Broadwey is a forgotten station that became a builders' yard

A single rail line ran from Weymouth to Abbotsbury, passing by the long gone Broadwey station.

The GWR line opened in 1885 and great hopes of mineral traffic drove the original construction of the line. These hopes failed to materialise and after a quiet existence carrying local passengers and agricultural produce, the line closed in 1952.

Broadwey station itself opened in 1885 as 'Broadway' but was renamed Broadwey in 1896. In 1913 it was renamed Upwey to avoid confusion with Broadway in Worcestershire!Broadwey Station

Although it had a passenger platform, it mainly functioned as a goods depot as the location of Upwey Junction on an embankment made access difficult. There was a goods shed, cattle pens and a 5 ton crane.

A typical William Clarke stone building served the single platform. The site of the station is now a builders yard with the station building and goods shed still in place.

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When the line closed in 1952 it was one of two Dorset branch lines that shut - the Portland branch closed to passenger traffic in March to be followed by the complete closure of the Abbotsbury branch in November.

The Abbotsbury line was a rural backwater that would probably have closed earlier if it had not been for the war and petrol rationing.

A view of Upwey station (named Broadwey until 1913). Taken shortly after the opening of the line, to the left the signal box and goods shed. To the right the branch train stands at the platform shrouding the station building in steam.

It was the archetypal minor Great Western Railway branch line where everybody knew each other with personal service from the staff, Sid Price at Abbotsbury, Roy Dawe at Portesham and Fred Gardner at Upwey, as so brilliantly portrayed in the classic film The Titfield Thunderbolt, made in the same year as Abbotsbury met its demise.

The Abbotsbury branch opened in November 1885, branching off the Dorchester-Weymouth line at Upwey Junction with intermediate stations at Broadwey (Upwey after 1913) and Portesham, with a halt at Coryates being added in 1906.

An uncluttered view of Broadwey station (named Upwey after 1913) taken before the turn of the century. To the centre right Broadwey School and church can clearly be seen

The branch had been promoted by the Abbotsbury Railway Company, the brainchild of the squire of Portesham, Hardy Mansfield.

Unfortunately like many branch lines of its time, the promoters had an over-estimated imagination of the traffic available. They expected the transportation of iron ore, stone, and shale oil, with the additional boast that the branch could be extended westwards to Axminster and Chard Junction, providing a direct line to Weymouth from the West for cross-Channel traffic.

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Alas, the quality and quantity of the minerals fell far below expectations and the extension was impractical, resulting in the branch only conveying the usual traffic of a rural branch, with additional passenger traffic in the summer months for visitors to Abbotsbury Swannery.

Having worked the branch since opening, the Great Western Railway absorbed the local company in August 1896 and could do little to improve its prospects.

The establishment of the motor vehicle in the years following the First World War and the setting up of a bus service in 1925 added to the downhill spiral.

Camp coaches were introduced at all three stations during the 1930s and a milk platform opened at Corton to raise additional revenue.

A revival came during the Second World War owing to fuel shortages. Sadly, this was short-lived and a rapid decline followed.

Within two years of the end of petrol rationing, the inevitable further decline in the branch line’s fortunes resulted in complete closure, the last train departing from Abbotsbury at 8.55pm on November 28, 1952.

For more memories and old pictures like this, join the Dorset Echo's nostalgia Facebook group We Grew Up in Weymouth and Portland. You can find it here

Readers remember Broadwey station well. One says: "I used to live in Railway Buildings in Broadwey and I used that station!"

Another recalls: "I loved going to Abbotsbury in that train. If I was lucky I would be allowed to open and close the gates at one point on the line. I used to pick primroses too. My grandfather’s house was in Beech Road - builders and decorators."

"My mum used to go from Abbotsbury to Weymouth - she used to put out the pram on it in the 40s," one reader says.