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Disused railway station in North Dorset, England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blandford Forum railway station served the town of Blandford Forum, in Dorset, England. It was a stop on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, which connected Bath with Bournemouth.
Blandford Forum | |
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![]() Blandford Forum railway station in April 1963 | |
General information | |
Location | Blandford Forum, North Dorset England |
Grid reference | ST888067 |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | Somerset and Dorset Railway |
Pre-grouping | Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway |
Post-grouping | Southern Region of British Railways |
Key dates | |
31 August 1863 | Opened as Blandford |
21 September 1953 | Renamed Blandford Forum |
7 March 1966 | Closed for passengers |
1969 | Closed for goods |
Originally part of the Dorset Central Railway, the line to Blandford opened on 1 November 1860 to a station at Blandford St Mary, to the south of the River Stour.[1] The Dorset Central merged with the Somerset Central Railway in 1862 and a new extension connecting the two railways was built. The extension opened on 31 August 1863, requiring a bridge over the Stour and a newly relocated Blandford Forum station to the north of the river.[2]
The station remained open until 7 March 1966, when the entire line from Bath to Bournemouth closed to passengers. Goods traffic continued for a further three years, but the station was finally fully closed in 1969 and the track was lifted.[3]
The impending closure of the station was lamented by musical duo Flanders & Swann, being one of some 30 stations mentioned in their 1964 song Slow Train ("No more will I go to Blandford Forum …"). The song was written in the wake of the first Beeching report, published in 1963 and was written as a tribute to the lines and stations that were to be closed.[4]
The site of the station now lies within a housing estate.[5]
A working model of Blandford station and its environs is in the process of being built in 1/76th scale at the Blandford Museum in the town centre.[6]
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