SHILLINGSTONE STATION PROJECT

North Dorset Railway Trust - Shillingstone Station Open Day 20th July was a great success thanks to bill Munden & David Mouser. Click here for photos and info

a quick note from Graham  regards the Blandford Arches meeting:-

Hi Shillingstone and Midsomer Norton Groups,

Just a quick note to let you know that the meeting last night went well.

The town councillor who organised and chaired the meeting told me that she was very pleased with the attendance and response from all there and asked me to thank on her behalf all of those of you who forwarded your support by phone and email.

The Councillor also wished to pass on thanks to all those who attended from the Midsomer Norton, Wimborne, Washford and Shillingstone Groups.

Track laying has started !!

2 panels were laid this morning 8 July, starting at 7.00am a membrane was laid so that weeds could not permeate, but drainage was not affected. Ian Harrington had brought sleepers from Hereford and these were laid into their approximate locations and rail lowered onto the chairs.

These two panels must now be levelled, packed and ballasted before the next 2 are laid.

Rebuilding of the southern end of the up platform begins next week.

Grateful thanks once again to Norman Young

Photo copyright © Bill Munden

The builder that is repairing the up platform has said he intends to start in July, probably the 16-17th. The cost for this is approx £1,000 so Donors required ASAP. Click here for more details

Ever Wanted To Help In The Restoration Of Part Of The The Somerset And Dorset Joint Railway ? 

Well Now You Can !

Please click Here for more details:-

Site Managers Report June.

At the time of going to press things are moving along a pace at the Station. The porters shed is now completed and the staff are using it as a mess room, I guess you could say a room with a brew!. After a lot of mumbling, the intrepid Dennis Burgess and his merry band of volunteers have made a super job of restoring it. Many thanks to them.

The main Station building is nearing completion thanks again to yes you guessed him again Dennis and his merry men. The main museum room will be ready for decoration by next week, followed by fitting out ready to exhibit.

Ladies waiting room and toilet is now fully functional, as are the Gents toilets. The site is now being cleared ready for our open day on the 20th July, this has meant removing the pile of concrete from the southern end of the platform. Our thanks to Norman D Young transport, a local firm who have given us tremendous support in the last months.

The Electricity is now on in the main station building and we hope to have a Buffet open in the coming weeks for drinks and snacks. Our thanks to Member D Boyte and the hard working John for getting us connected.

Our next project will be relaying some track in the up platform, for which as you may have noticed we are asking for your help by donating a sleeper. This can be found on our web site. We are going to relay using wooden sleepers through the platforms to keep it looking as it would have on closure, so if you can help we would appreciate your assistance.

Future Projects will be the rebuilding of the southern end of the up platform which is in serious need of restoration.

Clearing the Picnic area and levelling the area ready for development .

2008 AGM

The AGM was held at the Portman Hall at Shillingstone, Dorset on Saturday 26th April.  At 2.30 pm.

In accordance with Syd's wishes, his ashes were scattered at the station after the AGM.

As you can see the Porters shed is nearing completion thanks to our hard working volunteers.

Bob the shopkeeper in the greet the punters position outside the parcel Shed shop.

Yes we are always happy to take your money for our good cause !

The new 2009 Calendar that has just arrived from Ivo Peter's son Julian and will retail at £4.50 + p&p from the shop.

The Future of Blandford Forum Railway Arches

Cllr Hixson Andrews, has been working with David Cash, Graham Kelsey and others investigating the possibility of forming a trust to preserve the Blandford Railway Arches.  Following discussions Cllr Hixson Andrews, David Cash and Graham Kelsey agreed a date for a community meeting to determine the possibility of forming a trust to safeguard the railway arches. An excerpt from a letter sent to many interested parties follows:

Blandford Forum Town Council recently sent out a letter to local residents asking for their opinions as to the future of the arches. A final decision is to be made by the Town Council, as to whether to help keep the arches or just demolish them. The response from residents to the letter was generally favourable and so it has been decided to hold an open meeting. This is for locals and also those of you who are interested enough in the future of the arches and the local S&D railway heritage, to attend the meeting.

Blandford Forum Town Council really have a simple choice. Depending on the outcome of the meeting, the Town Council will then make a decision as to support their future survival or just demolish the arches.

The Town Council will not alone just carry on financing the future of the arches and so it may be proposed at the meeting that a Trust be set up to Safeguard the future of the arches. This Trust would not just support the retention of the arches, but also the remaining features of the S&D railway that survive today around Blandford. A proposed Trailway has already been talked about, to include the arches and upgrading of the other existing features around the station area and on up the trackbed northwards towards the Milldown, where access to the trackbed currently ends near the by-pass.

The Trust would obviously require the support of members. Various forms of grants are already being looked at in order to fund the future.

The alternative to this is demolish the arches and so yet more of our local S&D railway heritage will be lost forever.

The meeting is to take place at the Corn Exchange in the centre of Blandford on Tuesday 15 July at 7.00pm. A short DVD presentation will be followed by a general discussion as to the future of the arches and any possible Trailway connections. There will also be a display of railway photographs, signs and items from Blandford Forum Station and the surrounding area.

Support has already been received from the Somerset & Dorset Trust at Washford, The North Dorset Railway Trust at Shillingstone Station, The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust at Midsomer Norton Station and The Friends of the Lady Wimborne Bridge, who have for the past 10 years been conserving the LSWR bridge 77 at Wimborne.

 This letter is being sent out to all interested parties and we are hoping for a good turnout for the meeting. In addition we will be advertising to the local community.

 For more information please contact Sylvia Hixson Andrews, on  01258 458911   or   s.hixsonandrews@uwclub.net

Saving Blandford Forum bridge 198 railway arches.

You may remember that some years ago there was talk of demolishing the remaining parts of the arches that formed part of the S&D bridge 198 that crossed the river Stour at Blandford. At that time a decision was made and the remaining arches were left standing.

Well, decision time has now come round yet again.

Blandford Town Council recently sent out a letter to local residents asking for their opinions as to the future of the arches. A final decision is to be made by the Council, who have the finance in place, as to whether to help keep the arches or just demolish them.

The response from residents to the letter was generally favourable and so it has been decided to hold an open meeting. This is for locals and also those of you who are interested enough in the future of the arches and the local S&D railway heritage, to attend the meeting.

Blandford Town Council really have a simple choice. Depending on the outcome of the meeting, the Council will then make a decision as to support their future survival or just demolish the arches.

The Council will not alone just carry on financing the future of the arches and so it may be proposed at the meeting that a Trust be set up to Safeguard the future of the arches.

This Trust would not just support the retention of the arches, but also the remaining features of the S&D railway that survive today around Blandford.

A proposed Trailway has already been talked about, to include the arches and upgrading of the other existing features around the station area and on up the trackbed northwards towards the Milldown, where access to the trackbed currently finishes near the by-pass.

The Trust would obviously require the support of members and also various forms of grants are already being looked at in order to fund the future.

The alternative to this is demolish the arches and so yet more of our local S&D railway heritage will be lost forever.

The meeting is to take place at the Corn Exchange in the centre of Blandford on Tuesday 15 July at 7.30pm.

A short DVD presentation will be followed by a general discussion as to the future of the arches and possible Trailway.

There will also be a display of railway photographs, signs and items from Blandford Forum Station and the surrounding area.

Support has already been received from the Somerset &Dorset Trust at Washford, The North Dorset Railway Trust at Shillingstone Station, The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust at Midsomer Norton Station and The Friends of the Lady Wimborne Bridge, who have for the past 10 years been conserving the LSWR bridge 77 at Wimborne.

So it's quite simple really, we need your support. If you can make it, do please come along, support the meeting and the retention of the S&D bridge arches, get involved with the proposed Trust, or alternatively, just let the arches be demolished. The choice is yours.

The station now has a telephone line and address where you can reach us directly.

The North Dorset Railway Trust

Shillingstone Station

St Patricks Industrial Estate

Station Road

Shillingstone

Blandford Forum

Dorset DT11 0SA

Tel: 01258 860696

Alan Hammonds' New Book - The Heyday of the Somerset and Dorset.

Apologises for the delay in despatch of these books as we were awaiting supplies from the publisher and these will be sent as soon as possible. No cheques will be banked until the books are ready to be sent.

It is with deep regret that I have to announce that Syd Howlett passed away at 1am on Saturday 23 February 2008. 

Syd will be greatly missed by everyone.

Syd's funeral was held on Monday 3rd of March at 3pm at Poole Crematorium.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT SYD'S PERMANENT MEMORIAL PAGE

Shillingstone Station Project Newsletter No. 17  published.  With a different look to the cover this time around !

The newsletter includes latest project news. If you would like to receive and read the complete newsletter, why not join the Shillingstone Station Project?

Please do not forget that we do have a forum for chat and comments etc, it's getting rather neglected.

Gillingham Library Opening Times

The Somerset and Dorset Railway was, and will be again after Peak Oil, a vital sustainable transport link across Wessex. The government should release funds and simplify the planning and construction process to allow local people to build, own and operate the line in preparation for when our oil runs out.

The poster was inspired by the fact we are still needing many people both on site and off to help restore Shillingstone Station.  This includes people who enjoy manual labour, gardening, office work etc.  You only need to put a few hours in, and YOU will make such a difference to the future of the station, for your own enjoyment and for future generations who will NEVER know the Golden Age of the Railways, but with restoration projects such as ours, this Golden Age can partially be recreated.

We need vast numbers of volunteers with skills, especially people with expertise in bricklaying, civil engineering, signalling, telegraphy, track laying and carriage and wagon repairs should contact Mr Bottomley on 07899 987465.

This website (once built / created ) does not take me long to update on a regular monthly basis, and I live a busy life, with commitments each week  but I WILL ALWAYS find time to update this website.

Please make just a few hours a week or month to help our very worthy cause and restore a station that is important both architecturally and historically - being the last surviving station built by the Dorset Central Railway, also being the only station to have been so important - hosting both poet and royalty, that it was given a canopy.

Shillingstone station spent over 100 years serving us.  Please give the station just some of YOUR time to restore and return the station to it's pristine condition as a working building for future generations.

This is how Shillingstone Station could look again  . . . with YOUR help!

Photograph courtesy John Lamper