West Bay railway station was the terminus of the Bridport Railway in western

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. In 1879, the

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 ...

, who held the operating licence for the original Bridport Railway (which ran as far as Bridport town), decided to extend the railway to Bridport Harbour. Construction started in 1883, and the line opened on 31 March 1884. The station was called ''West Bay'' by the GWR in order to encourage holiday traffic. The line between West Bay and Bridport closed to passengers in 1930, and operated for goods services only until its final closure in 1962.

The site today

Old railway station at West Bay - geograph

After many years as the office of a boat yard, in 1995 the station was restored with a short length of track at the platform. The station building has operated sporadically as a cafe since then. From West Bay, a section of the former track bed can now be walked into Bridport.

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