Maiden Newton railway station

Maiden Newton
Location
Place	Maiden Newton
Local authority	West Dorset
Coordinates	50°46′48″N 2°34′08″W / 50.780°N 2.569°WCoordinates: 50°46′48″N 2°34′08″W / 50.780°N 2.569°W
Grid reference	SY599979
Operations
Station code	MDN
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	23,058
2011/12	19,652
2012/13	21,242
2013/14	20,258
2014/15	21,670
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
1857	Opened
1975	Bridport branch closed
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Maiden Newton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Maiden Newton railway station is a railway station serving the village of Maiden Newton in Dorset, England. The station is located on the Heart of Wessex line between Castle Cary and Weymouth.

History

The old signal box

Opened on 20 January 1857 by the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway with the section of their route from Yeovil Pen Mill to Weymouth. This completed their main line from Chippenham to Weymouth, the first part of which had opened in 1848. The railway was a part of the larger Great Western Railway which meant that through trains ran from London Paddington station.^[1]

The station consisted of two platforms with a flint station building and goods shed at the south end. A signal box was added later.

From 1857 to 1975 the station was the junction for the Bridport Railway and an extra bay platform was added at the north end of the station for these trains. This can still be seen at the west end of the station and this end of the trackbed is a footpath and cycleway.

Description

Looking north

Although the signal box was closed during a rationalisation scheme, the station retains two platforms as it is a passing place on the single line between Dorchester and Yeovil. The entrance is on the northbound platform, the side closest to the village. Access to the southbound platform is normally by the footbridge but there is a level crossing at the south end of the station for passengers who are unable to use the bridge. The station building survives but is no longer used by the railway.

The electric key token instrument for the block section to Yeovil are now operated by the train crew under the supervision of the signal operator based at Yeovil Pen Mill. The block section to Dorchester West is operated under the 'tokenless single line' principle with track circuiting.

Services

Great Western Railway operate services between Gloucester and Weymouth. Later this year, an additional service will run once on a Saturday between Weymouth and London Waterloo operating from late May to early September each year.

References

1. MacDermot, E T (1927). History of the Great Western Railway. 1 (1833-1863) (1 ed.). London: Great Western Railway.

Further reading

• Butt, RVJ (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
• Lucking, JH. Railways of Dorset. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society 1968.

External links

• Bridport Trailway