Sixty years ago today, on 6th March 1966, the Somerset & Dorset railway closed to regular passenger traffic, one of the biggest victims of the Beeching cuts that saw hundreds of miles of Britain’s railways closed and torn up. Closure had originally been planned for 3rd January that year, but this was delayed due to one of the replacement bus operators withdrawing their application for a licence. Spetisbury station had been an early closure, back on 17th September 1956. The S&D line continued to see the occasional enthusiasts railtours for a few years afterwards, and the line between Broadstone Junction and Blandford remained open for goods traffic until 1969. This photo by John Woods (courtesy of the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust) shows a railtour heading south from Spetisbury on 16th October 1966.
We are remembering the Somerset & Dorset railway at our Summer Extravaganza on Sunday 12th July. If you have any memories of the line, especially around Spetisbury, then we would love to hear from you! Why not come along on the day and chat with us?
Spetisbury station website 