Blandford Forum Railway Station 1960's Part 2
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- The final days of the Railway Blandford in Dorset UK Then and Now Archive film of Shllingston to Blandford forum steam railway in the 1960'sContinued from Blandford Forum through charlton Marshal to Spetisbury and Baileygate the S&D railway from operations in the 1960's to 20 years later in the early 1980's.
The remains of the track bed and some cuttings I filmed then have now gone leaving only one arch as evidence of the grand old days of steam railways.
I always thought as a child in the 1960's this line would be here forever with all that work to construct, it took around 2 years and built to last a thousand years, only to last little more than a life time.
Dr Beeching known to be the axeman of the railway branch lines. I remember at the time late 1950's there were many strikes and transporting freight and commuting by road became more popular and convenient which I would say led to the branch lines demise. The branch lines could not support themselves financially. In the video you will see the construction of the new Blandford By-Pass from brewery arch. These days with the ever rising cost of road transport Could the branch lines make a come back I sure do hope so. In the 1800's land owners fought against the railways now we're fighting to get them back.
![Дон ДОН, Алаудинов и СБЕЖАВШИЕ из под Курска ахматовцы 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dEfCf5IK26Q/mqdefault.jpg)
As a young boy we lived in Blandford camp then in the town. I have dim memories of travelling on a train to Blandford via Bath. When I wax a bit older 9 0or 10 I remember playing in the derelict station , we used to play in the cutting North of the town by the shigh school
I remember the day they blew up the arches watching from Langton slope in my Red wellies aged 4 years old, my sister kept one of the bricks sadly gone now, such a sad time for Blandford Forum and massive loss for the whole area, but totally amazing to see the footage of and memories which my husband also shares and remembers more than myself.
Loved your films. All over the Uk massive amounts of infrastructure were swept away with the stroke of a pen! Who of us in 2018 stuck in traffic in the west country would not agree that many lines would have helped reduce congestion!
Thank you David. Great you enjoy my videos. I don't think that in the 1960's anyone would have predicted the traffic congestion these days. But as mentioned by an S&D Train driver, rail transport fell out of favour and was loosing money. When the branch lines closed no one seemed to care. These days some of them are making a come back and proving popular which is great.
When it comes to our transport policy of the sixties the rest of the world must have looked at us and thought we must all be stark raving mad.
I visited Blandford Forum railway station in 1965 as a child and hoped that I might recognise something, but sadly not. However, thanks very much for allowing me to view what I could have seen that day.
Wow it's nice to see what it looked like back then. I work in the Traditional Barber shop in east street and been told my the older men what it looked like but couldn't picture it. It's a shame it's got. And there was a petrol station in town to. What a shame and wasit.
Used to live at Childe Okeford and used this line a lot,thanks for sharing the film
An excellent piece of history captured.
Always looked a lovely tranquil place Blandford, when I passed through as a youngster on Smiths coaches from Reading. In 1960 I had the misfortune of being seconded for National Service & served my training period at Blandford Camp. I travelled to Blandford station via Basingstoke & Templecombe. There were obviously a lot of us who descended onto the outside yard where a convoy of Bedford three toners transported us to the camp. Six weeks & never had the opportunity in getting around the town. When I was eventually posted to Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides I travelled back to Reading West via Bournemouth West & picked up a taxi to home for the seven days leave allotted to me before I headed north. Before that I had wonderful days train spotting & travelling about in relation to it. The decimation of the railway shortly following my release back to civilisation was political vandalism performed for the benefit of a particular Minister, one Ernie Marples who was in league with another vandal by the name of Ridgeway. So Marples Ridgeway Company, thanks for ruining this lovely country, that was. The place has never recovered & may you rot in hell.
I just shed a tear
I don;t think the S&D was viable over its full length but the Southern spur from Blandford down to Broadstone could have been kept and so could the old road from Bournemouth to Ringwood and Brockenhurst. Not preserving the trackbeds for future reopening was a bigger criminal act than closing them in the first place and the idiotic politicians officials and civil servants responsible for selling off little piecemeal bits of the routes still bask in comfy anonymous unaccountable retirement.
Could barely bring myself to watch this (too sad, yet another appalling example of the pre medidated and deliberate state sponsored vandalism that was the beeching axe) but glad I did, excellent video, thanks
I know the barber shop in East street Used to get a trim there in my schooldays in the late 1950's and again during the 1980's. The petrol station used to be at the bottom of Salisbury road as in my Blandford market day video.
Thanks for nothing, Mr Beeching. We moved to the Blandford area from Wiltshire 7 years after the closure, and felt pretty remote and stuck in situ. It's a lovely area, but we wanted to travel. A disgusting closure.
I WAS ON THE LAST RAIL TOUR AND TRAIN LAST TRAIN FROM BATH GREEN PARK BEHIND 34013 AND 34057 ON SUN 3 SEPT 1966 THAT GAVE US A VOCIFEROUS FIREWIRK DISPLAY SETTING ALIGHT CUTTINGS S A FAREWELL TONTHE S AND D. EN DURING MARCH 1967 I WAS ON A RAILTOUR FROM MACNHESTER I CAUGHT AT SOUTHAMPTON AND WE WENT OVER THE FAWLEY, LYMINGTON, BLANDFORD FORUM AND SWANAGE LINES, I LEAVING IT AT SANAGE FETURNING BY DEMU AND A STEAM TRAIN FROM WAREHAM TO WATERLOO. OUR RAILTOUR I AM SURE WAS IN MARCH 1967 THE VERY LAST STEAM PASSENGER TRAIN TO BLANDFORD FORUM, IF NOT THE LAST EVER PASSENGER TRAIN OF ALL, UNLESS BEECHING AND MARPLES ARE REINCARNATED AND BOTH MADE BY LAW TO PUT RIGHT THE LOADS OF CRIMINAL DAMAGE THEY BOTH UNLAWFUY DID TO THE UK'S RAILWAYS AND ALLTHE COUNTRIES PEOPLES LIVES BY UNLAWFULY CONTRAVENING THEIR RIGHTS, PETER, UPPER CLAPTON, TEMP IN A WHEELCHAIR, HAVING LOST MY LRFT FOOT AND LOWR LEG IN A RARE THROUGH THE KNEE AMPUTATION MARCH 2016, DUE TO POLIO AND RHEUMATIC FEVER AT AGE 8.
Watching those stations and viaduct being destroyed was painful.
So wrong to blow up that viaduct. This wasn't just a local service, it was part of a through route from Manchester Central Station to Bournemouth and there were night mail trains. I think it's beyond question it should never have closed.
I live near Blanford and have family from many generations from bland ford who don't drive and many people I've spoken to said it cut them off in the 60s when the line closed and would be so busy now too
Criminal damage and vandalism. Pure and simple. And so unutterably short sighted and stupid.
i was at blandford in 1959 in the R E M E travelled to Blandford on the pines express from Bham a never to be forgotten experience......
Brian Cleverley I went there in 1956 to the REME Camp for boot camp, remember it very well.
Should have said travelled from York by train.
very upsetting
@anthonyrwagner Thank you for your kind comment I think the original film maker must have thought the same as I did that it would there forever. Sadly never to be repeated. Great childhood memories
Very sad to see the destruction of a great railway. To be replaced by the dreaded motor car,such a waste
Bloody politicians leave the railways well alone, children of today would love a steam train ride, our son said thats a shame mum & dad why do they have to take things we like & we need, bless him
How to make a 69 years old cry!Awful, watching the destruction of the station buildings.
It's now gone, 😭😭😭😭😭😭
The MOD did keep the Blandford Camp branch alive a little longer than the rest of the line but no doubt when the property parasites saw the kerching of pound signs in all that prime land around Hamworthy and Broadstone, the lines fate was sealed and when it came to a point of maybe they were a bit too hasty, Blandford, Sturminster Newton, Wincanton etc all had been hurriedly built on making it nigh on impossible without a massive compulsory purchase act to reopen the line. Wincanton I did do a study on, that could be bypassed using an old road cut off by the A303 a fair lick from the original line past the interchange there but then you come up against the blockage at Sturminster Newton which you would have to go right round the small town to even think of coming through and Blandford's Bath direction side has long long been overbuilt and missing despite protests a major viaduct next to the brewery which was seen as pure spite more than anything. Its like why not reopen Radstock junction, connect Radstock to the mainline via Frome and also pass on down to Midsomer and beyond but the council won't entertain a small tunnel under the roundabout blocking it all, so much prime building land...
At Stur, you surely just need to dig out the cutting again?
The station site is still open really ~ car park and tin sheds mainly.
When they were constructing the line in the 1800's the only problem was the farmers rejection to allowing the railway through their land, that's why there was only a single line from Blandford to Shillingston. Most blame poor old Dr Beeching. But in reality it was poor freight service and low passenger numbers. The Popularity of road transport was to deal the final death blow. Now we want the railway back again. It would be Great!
incredible how the changes in the railway and infrastructure occurred so quickly, and seemingly with no real protests. The wholesale destruction of 100 years of history was so short-sighted - imagine if the bulk of Beechings lines were still operating - much less congestion, better transport with improved tourist and business benefits, yet BR were allowed or even encouraged to destroy everything. Only mirrored by the equally fats changes to the 'britishness' of all the people - I think if you were to film the same shots today, the make-up of the crowds would be far less anglosaxon :-(
The epitome of ‘blood, sweat, toil - & tears’. All in the ironic name of progress. ☹️
The destuction of our railways back then was the START of the eventual demise of this once great country that we see around us today...sad,so very sad...back then life was an adventure...today Feminism/Political Correctness Domestic violence culture and the ever increase of poorly thought out immigration/multiculural idiologys is certainly NOT the country we wanted back then. Steam will always bee remembered by me with affection...and I suspect missed by others too?
Firstly, thank you for uploading these videos, sad though they are to watch. Such wanton and needless destruction just makes me feel so angry. Yes, close the line, if you must, but don't obliterate it so that it can never be reopened. Mothball it, instead, so that it can be quickly and reasonably cheaply resurrected again. Did the politicians of the day never consider population growth and that roads would become clogged and railways, such as the S&D, would, once again, prove invaluable? It was, purely and simply, short-term profit and greed at the expense of the long-term transport need.
Secondly, please can you tell me the title of the piece of music beginning at 8:14, it is very nice. Thanks again.
They would have been listed buildings now?
great vid. wish that idiot Beeching and his cronies had future foresight to realise that the railway would have been an asset to Blandford and all the adjoining villages and towns. being a local village kid in the 80's and 90's i and friends would have loved it. But alas it wasn't to happen and the car was king. Maybe the future is rosy for a reincarnation of the railway....i hope
Whats with the Thomas the Tank Engine music?
I hope Beeching died screaming if they invent time travel in my lifetime, he's toast!
Well,after destroying many stations and lines and way of life,The Southern Railway staff at the Railway Station Beeching lived close to....Prevented Beeching from boarding his local train to London...BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HAVE A VALID TICKET....Such Irony steve
Whats with the music totally not fitting to be honest
You should come in and have your hair cut there again. It's a shame they got rid of the old railways. There are lots of people who live in blandford who go to work in poole, who said they would use the train if it was still there. Instead of using their car.
Such unnecessary vandalism