Romans vs Victorians
This week's Saturday Timewatch encapsulates a broad sweep of English history at just one location.
Looking under the bridge and into the distance a Roman Road that originated at Poole Harbour remains as a right-of-way. Meanwhile, a rail-trail, the 16 mile Castleman Trailway runs across the top of the Victorian bridge. This follows the route of the original Southampton to Dorchester line known as "Castleman's Corkscrew" because of the tortuous route that it took to include Mr. Castleman's home town of Wimborne. Guess what? He was the main promoter of the line.
So what is the S&D (Somerset and Dorset Railway) connection here? The S&D originally ran to Wimborne, about 5 miles northeast of this location. From there, services had to join what had become The London and South Western Railway. Between 1872-74 S&D operations continued on LSWR metal from Wimborne along what is now the Castleman Trailway to the S&D's original terminus at Lower Hamworthy. Incidentally, Hamworthy Station is still active on the current mainline from London Waterloo to Weymouth.
Romans vs Victorians
This week's Saturday Timewatch encapsulates a broad sweep of English history at just one location.
Looking under the bridge and into the distance a Roman Road that originated at Poole Harbour remains as a right-of-way. Meanwhile, a rail-trail, the 16 mile Castleman Trailway runs across the top of the Victorian bridge. This follows the route of the original Southampton to Dorchester line known as "Castleman's Corkscrew" because of the tortuous route that it took to include Mr. Castleman's home town of Wimborne. Guess what? He was the main promoter of the line.
So what is the S&D (Somerset and Dorset Railway) connection here? The S&D originally ran to Wimborne, about 5 miles northeast of this location. From there, services had to join what had become The London and South Western Railway. Between 1872-74 S&D operations continued on LSWR metal from Wimborne along what is now the Castleman Trailway to the S&D's original terminus at Lower Hamworthy. Incidentally, Hamworthy Station is still active on the current mainline from London Waterloo to Weymouth.