Wimborne Railway Station - Decline

Decline

Bournemouth's rapid development in the late Victorian era as a residential town and holiday resort indirectly led to the decline of Wimborne station. The Somerset and Dorset avoided the awkward reversal there by opening a bypass from Corfe Mullen to Broadstone in 1885 (goods) and 1886 (passengers). A handful of local S&D passenger trains still ran into Wimborne, as well as some goods trains as the large yard made for a more convenient point of interchange. Worse still came in 1888 when Wimborne was bypassed by the opening of a direct line to Bournemouth from the east. When that was extended in 1893 across Poole Harbour to join with the original Southampton and Dorchester line at Hamworthy Junction via the Holes Bay Curve - forming an alternative through-route between Southampton and Weymouth via Bournemouth - this meant that most main line passenger trains to and from London, Dorchester and Weymouth had no need to run through Wimborne.

Nevertheless, the generally increasing level of traffic on the railways up to 1914 meant that it was still a busy station, although post-war economies led to the withdrawal of the last S&D passenger trains from 11 July 1920, followed by milk and parcels in February 1932, with freight traffic ceasing completely from 17 June 1933. Loss of the S&D traffic only left Wimborne with the infrequent pull-push services between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth West, a handful of trains from Salisbury and some long-distance Summer Saturday traffic when the station was used to relieve Bournemouth. This seasonal holiday traffic built up in the inter-war period and boomed in the 1950s. Goods trains also used the route all year around for the same reason.