South Western Railway.