Popular Post 10800 Posted May 22, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted May 22, 2013 Whilst in Dorset last week I took some photos of what's left of the Weymouth Quay branch. The road signs look surprisingly new though! And one of the 'conserved' remains of the Swanage quayside horse-drawn tramway (not connected to the main system) which was once used to move locally quarried Purbeck stone to the harbour jetty, now almost all gone. 32 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy1963 Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Brings back memories of 1976 for me. I remember the keep clear area was painted yellow lines on the road, but cars still used to block the trains way and I rememeber one evening a car being bounced out of the way by a couple of large railwaymen. 1976 was the end of my childghood love of railways, girls became more interesting from that point on. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Went to Guernsey in the fifties from here ,train from London went right down to the quay was an experiencce looking into house windows as we wnt by to long a go to remember details sadly. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted May 22, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2013 Not sure when the last train to run over the Weymouth Quay Tramway was, but this footage shot in 1994 is a real gem! 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted May 22, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2013 And one of the 'conserved' remains of the Swanage quayside horse-drawn tramway (not connected to the main system) which was once used to move locally quarried Purbeck stone to the harbour jetty, now almost all gone. P1000982.JPG Looks like Playland are set up for rail deliveries, then! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 22, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2013 These were taken in 1981. 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Here are a couple of shots I took of the ferry terminal in July 1984. 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Not sure when the last train to run over the Weymouth Quay Tramway was.... May 1999, I think. The local council now own the route, so - knowing their notoriety - don't expect any resurrection of rail services ever again. I will be back in Weymouth later in the year, performing with a friend in the Weymouth Carnival. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 22, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) I don't recall seeing a DMU at the Quay!! Some more photos this time of a railtour we were on back in 1986. Edited to include the correct photos! Edited May 22, 2013 by roundhouse 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) Whilst in Dorset last week I took some photos of what's left of the Weymouth Quay branch. The road signs look surprisingly new though! What's interesting is that what's left of the harbour branch seems to be virtually all of it apart from a couple of long disused sidings including the short loop that served the cargo loading stage a few metres before the harbour station. Thanks for posting these. Since we were told that the branch was going to be removed or at least filled in before the Olympics it seems to be in surprisingly good health. I did get to travel on the branch once in the mid 1960s en route to a scout camp in Guernsey and have walked it several times since. It would be great and possibly not impossible to see a train on it again. Does anyone have any idea what the substructure of the branch is (wooden sleepers?) and what sort of state it's in? Sadly, the not dissimilar harbour branch in Dieppe has been removed almost without a trace along with its gare Maritime and it would be a shame if the Weymouth tramway suffered the same fate. Edited May 22, 2013 by Pacific231G 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted May 22, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2013 WR and SR DMU units have appeared at Weymouth Quay on occasions. 3H units have worked rail tours and WR types have worked tours and a very few scheduled or chartered (i.e. special but not railtour) trains at times. AFAIK the tramway no longer receives any form of maintenance and is effectively closed to all traffic but because of the rails set in the road the warning signs must remain. They would have been renewed for the Olympics which may account for them looking new. I'm afraid my photos of 3H (1131?) are not yet scanned onto the system and are in any case low-resolution prints from equally indifferent negatives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) Great photos Rod and roundhouse. The most surprising thing your photos show Rod, is the point leading into the main harbour platform (by the ferry); just where the sign says "Sea Cruises" the piece of track leading off the point on the right is incredibly sharp; it's hard to imagine class 33s and occasional 73s being able to negotiate this (as they did) without derailing. In all the times I've visited the tramway (I used to live in Dorset) going back to the time of class 03 shunters, I'd never noticed this (dog leg?) before. All the best Simon Edited May 22, 2013 by oldlugger Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Does anyone have any photos of the far end of the tramway; i.e. the end of the line at the ferry terminal. Overgrown/disused photos would be of particular interest looking towards the buffers and pointing back towards the terminal. This area doesn't appear very often when references are made to this fascinating relic. Cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 22, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) Here is one at that end but unfiortunately I didnt take one a 180 degrees from this viewpoint. Edited May 22, 2013 by roundhouse 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Many thanks roundhouse; a rare view indeed. Here's one of a Hastings unit on a rail tour:- http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRhHguDV3Dtt-wu3_whXSkQNWmqkViSFLhV_MCdDNAgiuse6OGa 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 A nice view in 1976 of the station and a BR ferry:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/rgadsdon/4256656272/ Curiously, when I was visiting Barcelona several years ago, a large white car ferry steamed into the busy port there; a reliable boat enthusiast contact of mine informed me that it was one of the former BR ferries from Weymouth purchased by a Spanish operator (I forget which name it was in BR times). When I saw it in Spain I had no idea that I'd seen the boat before in Dorset! Had I known I'd have taken more photos of it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) And I've just found this view of the very end of the line, which I've never seen before:-http://www.flickr.com/photos/22420011@N05/2274604214/lightbox/ Plus these:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/13706945@N00/6650067063/http://www.flickr.com/photos/13706945@N00/6547109995/lightbox/http://www.flickr.com/photos/13706945@N00/6547190957/lightbox/ The ferry in the background is the "Cornouailles" (Breton for "Cornwall") and later named "Havelet":- http://www.ferryfantastic.webs.com/havelet.htm Edited May 22, 2013 by oldlugger 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted May 22, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 22, 2013 What's interesting is that what's left of the harbour branch seems to be virtually all of it apart from a couple of long disused sidings including the short loop that served the cargo loading stage a few metres before the harbour station. Thanks for posting these. Since we were told that the branch was going to be removed or at least filled in before the Olympics it seems to be in surprisingly good health. I did get to travel on the branch once in the mid 1960s en route to a scout camp in Guernsey and have walked it several times since. It would be great and possibly not impossible to see a train on it again. Does anyone have any idea what the substructure of the branch is (wooden sleepers?) and what sort of state it's in? Sadly, the not dissimilar harbour branch in Dieppe has been removed almost without a trace along with its gare Maritime and it would be a shame if the Weymouth tramway suffered the same fate. Thats one of the big problems - nobody has any idea what the condition of the sleepers are like (I believe that they are indeed wooden burried under tarmac) and therefore nobody is willing to allow anything down there in case it comes off the rails. There also is the point that while pedestrians and trams do mix in city centre,s part the reason it works is that the trams are frequent so people, and indeed other road traffic gets used to their presence. Unless the Weymouth quay branch gets interoperated into some sort of light rail system, the risks of mixing people and 'occasional' mainline trains on Weymouth's busy quaysides will not be tolerated by the ORR / HSE While it would be nice to retain the tracks themselves as some sort of memorial to the past this does not come without risks. Steel rails present as hazard to cyclists (even if the flange ways are filled in) and the presence of the railway compromises the strength of the road surface (and drainage) leading to dips and trip hazards. It also makes utility works a bit of a pain so in the long run I can see why Dieppe opted for complete removal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 A recent view of the former buffer stop area (I think) at Weymouth ferry terminal:- http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/5550/image_update_bfcde3606a6a12ec_1331719048_9j-4aaqsk.jpeg 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldlugger Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) A series of photos of Earl Harold that worked the Weymouth - Channel Islands service in British Ferries ownership. A fine looking vessel:- http://www.hhvferry.com/ExpressAdonis.html Edited May 22, 2013 by oldlugger 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdseyecircus Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 The Picture with the tanks in the siding is interesting. There seem to be few pictures of freight trains in BR Blue on the branch. Alas my visit to travel on the branch in the late 80's was thwarted by cars blocking the route and the train terminating. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted May 22, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2013 Its a shame some sort of 'parry people mover' service couldn't be run down there in conjunction with the weymouth eye etc We went to weymouth back in february and i wanted to have a look at the old line but it was so cold after our visit to the sealife centre we just got a bus back to the town centre and got the train back to the holiday camp!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyboy Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I was thinking it would be fun to get hold of a Wickham Trolley or a road rail vehicle and have a run down the line in the middle of the night when there were few cars about! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold gwrrob Posted May 22, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2013 Hasn't anyone got any photos of 1366 class panniers working this quay then. The opening bridge is the towns main attraction nowadays. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
clecklewyke Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I wonder how this line was worked? There seem to be lots of potentially facing points: were they locked? Were they controlled from a signal box? Was there a tablet or staff or was it just done on line of sight and speed low enough to stop before an obstacle? I suppose that must have been the case in order to avoid stupidly parked cars. I must declare an interest. In my imagination, Humber Dock is operated in the same way as the Weymouth tramway but I have no idea how! Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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