Photograph of Bournemouth-bound "Pines Express" hauled by BR Std class 9F Evening Star

Easter 2005

 19th March to 2nd April excluding Sundays

The "Dorset Railways" exhibition will comprise a number of quality model railway layouts, preservation society stands, and static displays, together portraying the history of railways in the County.

Dorset used to have some 69 stations on the various lines that traversed the county and this exhibition provides a flavour of them in bygone days, primarily by means of scale model railway. Of the four model layouts recalling the steam age, as many as possible will be running each day.  They include a detailed model of  British Railways (Southern Region) Wool station, Great Western Railway ‘Gravity Siding’ at Maiden Newton and a model of a Southern Railway branch-line in a south Dorset setting. Click here for further details

Also on show in this comprehensive exhibition will be maps covering the history of railways in the county together with evocative pictures of some 40 stations in a panoramic display.  Many will be shown as they were in 1923, when amalgamation of the countless small railway companies into the ‘big four’ regional organisations took place.

Society displays include those from the Barnes Society, as Dorset’s famous dialect poet, William Barnes, was a promoter of the county’s railways; the South Western Circle; the Swanage Railway; the Somerset & Dorset Trust; the Great Western Society. Click here for further details

Static railway exhibits include large and small-scale models of steam engines. Click here for further details

This exciting exhibition will be a nostalgic opportunity for all ages to enjoy the history of railways and for the older generation, perhaps, to recall uncrowded trains which started and arrived on time.  An informative, illustrated, booklet of the exhibition, sponsored by the Oakwood Press, will be available at the Museum for 50p.

Wool                        00 gauge finescale model by Colin Chivers

This display is part of a larger 00 gauge finescale model of Wool station, situated on the main line between Waterloo and Weymouth. 

The layout is based on the actual station as it existed in the early 1950s. The station, and its infamous level crossing, remain in use today, though pre-fabricated structures have replaced the brick built station building and wooden shelters modelled and seen in the display photographs. Some scaling down of the station has inevitably been necessary and the two sidings on the up side, laid in connection with a line to Bovington Camp and later used for Pullman camping coaches, had to be omitted.

Eldon Sidings                       7mm : 1ft narrow gauge by Peter Hollins

This 7mm scale layout depicts Eldon Siding, near Corfe Castle, before 1948. This siding was where clay dug from the pits at Norden was transferred from Benjamin Fayle’s 3ft 9in gauge tramway to the Swanage Branch of the LSWR for shipment to the potteries of Stafford.

On the layout the narrow gauge of 3ft 9in becomes 26.25mm, whilst the standard gauge track is 32mm, the usual ‘0’ finescale standard.

 Gravity Siding                       00 gauge, 4mm : 1ft by John Coggins (Bridport & District Model Railway Club)

This layout is based on the Great Western Railway’s operating practice at Maiden Newton (junction of the Bridport branch) where, owing to the restricted area, the turn around procedure for the branch train was unique and involved 37 lever movements in the signal box. On arrival the branch train pulled into the bay platform and unloaded its passengers; the engine then reversed the train up into an inclined siding where it was uncoupled and the guard applied the brake. The engine then departed to collect water whilst the guard released the brake to allow the train to travel back down the incline by gravity to the bay platform. The engine would then return, couple up to the train, and depart on its journey to Bridport.

Although the layout is only 10 feet by 2 feet including the fiddle yard the track plan accurately reproduces the original. 

The South Dorset Light Railway                        00 gauge by Harry Marshall (Weymouth Model Railway Association)

This layout depicts part of a fictional branch line, which could have been constructed around the turn of the century under the Light Railways Act. It would have left the never built westward extension of ‘Castleman’s Snake’ from Dorchester towards Exeter at a point somewhere near Winterborne Abbas. Passing under the chalk ridge to the south into the Bride valley, it could have served several small rural communities, ending at the seaside village of Burton Bradstock.

The layout shows a foreshortened view of that part of the line from the tunnel through the hills to the terminus. Two stations only are shown, Litton Cheney with its cheese factory and water mill, (not to be confused with the real item in the real village!), and Burton Bradstock as it might have developed, westwards from the present situation. The period of the layout is set in the mid-thirties, and the Southern Railway has taken the (by then) nearly moribund line in hand. Much-cascaded former LSWR and LBSCR locomotives and stock have appeared; indeed at least one locomotive is on loan from the Isle of Wight!

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The South Western Circle                        Society

The South Western Circle, formed in 1962, is a society of railway historians and enthusiasts interested in the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) and its successors. The Society has a membership of over 500, and aims to assist and encourage members to enhance their knowledge of the LSWR and its successors with research and quarterly publication of the Circle’s magazine “The South Western Circular”.

The Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust                        Society

The Somerset and Dorset Railway was formed in 1862 by the amalgamation of the Somerset Central and Dorset Central railways to form a through route between Burnham on Sea and Wimborne, linking the Bristol and English Channels. In 1874 an extension was opened to Bath from Evercreech Junction, thus draining the company of capital, after which in 1875 the line was leased jointly to the Midland Railway and London & South Western Railway. Despite closure of the branches to Wells and Bridgwater in the 1950s, the Somerset & Dorset continued as a through route until closure in March 1966. Following this sad event the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust was formed and is now based on the West Somerset Railway. At Washford a museum was formed in the station building; a substantial shed was erected following the development of the site from a green sward to a railway yard. This is now host to a large number of items of rolling stock, some containing more exhibits from the Trust collection.

The Poet & the Railway                        Society display by the William Barnes Society

When the railway first arrived at Dorchester there were some unexpected consequences. Local resident William Barnes, now best known for his poems in the Dorset dialect, was concerned at the proposals by the London & South Western Railway to remove a large part of the ancient earthworks of Maumbury Rings and at the Great Western Railway’s intention to put a deep cutting through the Roman aqueduct at Poundbury. As a result, Barnes became one of the founder members of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society. The Society eventually founded the County Museum.

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Large Scale Models                        Display by Weymouth & District Model Engineering Society members

5” gauge model of a Great Western Railway class 57xx 0-6-0 Pannier tank.

5” gauge model of a GWR designed BR class 15xx 0-6-0 Pannier tank.

“1369” - a 7 1/4” gauge model of a GWR class 1366 Pannier tank.

London & South Western Railway 4-4-0 tender locomotive in 5” scale.

Small Scale Models                        Display by Weymouth Model Railway Association members

Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway class 7F 2-8-0 tender locomotive in 7mm:1ft scale, gauge O.

Southern Railway, ex LSWR, class D15 4-4-0 tender locomotive built to haul the Waterloo to Bournemouth expresses in 7mm:1ft scale, gauge O.

British Railways, ex SR, Merchant Navy class 4-6-2 tender locomotive 35021 “New Zealand Line” in 7mm:1ft scale, gauge O.

Southern Railway class U 2-6-0 mixed traffic tender locomotive designed by Richard Maunsell in 7mm:1ft scale, gauge O.

(Other models to be confirmed)

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The Dorset County Museum High West Street Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XA Telephone: 01305 262735   Fax: 01305 257180 Email: dorsetcountymuseum@dor-mus.demon.co.uk	Opening hours: 10.00am - 5.00pm Monday - Saturday
Entry fees: Adult: £5 Concession: £4 Children under 5 years: free Children 5 to 15 years: 2 accompanied children free	Parking: There is a set down point in front of the Museum. Nearest disabled parking is at the 'Top O' Town' car park
Organised by the Weymouth Model Railway Association for the Dorset County Museum Email: Secretary@WeymouthMRA.org.uk for further details