Weymouth Quay railway station

Weymouth Quay
Weymouth Quay railway station in 1986
General information
LocationWeymouth, Dorset
England
Grid referenceSY683789
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGreat Western Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
1 July 1889Opened
25 July 1940Closed
15 June 1946Reopened
26 February 1972[1]Goods facilities withdrawn
26 September 1987[2]End of regular scheduled passenger services
2 May 1999[3]Visit by one-off charter service
2017Station formally closed by ORR
2021Track lifted

Weymouth Quay is a disused railway station in Weymouth, Dorset, England at the terminus of the Weymouth Harbour Tramway. Until September 1987 it was the regular terminus and starting point for boat trains to and from London Waterloo, linking to the ferry services with street running along the streets of the town.

After the regular boat trains were ended, the station was still occasionally used for special services, the last being a Pathfinder Tours charter on 2 May 1999.[3] The track and station were no longer used at all after that, although they were still part of the rail network. The station buildings are now offices for Condor Ferries which operated a ferry service to the Channel Islands. However, with the purchase of its new ferry in 2015, Condor ceased to serve the port of Weymouth.

The line was designated "Out of Use (temporary)" for a period of two years by Network Rail on 15 January 2007,[4] and again on 1 April 2009.[5] Closure of the branch was proposed by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, which was proposing to acquire the trackbed.[6] In July 2014, it was reported that the sale of the line did not proceed and a campaign started to reopen the tram route claiming it would help with tourism and reduce car usage in the town.[7] The Office of Road and Rail agreed to the permanent closure in 2017.[8] In 2020 the local authority gained funding to pull up the line[9] and the track was removed in 2020/21.


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Weymouth
(Reversal needed)
  Weymouth Harbour Tramway
Weymouth-Weymouth Quay
  Terminus
  1. ^ Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol: Avon-AngliA Publications & Services. p. 147. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
  2. ^ Department for Transport, Freedom of Information Act response, 13 May 2009.
  3. ^ a b Six Bells Junction, Way-Farer Railtour, 2 May 1999.
  4. ^ "NCG12007WESX001 Weymouth Tramway OOU (temporary)". Network Rail. February 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  5. ^ "NCG12009WESX001s Weymouth Traimway". Network Rail. 18 June 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  6. ^ "'Olympic' train line may be lost". BBC News. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Campaign to reopen Weymouth seafront train line". BBC News. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Weymouth's train track removal paused as lockdown ends". BBC News. 2 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Disused Weymouth railway line removal plans win £1m". BBC News. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.