Tracing the Somerset & Dorset Railway Around Blandford Forum

In this video I seek out the remains of the Somerset & Dorset Railway in Blandford Forum. The station closed to passengers, along with the rest of the S&D on 7 March 1966. However, it remained open for goods traffic until January 1969. After departing the station, southbound trains exited the town on an embankment and three bridges - over East Street, a minor road and across the River Stour for the fourth and final time. The station was soon demolished and is now a car park although two short sections of track remain embedded in the tarmac and a commemorative wheel acts as a reminder of the areas former importance. Another section of track with a buffer stop has also been installed beneath the footbridge which, itself, dates from railway days. From here, of course, the North Dorset Trailway commences its 9 mile journey to Sturminster Newton following, for much of its length, the course of the trackbed. South of Blandford, the Trailway also continues for three or four miles to Spetisbury, passing Charlton Marshall on the way, with both stations happily having escaped demolition following closure. The most iconic remains of the S&D in Blandford are, of course, the two arches of Bridge Nº 198, which carried the railway over the River Stour and its flood plain. The two arches on the southern embankment were demolished but these were saved to act as a monument to a much-missed railway.