Memories of the railway to West Bay

Can you remember the first railway journey you ever took? Just imagine the excitement of children living in outlying villages around Bridport and experiencing their first trip in a train along the very short trip from Bridport to West Bay.

As our pop-up exhibition ‘Down the track’ closes we take one last look at some of the memories we uncovered of the passenger service to West Bay.

Mary Horsfall describes arriving in West Bay station in the dark in 1898. The Paddington train was running late and they missed the connection at Maiden Newton. However, it wasn’t a problem as the station master recalled the local train to pick them up! Their luggage included trunks and a dog more unusual items by today’s standards were a goldfish and a birdcage containing a canary and a goldfinch.

Janet Sanderson Crouch came from London on holiday too. She describes the scene at Maiden Newton station with the porter pulling a trolley loaded with a couple of crates of hens, their heads sticking out through the slats alongside a few dead rabbits. She was amazed at how everyone seemed to know each other and the accents were so different from London.