Railway Walks

Bridport Museum Marks 50 Years Since Railway Closure with Exhibition and Guided Walks

Bridport Museum is set to mark 50 years since the closure of Bridport Railway Station (and 200 years since the beginning of the railways in Britain) with an exhibition and two special guided walks. The station closed with the Bridport Branch Line in 1975 as part of the Beeching cuts, ending over a century of local railway history.

Although few physical traces remain today, the line was once a vital link from Maiden Newton to West Bay, serving the stations at Bridport, Bridport East Street, and West Bay, as well as the villages of Powerstock and Toller. A temporary exhibition celebrating the Bridport Branch line will run at the Museum until Christmas.

The walks will take place on Tuesday 16 September and Tuesday 23 September, starting at 11am from the Co-op car park. Tickets are £5 and available directly from Bridport Museum.

Participants will have the chance to explore what remains of the Branch Railway and station buildings, while hearing about their fascinating history. The walks form part of a wider programme of events hosted by the Museum this year, which has included a railway exhibition and an ongoing project to collect personal memories of the line.

Museum Manager Michelle Caesar said:  “I think that many people – particularly those who can remember the railway all those years ago – will enjoy the walks and the exhibition that showcases the history that the Museum holds of the line in operation, and of its stations. Even general railway enthusiasts will get something out of it!”

The Bridport Branch Line first opened on 12 November 1857 and carried passengers and freight for over 100 years. Steam trains ran until 1959, before the line was finally closed on 5 May 1975.