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A341 Road
Dorset is a county in South West England. The county is largely rural and therefore does not have a dense transport network, and is one of the few English counties without a motorway. Due to its position on the English Channel coast, and its natural sheltered harbours, it has a maritime history, though lack of inland transport routes have led to the decline of its ports. Rail Dorset is connected to London by two main railway lines. The West of England Main Line runs through the north of the county at Gillingham and Sherborne. The electric South West Main Line runs through the south of the county, at Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester and the terminus at Weymouth, and was part of the London and South Western Railway (later Southern Railway). Additionally, a secondary line, the Heart of Wessex Line runs from Weymouth to Bristol, via Yeovil and Bath, in Somerset. This line was part of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (later Great Western Railway). Railway closures in Do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorset Transport
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The county town is Dorchester, in the south. After the reorganisation of local government in 1974, the county border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch. Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation, while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density. The county has a long history of human settlement stretching back to the Neolithic era. The Romans conquered Dorset's indigenous Celtic tribe, and during the Early Middle Ages, the Saxons settled the area and made Dorset a shire in the 7th century. The first recorded Viki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heart Of Wessex Line
The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth Line, is a railway line that runs from to and Weymouth in England. It shares the Wessex Main Line as far as Westbury and then follows the course of the Reading to Taunton Line as far as . History Places served The cities, towns and villages served by this route are listed below: *Bristol *Keynsham * Bath * Freshford *Avoncliff *Bradford on Avon *Trowbridge * Westbury *Frome *Bruton *Castle Cary *Yeovil *Thornford * Yetminster * Chetnole *Maiden Newton * Dorchester * Upwey * Weymouth Operator Passenger services on the route are operated by Great Western Railway and South Western Railway. Most Great Western services originate from Bristol Temple Meads or . Some originate from towns and cities beyond Bristol such as , Cheltenham and . South Western Railway operate a limited service between London Waterloo and Yeovil Junction via Castle Cary. From summer 2016 there was also a "seaside special" service between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sturminster Newton
Sturminster Newton is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It is situated on a low limestone ridge in a meander of the River Stour. The town is at the centre of a large dairy agriculture region, around which the town's economy is built. The larger part of the town (Sturminster) lies on the north side of the river, and includes most shops and services, whilst to the south is the smaller Newton. Between these two areas is a wide flood plain. The town was the home of poet and author William Barnes, and, for part of his life, Thomas Hardy. The town has 43 shops, a primary and secondary school, and a school and college catering for children with Special educational needs. In the 2011 census the town's civil parish had a population of 5,234. A market is held in the town on Mondays. One of the largest cattle markets in England used to be held here, but it was closed in 1998 and now in its place stands a housing estate and a 300-seat community arts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and its area incorporated into the new Dorset (unitary authority), Dorset unitary authority. Blandford is notable for its Georgian architecture, the result of rebuilding after the majority of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1731. The rebuilding work was assisted by an Act of Parliament and a donation by George II of Great Britain, George II, and the rebuilt town centre—to designs by local architects Bastard brothers, John and William Bastard—has survived to the present day largely intact. Blandford Camp, a military base, is sited on the hills north-east of the town. It is the base of the Royal Corps of Signals, the communications wing of the British Army, and the site of the Royal Signals Museum. Dorset County Coun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Stour, Dorset
The River Stour is a river which flows through Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England, and drains into the English Channel. The catchment area for the river and its tributaries is listed as . Toponymy It is sometimes called the Dorset Stour to distinguish it from other rivers of the same name in Kent, Suffolk and the Midlands. According to Brewer's ''Dictionary of Britain & Ireland'', the name Stour rhymes with ''hour'' and derives from Old English meaning "violent", "fierce" or the "fierce one". History The river burst its banks at Christchurch during the 2013–14 winter floods and 100 residents were evacuated. Prehistoric archaeology The Stour valley has produced rich evidence for early human (Palaeolithic) activity. Gravel pits in the lower reaches of the river (many underlying modern day Bournemouth) produced hundreds of Lower Palaeolithic handaxes when they were quarried, particular during the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Archaeologic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somerset And Dorset Joint Railway
The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, also known as the S&D, SDJR or S&DJR, was an English railway line connecting Bath (in north-east Somerset) and Bournemouth (now in south-east Dorset but then in Hampshire), with a branch from Evercreech Junction to Burnham-on-Sea and Bridgwater. Strictly speaking, the main line ran from Bath Junction to Broadstone, as the line between Broadstone and Bournemouth was owned by the London and South Western Railway, while the line between Bath Junction and Bath was owned by the Midland Railway. The line was used for freight and local passenger traffic over the Mendip Hills, and for weekend holiday traffic to Bournemouth. Criticised as the "Slow and Dirty" or the "Slow and Doubtful", it closed in 1966 as part of the Beeching axe despite protests from the local community. Overview The Somerset and Dorset Railway (S&D) was created in 1862, as an amalgamation of the Somerset Central Railway and the Dorset Central Railway. By the following ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridport Railway
The Bridport Railway was a railway branch line that operated in the county of Dorset in England. It connected Bridport with the main line network at Maiden Newton, and opened on 12 November 1857. It was extended to West Bay in 1884, but the extension was not well used and it closed to passengers in 1930. The remaining branch closed in 1975. Origins During the 1840s a number of railway schemes had been proposed, that would have put Bridport on a main line from London to Exeter. This included the Bridport and Exeter Railway, and schemes to extend the London and South Western Railway to Exeter from Dorchester. As late as 1853 there was a firm proposal to build such a line, but it fell through and the present-day route via Yeovil was adopted instead. Dismayed at being abandoned from the main line system, businessmen in Bridport observed that the Great Western Railway (GWR) was making plans to extend its partly built line, the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) from Cast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beeching Axe
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes'' (1965), written by Richard Beeching and published by the British Railways Board. The first report identified 2,363 stations and of railway line for closure, amounting to 55% of stations, 30% of route miles, and 67,700 British Rail positions, with an objective of stemming the large losses being incurred during a period of increasing competition from road transport and reducing the rail subsidies necessary to keep the network running. The second report identified a small number of major routes for significant investment. The 1963 report also recommended some less well-publicised changes, including a switch to the now-standard practice of containerisation for rail freight, and the replacement of some services wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portland Branch Railway
The Portland Branch railway was a railway line located on the Isle of Portland in the English county of Dorset. The line operated from the late nineteenth century until closing to passengers in 1952 and goods in 1965. For a short line, it had a complex history, built in three separate sections and operated jointly by two rival railway companies. Its construction needed twelve years of blasting through solid rock and three extensions of Parliamentary time. Inception The need in the early 1820s to transport stone led to an older railway, the Merchant's Railway, being promoted. A public company authorised by Act of Parliament, the company existed for a long time after the closure of the railway. The railway initially consisted of a tramway, then an incline from Priory Corner to Castletown Pier. This was a distinct railway from the later Portland Branch, although an attempt by the Easton and Church Hope railway to take it over failed at the parliamentary stage. The line was at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropical gardens, is owned by the Ilchester Estate, which owns of land in Dorset. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 481. The coastline within the parish of Abbotsbury includes a section of long Chesil Beach that is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. Abbotsbury is known for its swannery, subtropical gardens and surviving abbey buildings, including St Catherine's Chapel, a 14th-century pilgrimage chapel that stands on a hill between the village and the coast. Geography Abbotsbury village is in the Dorset unitary authority administrative area, situated amidst hills about inland from the English Channel coast at Chesil Beach, an barrier beach which south of the village encloses The Fleet, a brackish coast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of —later slightly widened to —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892. The GWR was the only company to keep its identity through the Railways Act 1921, which amalgamated it with the remaining independent railways within its territory, and it was finally merged at the end of 1947 when it was nationalised and became the Western Region of British Railways. The GWR was called by some "God's Wonderful Railway" and by others the "Great Way Round" but it was famed as the "Holiday ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilts, Somerset And Weymouth Railway
The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was an early railway company in south-western England. It obtained Parliamentary powers in 1845 to build a railway from near Chippenham in Wiltshire, southward to Salisbury and Weymouth in Dorset. It opened the first part of the network but found it impossible to raise further money and sold its line to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1850. The GWR took over the construction and undertook to build an adjacent connecting line; the network was complete in 1857. In the early years of the 20th century the GWR wanted to shorten its route from London to the West of England and built "cut-off" lines in succession to link part of the WS&WR network, so that by 1906 the express trains ran over the Westbury to Castle Cary section. In 1933 further improvements were made, and that part of the line was established as part of the "holiday line" to Devon and Cornwall. The network was already a major trunk route for coal from South Wales coa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
