Upwey Wishing Well Halt railway station

Upwey Wishing Well Halt was a railway station at Bincombe in the county of Dorset in England. It served the northern part of the village of Upwey, now a suburb of Weymouth, on what is now known as the Heart of Wessex Line and the South West Main Line.

Upwey Wishing Well Halt
General information
LocationBincombe, Dorset
England
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
28 May 1905Opened
7 January 1957Closed

History

Opened by the GWR in 1905, it was part of a scheme by the railway company to counter road competition, particularly from Weymouth's buses. Served by local Weymouth to Dorchester rail motor trains, the station had GWR pagoda shelters and wooden platforms. The platforms were later replaced with brick built structures but the pagodas remained until road competition saw the closure of the halt in 1957.[1][2] The site remained popular with railway photographers as from the former access paths and the A354 overbridge good pictures could be had of steam locomotives working hard on the climb from Weymouth up to Bincombe Tunnel. A remarkable thing about the site was that before the construction of the Weymouth relief road, the underbridge to the south of the platforms carried the same road as the overbridge to the north; the A354 negotiated a hairpin bend to the east of the line on the climb over Ridgeway Hill.

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Monkton and Came Halt
Line Open, Station Closed
   Great Western Railway
Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway		   Upwey
Line Open, Station Open

Present day

Nothing remains of the platforms as they were removed during works for the 1988 electrification. Trains still pass on the Heart of Wessex Line and the South West Main Line.

References
  1. Quick, M. E. (2002). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales – a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 434. OCLC 931112387.
  2. Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.

Further reading
  • R.V.J. Butt (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
  • J.H. Lucking (1968). Railways of Dorset. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society.

50.6648°N 2.4650°W / 50.6648; -2.4650


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