Dorchester Junction
Home > ESBPS
By Peter Chatfield
Here we are in deepest Dorset around, say, 1960. It is the last year of through trains between Weymouth and Paddington on the "main line", and ten years since the transfer of control of this area from the Western to the Southern (except for the "branch line" which was always a Southern route).
The signal box, a GWR type 5 opened around 1896 and destined to soldier on until 1986, controlled an interesting layout.
In true GWR style, the signalman had an arm full (I couldn't resist…!) of semaphores to play with. Not content with up outer and inner homes, he also had Home No. 3. And the Up Main Advanced Starting signal, no. 5, at about 250 yards not particularly far from the inner home, was also only 300 yards from Dorchester West's Up Home.
Things were a bit more relaxed on the down lines, although, as noted, no. 36 controlled three distants on the main. The Down Branch Distant - under South box's Advanced Starting - was fixed at caution owing to the speed restriction for the tight curve leading into the junction. A further point relating to the Down Main Distants was that when Dorchester West was switched out, that box's distant was maintained at caution. Was this because the outermost distant controlled by no. 36 was only a third of a mile from no. 35 outer home, and local regulations therefore dictated that the West Box distant should not be pulled off for certain classes of train?
Other than this, matters seem to have been fairly straightforward, although note trap points no. 19, outside the box, with associated facing point lock (removed c.1968).
Dorchester West Box closed in 1968 and, shortly after, the line to Maiden Newton was singled and worked by WR tokenless block.
Dorchester South Box was converted to ground frame status in 1970; from then Junction Box not only controlled the former West Box area, but also the Poole / Bournemouth line as far as Moreton (Absolute Block to Wool, Track Circuit Block to Weymouth), and the associated signals were converted to colour light.
Thank you Peter for another interesting article.
Also published with this article were the answers to some of the questions raised in Peter's first article on Keynsham & Somerdale West. These have been reproduced on the page with that article.