History
The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, which was authorised in 1845, was built in stages (during which the company was absorbed in 1850 by the Great Western Railway). Two of the last sections, from Yeovil Pen Mill to Weymouth and a connecting curve from that line to the Dorchester station of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), were opened on 20 January 1857. The LSWR was granted running powers from Dorchester to Weymouth, where some of the platforms were dedicated for LSWR use; these powers were exercised from the opening day. The station was named Weymouth, although some timetables showed it as Weymouth Town. Branches to Portland and Weymouth Quay (both opened in 1865) ran from Weymouth Junction, just north of the station.
The original station buildings were designed by TH Bertram and constructed in timber with a glazed overall roof across the tracks; this was removed after WW2. By the turn of the century the station area comprised five platforms, a large goods yard, and a small LSWR engine shed; the GWR had a larger shed situated north of the station. Nearby, Melcombe Regis halt served Portland passenger trains and provided an overflow platform for excursion trains on busy summer weekends.
After the Second World War, the station saw rapid growth in holiday and Channel Islands traffic. As a result the station underwent a major expansion in the late 1950s, gaining two lengthy excursion platforms (which now serve today's station), additional sidings adjacent to Jubilee Gardens, and a new signal box to replace two older boxes. However traffic soon declined and the station was progressively rationalised after the end of steam-hauled operations in the late 1960s, with the goods yard closing in 1972 and the signal box and most of the remaining sidings being taken out of use in 1987. Although the current Weymouth Town station is a mere shadow of its former self, the extension of third-rail electrification from Bournemouth in 1988 has given the station much improved services to London.
The current station is a relatively modern structure, having been rebuilt in 1986; in its final years, the old Weymouth station was far too big for the traffic it was handling. The station is now known simply as "Weymouth" in all public material, though its correct name is still considered to be "Weymouth Town", in order distinguish it from the other station at Weymouth Quay.
Read more about this topic: Weymouth Railway Station
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