Maiden Newton railway station explained

Maiden Newton
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Maiden Newton, Dorset
Country:England
Coordinates:50.78°N -2.569°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:Great Western Railway
Platforms:2
Code:MDN
Classification:DfT category F1
Original:Great Western Railway
Years:20 January 1857
Events:Opened
Years1:1975
Events1:Bridport branch closed
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Designation1:Grade II
Designation1 Feature:Maiden Newton Station
Designation1 Date:26 April 1999
Designation1 Number:1386820

Maiden Newton railway station is a railway station serving the village of Maiden Newton in Dorset, England. The station is located on the Heart of Wessex Line, 154.12miles from the zero point at London Paddington, measured via Swindon and Westbury.[1]

History

Opened on 20 January 1857 by the Great Western Railway with the section of their route from to . This completed the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth line from, the first part of which had opened in 1848.[2]

The station consisted of two platforms with a flint station building and goods shed at the south end. A signal box was added later - it was closed in the summer of 1988, when the "no signalman token system" was introduced between Maiden Newton and Yeovil.[3] From 1857 to 1975 the station was the junction for the Bridport Railway and an extra bay platform was added at the north end of the station for these trains.[4] This can still be seen at the west end of the station and this end of the trackbed is a footpath and cycleway.

The station is Grade II listed. The main station building was built for the opening of the station and although in the style of Isambard Kingdom Brunel is most likely to designs by his assistant Robert Pearson Brereton. It is constructed of flint with Hamstone dressings and an artificial slate roof. The other buildings within the listing include a smaller shelter with Welsh slate roof, and the footbridge of reinforced concrete installed in the 1950s by the Western Region of British Railways.

The station building survives but is no longer used by the railway.

Stationmasters

Description

The station retains two platforms as it is a passing place on the single line between and Yeovil Pen Mill. The entrance is on the northbound platform, the side closest to the village. Access to the southbound platform is normally by the footbridge but there is a level crossing at the south end of the station for passengers who are unable to use the bridge.

Services

Great Western Railway operate services from,, and to .[20] South Western Railway used to run additional services between and Yeovil Junction on Summer Saturdays.[21]

Signalling

The electric key token instrument for the block section to Yeovil are now operated by the train crew under the supervision of the signal operator based at Yeovil Pen Mill. The block section to Dorchester West is operated under the "tokenless single line" principle with track circuiting.

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Jacobs, Gerald . Railway Track Diagrams, Book 3: Western . Trackmaps . 2005 . Bradford-on-Avon . 18A.
  2. Book: MacDermot, E T. History of the Great Western Railway . 1. 1 (1833-1863). Great Western Railway. 1927. London.
  3. Book: Maggs . Colin . The Branch Lines of Dorset . 15 January 2012 . Amberley Publishing Limited . 978-1-4456-1234-8 . en.
  4. Web site: Disused Stations: Maiden Newton Station . 2022-03-25 . www.disused-stations.org.uk.
  5. . 1835 . 1835-1860 Clerks . Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts . 67 . 16 June 2021.
  6. News: . Maiden Newton . Southern Times and Dorset County Herald . England . 19 September 1857 . 17 June 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  7. News: . Dorchester . Salisbury and Winchester Journal . England . 5 November 1859 . 17 June 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  8. . 1835 . 1835-1910 Clerks Vol 5 . Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts . 55 . 16 June 2021.
  9. . 1835 . 1835-1910 Clerks Vol 5 . Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts . 60 . 16 June 2021.
  10. News: . Maiden Newton . Southern Times and Dorset County Herald . England . 22 January 1876 . 17 June 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  11. . 1899 . 1835-1910 Clerks Vol 5 . Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts . 253 . 17 June 2021.
  12. . 1899 . 1835-1910 Clerks Vol 5 . Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts . 382 . 16 June 2021.
  13. News: . Clifton's Stationmaster . Western Daily Press . England . 29 September 1922 . 17 June 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  14. . 1899 . 1835-1910 Clerks Vol 6 . Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts . 164 . 16 June 2021.
  15. . 1835 . 1835-1910 Clerks Vol.6 . Great Western Railway Operating, Miscellaneous Depts . 491 . 17 June 2021.
  16. News: . G.W. Staff Changes . Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette . England . 13 February 1926 . 17 June 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  17. News: . Presentation . Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser . England . 2 September 1933 . 17 June 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  18. News: . Stationmaster's Appointment . Western Gazette . England . 9 June 1944 . 17 June 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  19. News: . People and Places . Wells Journal . England . 20 September 1957 . 17 June 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  20. Web site: Archived copy . 17 May 2019 . 17 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190517180506/https://www.gwr.com/~/media/gwr/pdfs/timetables/2019/may/b01.pdf%3Fla%3Den . dead .
  21. Web site: Cheap Train Tickets | Travel Safely | South Western Railway.

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