Railway Line

Railway Line

The railway between Weymouth and Dorchester was opened in 1847 by the London & Southwestern Railway (LSWR). Great Western Railway (GWR) services from the north via Yeovil to Weymouth began in 1857, with both companies using the same section of line between Dorchester and Weymouth. This involved the use of a broad gauge for GWR services which lasted until 1874 [English Heritage 2004].

A halt on the Dorchester to Weymouth section was opened on the 1st July 1905 by the GWR, principally to serve the new Came Down Golf Club. It began life as Came Bridge Halt but was quickly renamed Monkton & Came Halt from the 1st October of the same year [Oakley 2002]. Two platforms were constructed, firstly from timber, later replaced in concrete, but no shelters were ever built. Some lighting was provided by oil lamps. The halt closed on 7th January 1957 and remains still exist [ibid]

The line was electrified in the 1980s and passenger trains still operate on the line. South West Trains services run hourly to Dorchester South, Wareham, Poole and onwards to London Waterloo in one direction and to Upwey and Weymouth in the other. First Great Western services run every other hour from Weymouth to Bristol via Yeovil and Bath.