I walked that back in the early 70s as a kid. It also offered a nice view of the pitch of Weymouth FC back in the day. I also remember the trains trundling down to the Quay station.
Some of the inhabitants of Portland never set foot off the island. They pride themselves on being weird. Certain pubs only serve locals. I thank Paul and Rebecca for exploring the tramway lines, many parts I couldn't navigate on my mountain bike. Spectacular views.
I’ve worked with a few who ventured as far as Weymouth - and they wouldn’t ever say the word “rabbit” instead referring to “bunnies” or “underground mutton”.
The spur is still occasionally used by road/rail engineering vehicles working to/from the B&Q level crossing. They therefore need that signal to be working to permit access to the section.
The track out of Easton used to run through a cutting as it turned onto the side of the island, however when the railway was removed the cutting was completely infilled by the quarry so road vehicles could moved about. This cutting used to have a famous photography bridge location on it.
@@pwhitewick The RU-vid algorithm being what it is I bet everyone that watch this one has had this video recommended now - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZF_GIGvPNHY.html - but just in case your algorithm is different to mine!
I seem to remember that the railway track in a cutting ended at a vertical rock face. I don't think that buffer stops were necessary. The line was obviously intended to go further. That was mid 1960s.
@@johnjephcote7636 If it is the section that went north beyond the station it went as far as some exchange sidings. The other long term abandoned section was part of the original scheme to build a dock at Church Ope Cove. They went down to meet the Admiralty line at Casteltown instead. That is mentioned in the commentary.
Whenever I watch these videos, I always wonder how much extra you must have walked to get all them “casually walking past the camera” shots. As ever, the effort is appreciated 👍
9:30 Having lived by the sea all my life, and went to secondary school overlooking the sea, I've not got bored of it! Although when your car windows or specs are covered in salt ...
Portland is just beautiful. Rugged and worn out but so beautiful. I spend so many summers, as a teenager, helping out with a children's camp at Ringstead Bay. One of our favourite trips used to be up to the island to walk around the Bill and endless playtime at the Verne High Angle Battery. I have taken my young family there a couple of times and along with the Isle of Wight I can see that we shall spend many summer holidays around Weymouth and Portland.
I’ve just discovered your channel. I live east of Brighton. Never get bored of the sea. Gorgeous video am going to the isle of Portland this summer. Looks like a beautiful area. Thank you for your interesting video.
That's a fantastic photo of the incline with all those bridges, well worth the walk!! Good place for fossils as well happy memories of finding a Titanite there. Good luck from Spain!!
Whenever I'm in Dorset, Portland Bill is my go-to place on a stormy day. Maybe I should go back on a fine day and enjoy some of those walks. Thanks for the video. I'm now inspired to go exploring down there.
Sandsfoot Castle, brought back memories of a childhood summer holiday and finding the old railway on the way to the beach. I guess its because of the Naval use but I find it interesting, that with the views Portland has not been more developed over the years.
King Barrow quarry system, parts are readily accessible through an extinct railway tunnel under the road from Tout, well worth a visit. The area on the south east side is still being worked.
my first ever P&RW video apart from Martin Zero and you in the Haddon Hall Tunnel with Martin Zero. Very fast paced,I had to pause a few times to see the names of old stations etc. Thank you
Dear Paul & Rebecca We have friends in Dorchester that also have an amazing sea front flat at Overcombe. We have taken the opportunity of its out of season use to conduct a five year exploration of the railway systems of Portland. Your programme was a good glimpse, the system is much bigger than at first view. The amazing quarry complex at Tout & King Barrow are open to public access & worth a video on their own. Warning the side of Tout quarry has suffered severe landslides destroying the coastal path.
In its day Portland was one of the wealthiest places in the UK. St Paul's cathedral and many other famous buildings are built from the stone quarried here. Just love this place apart from the Portland race which is just offshore from the bill of Portland! One of the scariest places I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing. Great work guys 👏
My memories of the line. In the mid 1970s I went on a family camping holiday to Portland. The old track was still in place. Heavily rusted and obviously not in use. I think it as removed soon after our visit!
I live not too far from bridport over looking the sea, but portland my fav place for views. They used the full carts going down, to pull up the empty carts.
I wIsh I seen this before speding a week on the island a few years ago. I knew there had been railways in the area, but didn't really know where to look. I watched your video with the NLS georeferenced 1888-1913 map open on another window which added considerably to the narrative. Thanks for doing the legwork onthis and your other fascinating videos.
Totally doing a ride out from Weymouth to Portland along the old line. I've been in the area often but never knew of that route. Next time you're in Weymouth, treat yourself to a meal at The Marlborough restaurant right next to the town bridge. Best fish & chips in the town.
Dear both. Indespensable to your research of the huge railway complex at Portland are: ISLE OF PORTLAND RAILWAYS volume One & Two by B.L. Jackson The Oakwood Press
Spent a week on Portland in 2017 (staying near Church Ope Cove) and walked along East Weare (where people were climbing). I knew there was a railway line along there and that the stone pillars 'connected' to the cliff previously ... never knew about the tram incline though or I would have gone there as well! Very much enjoyed your video.
Lord Portland, Portland stone, Portland Square, Portland Estates, there's money in them there hills! Thank you Guys for showing us 'The Bill', same as you, retro memories galore!!!
Brought back a lot of childhood memories, used to go to Weymouth every year, staying in Littlesea holiday park, which backed onto the lagoon the other side of Chesil Beach, next to an MOD firing range. The Rodway trail is a good day out when the weathers nice. Good work people
When you had finished for the day, you should have gone for a meal at the Crab House Cafe, the oysters are grown in the Fleet just in front on the cafe and all the other seafood is caught localy :)
Thoroughly enjoyed this video, and the physical effort you both put into its production. I live in Queensland, north east Australia, and I love the history that is captured and aired of railways in Britain. It is the birthplace of this wonderful mode of transport that has embraced the world. Your enthusiasm is captivating, and I look forward to many more of your projects. Take care now, keep safe and well!
Dear both. The quarry system was also served by a direct incline into the BR system joining with the point of the Portland line at the Junction with the Docks system and Stone block marshalling sidings MOD unaccesible from the North side of Portland. The top part of this is public accessible and takes some finding. It is in the region of Grove Road - Incline Road and the Railway Loco Depot and incline system is still intact!
The interesting thing about Chesil Beach is that, as you head further west, the size of the pebbles decrease. I've swum off Portland, and the water was crystal clear. A lovely, strange place.
@@brianartillery definitely 'rips', so strong a photo looking at setting sun on horizon is marked with a dark line approx 25m wide running E to W and 'no sun' showing at all!
I can remember walking some of those places back in the sixties and being up on the Verne watching the Navy helicopters training at the base below. I can remember seeing tankers on the rails bringing fuel to the twenty odd fuel tanks along there, sadly all gone and only the coastguard helicopter there now. The car park where you left Rebecca originally had no fence and it terrified my mum that dad would park to near the edge. Sad that the boat trains have gone, was a unique experience watch it navigate the traffic
Sorry, Richard - the Coastguard helicopter is gone too. Emergencies are now responded to from St Mawgam (Newquay), St Athan (S Wales) or a base near Gosport (name escapes me). As you can imagine, this adds to response time, leaving a busy boating area very exposed. I live in Weymouth, and the local rag often reports on these long-distance rescues, which the Cameron government tried to assure everyone would not be a problem. I wonder if the savings come anywhere near matching the extra costs.
The Portland Easton Station terminated under the road bridge at the north end under the road over bridge it had a siding leading off to the left. When you left the station area at 17.00 on the right was a no longer visible branch. This led to the top of a cove an unsuccesful attempt to shorten the distance for unloading stone.
Extra interest - at 9'30 you are passing a climbing area called 'The Cuttings' which is the most popular on the Island. Lots of old railways and quarrying provide us climbers with popular spots to play.
You are so enthusiastic Paul. You draw us in and we are there on the explore with you. That was amazing and filmed on a glorious day. Thank you both so much . Really appreciated.
Like the Bridport Railway,went on the last train May 5 1975 i think.Also went to Okehampton last day june 1972.Token for Crediton to Okehampton was marked OKHAMPTON.
Portland has lots of hidden gems. You can still see parts of Mulberry Harbour that was used in WW2 to support troops landing on the French coast. Tout Quarry has 60 carvings and sculptures including one by Anthony Gormley
A similar stone paved route route was used from 1817 near Dublin, Ireland. Granite from a quarry at Dalkey and Killiney was used to build two huge mile long piers at Dunlaoghaire (Dunleary) to provide a refuge for ships in Dublin Bay. Horses were used and gravity too to move huge blocks of stone, (8 tons) on rails. Beautiful scenery and views, when the weather is good, try June.
The cost of pouch is privacy. You are leaving behind information, which is valuable. Let's say you use a VPN to supposedly gain privacy and security (you really don't gain either). Pouch does the opposite. It is a decision. Nor dissimilar to using a credit card. There is no free lunch.
Beautiful weather for an amazingly interesting story and an area I know little about, thanks for the adventure, you had better weather than Martin this week!! Have signed up for pouch. Thanks.
Really enjoyed this one, we were there in 20 20 and walked most of the tracks you were on. I've been cutting stone for 30 + years and always wanted to visit. Great place for a rock solid break and that tramway is great to look down. Keep up the good work. 👍.
I'm glad Pouch sponsored this video because I recently switched from Firefox to Chrome and forgot to reinstall the Pouch extension until now. Also, I have decided I like the word Pouch and I'm going to try to use it more often in conversation.
Just like to say thank you for your wonderful relaxing videos. SideBySide map site was a revelation for me and I have spent a lot of time virtually wandering around here, I live very close to the Birmingham Canal/Stafford Road Works area with its turntable, and literally 10 minutes walk away from the site of Wednesfield Heath station, the first station to serve Wolverhampton! So much stuff on the 25 mile maps to look at, may you long continue. Once my benefits settle down I will definitely join your Patreon campaign too. Twigs.
I went to Weymouth College in the mid 80s and to reach each section of the college we used to walk along the old railway..then it was grown over, there was still some foundations and rubble of the railway bridge that use to span westham, along the line the remains of WW2 gun turrets were seen..Rodwell station was completely overgrown and walking under the bridge before the station was always spooky..it’s strange to think that Rodwell station was at one time the most beautifully kept station.
Amazing walk! A tramway using horses was not always profitable as horses need as much upkeep as steam locos do. Horses need feed, hay, straw and water and shelter from bad weather, plus a blacksmith for shoes and wagon repairs. But steep inclines are really hard on steam locos so a balanced tramway would have worked out well for the quarry owners. You can see the proof of the profits by the elaborate bridges that the owners could afford to build. Of course it helps if the owners also own a stone quarry and have expert stone masons on hand to build the bridges!
Thanks Paul and Rebecca - a lovely film! We went to Portland for a day when snatching a short break in Dorset between lockdowns in 2020. I was also fascinated by the evidence of railways on maps and on the ground. So, when we got home, I GOOGLED "Railways on the Isle of Portland" and came across a series of 3 books about them. They are written by B.L. Jackson and are very detailed. They are published by Ookwood Press - numbers 106 A/B/C in their "Library of Railway History". You may already be aware, but, if not, go buy! P.S. Have also installed POUCH - thanks for the tip!
I almost had a conniption though, at 6:24, I go 'oh god, look at that lovely stone work!' with what is clearly a system to get wee trucks up and down the hill AND THEN I'm struggling, waiting, for more information. Even mouthing under my breath - hope he don't forget, hope he don't forget ... till, finally, at 12:59 theres the explanation. I tell you, those were the longest 6 minutes ... I'm laughing now though. However, there's lots going on here, geologically, it's quarry that is limestone but the beach stones look harder than that and the wall at 8:50 is sandstone. If that's original stone, there's lots going on on the tiny island. So, I'm off for a wee google to assuage my interests. 7:45 you're such a funny bugger, Paul. *gleeful chuckles ensue*
Superb camerawork and editing. You told the story very well and the I really felt like I was exploring with you. It reminded me of climbing there in the 1990's. We explored the quarries on a very hot summer's day.
Pouch build Stations, Tunnels and Viaducts.... I never knew that lol But with jokes aside it a brilliant video and the news at the top are amazing as well.
Wow that was really good. What a gorgeous area that was. I actually live quite close to the beach. Thanks for the history that was really fascinating. So good they worried for the horses. Thanks for taking me along. Please stay safe and take care
More great fascinating and educational content. I think, all the old government buildings in Whitehall are faced in Portland stone - have a gander when you are next in Londinium
Correct! Portland stone was used in the construction of many London buildings, including Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, the Foreign Office, the Cenotaph and St Paul’s Cathedral. The Centrepoint building was made from precast segments, consisting of a concrete mix containing crushed Portland stone. The segments were made on Portland and transported to London.
My grandad worked here at Portland.He was a lad porter. He had to ride his bike along Acheson beach to get to work from Upwey. His dad was a signalman at Weymouth and his dads wife was the longest serving ladies lavatory assistant until the 1970’s. William and Louisa Didcock. If anyone reading this has photos or newspaper cutting or links, I would really appreciate it. I haven’t found anything myself yet.
They have been quarrying Portland stone for building since the 17th century . I don't know if King Charles 1st' favourite dinner sheep the 'Portland' ( Dorset's native small shorthaired breed ), travelled on the same ships as the stone from Portland and Tilly Whim ( near Worth Matravers ) quarries but its a nice idea .
Just discovered your videos through a friend’s recommendation. Particularly interested in this one as I live fairly locally (Dorchester). Have walked some of what you covered but would love to do the rest some day. One small minor point, though - Wyke is pronounced as in ‘bike’ , not ‘wick’ 😊
