Wool railway station serves the village of

Wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

Dorset 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 (unitary authority), Dors ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is on the

South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

, down the line from . South Western Railway manages the station and operates all services.

History

When the

Southampton and Dorchester Railway The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was an English railway company formed to join Southampton in Hampshire with Dorchester in Dorset, with hopes of forming part of a route from London to Exeter. It received Parliamentary authority in 1845 and ...

(S&DR) was opened on 1 June 1847, Wool was one of the original stations on the line. The S&DR was amalgamated into the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

(LSWR) on 11 October 1848, and that company doubled the line in stages: the section from to Wool was doubled on 1 June 1863, and the double track was extended from Wool to Dorchester on 1 August 1863. The station was host to a Southern Railway

camping coach Camping coaches were holiday accommodation offered by many railway companies in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland from the 1930s. The coaches were old passenger vehicles no longer suitable for use in trains, which were converted to ...

from 1936 to 1939. Two camping coaches were positioned here by the Southern Region from 1954 to 1960, the coaches were replaced in 1961 by two ''Pullman'' camping coaches until 1967. The coaches were fitted with a full kitchen, two sleeping compartments and a room with two single beds.

Accidents and incidents

The line was originally built with a single track but no telegraph, with the result that there was a head-on collision between Wool and on 27 September 1847; casualties were light.

Services

Until 1967, trains through the station were normally steam hauled. Between 1967 and 1988, passenger services were normally provided by Class 33/1 diesel locomotives with Class 438 coaching stock (also known as 4-TC units). The line was electrified in 1988, using the standard British Rail Southern Region direct current third rail at 750 volts. Class 442 electric multiple units were initially used following electrification, until being displaced by new Class 444 electric multiple units in 2007. There is a basic hourly service in each direction throughout the week, however peak times two trains an hour call in each direction on weekdays.

Bus services

The station also has 4 bus services linking it to Weymouth &

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the civil ...

Purbeck Breezer Purbeck may refer to: * Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in the English county of Dorset ** Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum * Purbeck District, a local government district in the English county of Dorset * Purbeck Hills, a range of hills in the Engli ...

* 30:

- Weymouth / Dorchester (Limited Service) * 31: Wool Rail Station -

Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, southern England. The cove is one of the world's finest examples of such a landform, and is a World Heritage Site and tourist location with approximately ...

Durdle Door Durdle Door (sometimes written Durdle Dor) is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset, England.West, I.W., 2003.Durdle Door; Geology of the Dorset Coast. Southampton University, UK. Version H.07.09.03. It is priva ...

First Wessex First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

* X54:

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

- Weymouth via

* X52:

Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and withi ...

Bovington Bovington Camp () is a British Army military base in Dorset, England. Together with Lulworth Camp it forms part of Bovington Garrison. The garrison is home to The Armour Centre and contains two barracks complexes and two forest and heathland tr ...

via Weymouth

References

Railway stations in Dorset Former London and South Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1847 Railway stations served by South Western Railway 1847 establishments in England DfT Category E stations {{SouthWestEngland-railstation-stub