Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway
| Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Locale | England |
| Continues as | London and South Western Railway |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1866 |
| Closed | 20 August 1883 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
The Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway was a railway that ran in the English counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset from 1866 until its closure in 1964. Working from Salisbury, trains left the Salisbury to Southampton line at the remote Alderbury Junction. Here there was a signal box, some railway cottages and two platforms on the main line for staff use only. The line ambled south through rural surroundings to meet the Southampton and Dorchester Railway at West Moors. Trains continued through Wimborne to Poole and Bournemouth West.
Initial hopes of cross-country traffic faded and the line carried sparse local produce and passengers until closing, as part of the Beeching Axe, to all traffic on 4 May 1964. The track was lifted the following year.
A desire to link Salisbury (and beyond Salisbury, Bristol and the Midlands) with the Dorset coast led to two lines being proposed in the mid-1840s, both using a route from Salisbury to Wimborne via Downton and Fordingbridge. The first was the Salisbury & Dorsetshire Railway, announced in 1844, which would have run to Weymouth through Wimborne, Bere and Dorchester. The second, dating from a year later, would have terminated at Poole.
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