I lived in Toller just a few years before this film was made. As neither of my parents drove every Saturday involved going shopping to Bridport, Dorchester, Weymouth or Yeovil by train. Although the line had been threatened for many years with closure when it did come it seemed the end of an era. The conclusion of what Beeching had started in the 1960s. When I went to Toller a few years ago, no railway, no pub, no school. Closing the line was just the start of politicians giving up,on rural England.
I made only one return journey on this train but it was very memorable and helped shape my future life. From 1969 to 1973 I was working as a teacher in Kampala, Uganda under a British Government Aid scheme. In March of 1973 my contract was coming to an end and I was searching for a new teaching post in UK. The Head of Biology post at Colfox School was advertised and the Headmaster, Major Thorburn, invited me for interview. An eight hour flight from Kampala was followed by a rail trip to Maiden Newton then a train to Bridport. What a wonderful experience ! One night at The Bull in Bridport, a successful interview, a job offer, then the return journey to Uganda ( and Idi Amin ). I taught for four wonderful years at Colfox, my wife Joan taught at Burton Bradstock, our two daughters were born in Dorchester before we eventually moved on to Derbyshire. By the way, one of the two young ladies at the very start of the film looks very much like a past pupil of mine - Sarah Giles-Townsend, can anyone confirm ?
I was born and brought up in Bridport when the railway was in it's hey day, as a child I spent a lot of time at Bridport station. So much time in fact that I knew most of the drivers and guards, all of my school holidays were spent riding on the train from Bridport to Maiden Newton, and on Wednesday's (I think?) I would ride down to West Bay on the train (060 Pannier) in the guards van. Once the line closed Bridport declined in every respect, people from the south east were buying up property pricing us locals out of the market and refusing to adapt to Dorset ways. Bridport nowadays is even worse, crime, drugs, gridlock traffic, etc etc. I left 3 years ago and only go there if I have to. West Bay used to be a lovely place, it's now horrendous. There was a covenant on the old railway line that allowed the line to be reinstated at any time in the future after it's closure, as far as I'm aware that still stands.
Went to have a look at the station at Bridport while we were on holiday there in 1973. Bubble car W55033 was in the platform waiting to depart for Maiden Newton. I WISH I'd been able to get on it and do a return trip. Sadly, parents were waiting in another part of town and wouldn't have understood the need for the trip. Great footage which has brought back many memories. Also makes me realise that 1975 - whilst to me feels only yesterday - is a long time ago....
Great clip. I recently stayed in West Milton and did a bike from Lodders and ended up at "The marquess of Lorne". Nice to see the railway in full flow.
I travelled down the line to Bridport and then walked back up it or close by about the same time as your film. Another little line destroyed by the accountants!
Not strictly true. The line was grant aided by the Bridport Council, after BR and in 1975, the council refused to fund the line anymore, and withdrew payment of the grant, informing BR of this. It is my understanding that BR tried to find another source to fund the line, but this did not happen. If you would like to research local council minutes of that time in the mid 1970s, I am sure you will find the reason why the council refused to continue to pay the grant. Speculating it could be that BR increased the size of the grant, equally it is possible that passenger numbers using the line were falling, my opinions.
Although the Bridport branch has long gone, it is still possible to travel in a Pressed Steel Class 121 dmu in Dorset on the Swanage Railway. Would have been nice to see the Bridport line surviving as a thriving steam railway had the track not been lifted.
Very evocative footage. I am not that familiar with the area but still it evokes many great memories of holidays and rail travel from my youth. Wonderful. Many thanks for the upload.
Remarkable bit of filming and very nostalgic, you can just feel the period, and as Is would have been a be a lovely bit of line that would be a real attraction, great find. 🤓
PS Historian Richard Sims prepared a guide about the Bridport branch line, and sites associated with it, for Bridport Museum. Highly recommended, and only 50p (I think it still costs that). Mr Sims lives in Loders. He knows an enormous amount about the Bridport area. I'm a big fan of his.
The printing shop on st Andrews rd still has the troughs that horses used even before the railway. Magnificent stuff, all, sadly long before the bridport u have today
Good question! 01:08 is the old crossing in Bradpole, which I always think of as being down the road from the Post Office, keeping the little old field in front of the butcher's shop & the new bungalows on your right. Walk or cycle down that way & you'll see a few relics of the old railway line, like a gate that now just seems to be mysteriously marooned. As for 00:14, that's more difficult to pin down by my way of describing things; a lot has changed since then. Say, for now, towards Bradpole!
surprised that after shutting as late as 75, preservationists and the county council didnt get together to keep the line as a tourist attraction, such as at swanage.
If only...I was 7 when the line closed, going to walk the remains later this year, will catch the train to Maiden Newton first of course...Lovely footage though!
aha! I have been in there before it got demolished, it was quite a nice building when intact! Will the cycleway include the bridge and section behind Stepps farm and onward to Loders?
I am not far from the crossing in Bradpole, yet it's hard to place. I saw some photos of the Bridport station at the co-op site thats even harder! I would guess 00:14 is leaving Bridport station then, would Travis Perkins have ben there then? I think it's the 'kink' between co-op & TP.
I can't say I agree with all the aims of Sustrans. Walking and cycling can never replace a railway and it's wrong of Sustrans to sell off bits of closed railway lines for housing development. I think a railway would bring many benefits to this isolated part of Dorset.
If the branch line from Bridport to Maiden Newton really was "much loved" then why didn't more people use it? If the cine film was shot from the front of one of the last DMU's ever to run along the branch, why were no passengers either picked up or set down at Toller Porcorum?
Yes, it's hard to visualise some things, isn't it? There are other people who know more about this than me, and have got better eyes for picking up clues. I was going to consult one of them before getting back to you again. But, in the meantime, this might tell you a bit more about builders merchants' use of the site near the station. Ah. I was going to post a link but I forgot you can't, in comments... Probably best just to search on Google for a story called Bridport warehouse turned to rubble
From photos I've seen online, I think 00:14 is just pulling out of Bridport station, which was demolished in 1977 (I understand the town's Co-op supermarket and car park was built on the site). As for 1:08: apparently, the crossing still exists in Bradpole as part of a "green space", with the rails having been left in the road (though obviously there's no more track either side). Someone made some replica crossing gates for either side of the road - do a Web-search for "bradpole crossing" and switch to the "images" view, and you should find some photos of it.
