Dorchester West railway station

"Dorchester West" redirects here. For the electoral division, see Dorchester West (ward).

Dorchester West is one of two railway stations that serve the town of Dorchester in Dorset, England, the other is Dorchester South. It is managed by Great Western Railway, which also operates all services that stop here. The station is located on the Heart of Wessex Line between Castle Cary and Weymouth, at the southern end of a single track section from Maiden Newton. It is sited 161.63 mi (260.12 km) from London Paddington, via Swindon and Westbury. The line becomes double at the station and remains so to just before nearby Dorchester Junction, where the line joins the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.

Dorchester West
General information
Location	Dorchester, Dorset England
Coordinates	50.711°N 2.443°W / 50.711; -2.443
Grid reference	SY688902
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	DCW
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
Key dates
20 January 1857	Opened
Passengers
2019/20	93,662
Interchange	48
2020/21	22,134
Interchange	3
2021/22	66,992
Interchange	23
2022/23	82,196
Interchange	43
2023/24	89,732
Interchange	37
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station was opened by the Great Western Railway on 20 January 1857, when it completed the former Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth line from Castle Cary and Yeovil through to Weymouth.

In October 2021, a new ramp was opened allowing step-free access to platform 1.^[1]

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Bradford Peverell & Stratton Halt		Great Western Railway Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway		Monkton and Came Halt

Stationmasters

• Peter Leach 1859 - 1860^[2] - 1862 (afterwards station master at Castle Cary)
• Edwin Wall from 1860^[3] (formerly station master at Castle Cary)
• George Prowse 1864 - 1870^[4]
• Henry Maggs 1870^[5] - 1872 (formerly station master at Shepton Mallett, afterwards station master at Didcot)
• Henry Yeo 1876 - ca. 1894 (formerly station master at Maiden Newton)
• Alfred Reeve 1897 - 1901^[6] (afterwards station master at Warminster)
• Jesse Higgs 1901 - 1907 (formerly station master at Warminster, afterwards station master at Trowbridge)
• John Charles Neville 1907^[7] - 1910 (formerly station master at Weston-super-Mare)
• William Best 1910^[8] - 1917 (formerly station master at Shepton Mallet, afterwards station master at Salisbury)
• Thomas Frederick Edwin Jakeman 1917 - 1926^[9] (formerly station master at Didcot, afterwards station master at Westbury)
• C.A. Drew 1926 - 1932^[10] (formerly station master at Droitwich)
• H.M. Wood 1932 - 1942^[11] (from 1930 also station master of Dorchester South)
• John Charles Leach 1942 - 1945 (also in charge of Dorchester South)
• S.A. Smith from 1945 (formerly station master at Winchester and Shawford, also in charge of Dorchester South)

Accidents and incidents

An accident occurred at this station in 1974 when an excursion train from Hereford to Weymouth, on its return journey, did not stop at the signal controlling the entry to the single line section, and ran into the sand drag. The locomotive (a Class 47) ran right through the sand drag and out the other side, followed by a couple of coaches. Eighteen passengers suffered minor injuries in the derailment, but no one was seriously hurt.^[12] The passengers were taken home by train via Southampton later that evening, and the loco was subsequently re-railed and recovered during the night several weeks later.

Services

Two Class 153s leaving the station for Weymouth

A Class 158 at platform 1, operating a service towards Yeovil in 2022

The station is served by Great Western Railway, who operate services between Gloucester, Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth. Services generally operate every two hours in each direction.^[13]

More frequent services, usually every hour, are available to Weymouth, as well as services to London Waterloo from the nearby Dorchester South station.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Maiden Newton		Great Western Railway Heart of Wessex Line		Upwey

See also

• Ordnance Survey 1937 map of Dorchester showing the location of the two stations

References

1. Smith, Roger (28 October 2021). "New access ramp at Dorchester West station provides easier access for passengers and new direct route to Dorset hospital". RailAdvent. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
2. "1835-1910 Clerks Vol.3". Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts: 155. 1899. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
3. "1835-1910 Clerks Vol.3". Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts: 40. 1835. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
4. "1835-1910 Clerks Vol.3". Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts: 161. 1835. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
5. "Dorchester". Southern Times and Dorset County Herald. England. 14 January 1871. Retrieved 19 June 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Presentation at Dorchester. Acknowledging the services of the late Stationmaster". Weymouth Telegram. England. 2 April 1901. Retrieved 19 June 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Cawings from the Weston Rookery". Weston-super-Mare Gazette, and General Advertiser. England. 19 October 1907. Retrieved 19 June 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Shepton Mallet News". Wells Journal. England. 3 March 1910. Retrieved 19 June 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Westbury". Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser. England. 17 July 1926. Retrieved 19 June 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Dorchester G.W.R. Stationmaster". Western Gazette. England. 2 September 1932. Retrieved 19 June 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "Stationmaster Retiring". Western Gazette. England. 9 October 1942. Retrieved 19 June 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. Dept of the Environment Railway Accidents - Report into the Derailment that occurred on 25 August 1974 at Dorchester West StationThe Railways Archive; Retrieved 2009-06-23
13. "Train Times". Great Western Railway. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.