Weymouth Harbour Tramway

The Tramway in use in 1981

Near the former cargo loading stage, 2005

The Tramway 1938 curve

The Weymouth Harbour Tramway (also The Quay Branch or Harbour Line) is a disused tramway running entirely on the streets of Weymouth, England from a junction to the north of Weymouth railway station to Weymouth Quay railway station at Weymouth Harbour. Built in 1865, it was last used for regular services in 1987 and for other purposes on occasions until 1999.

History

Opened in 1865 by the Great Western Railway, the harbour tramway runs from a junction beyond the main station, through the streets adjacent to the Backwater and the harbour, to the quay. Passenger trains began in 1889, transporting travellers to Channel Island ferries.

As freight traffic grew, several sidings and loops were added to the main line to serve harbourside businesses. The town bridge was rebuilt in 1930, and the tramway initially routed through the northern arch. Between 1938 and 1939 the tight curve between the Backwater and harbour was supplanted by a new curve on a newly infilled section of the quayside and the tramway was relocated to the outer arch of the bridge, where it remains today.

The track layout at the station was gradually increased from a single track, to a double track layout up to 1961, and finally a three road arrangement which persisted to the end of regular traffic, albeit in a truncated layout from 1973. Regular goods traffic ceased in 1972, though fuel oil was transported to a facility at the pier until 1983. Regular passenger services ceased in 1987.

There were some experiments in 1997 with a flywheel powered vehicle (see Parry People Movers), but this did not result in permanent traffic on the tramway. The last known use of the branch was on 30 May 1999 for a special railtour. It's future remains uncertain.

The tramway today

The tramway still exists, in remarkably good condition, and could in theory be used again, though the short reserved section from King Street to the junction is somewhat overgrown.

The future

In January 2009 it was reported that Weymouth and Portland Borough Council wished to remove the tramway, and that Network Rail had confirmed it had no wish for its retention. In February 2009, the council agreed to purchase the line from Network Rail for £50,000, prior to a final decision on its future. Enthusiasts and proponents of public transport want to make use of the tramway to carry spectators to the seafront for the 2012 Olympic sailing events held in Weymouth. However, the council has stated that any decision on the future of the line depends on the amount of funding available.

Domesday Project

The branch was included in the 1986 BBC Domesday project; 25 years later it has been revisited and is incorporated into the reborn, online project.

Gallery

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  Passenger train weaving between fishing boats and buildings in 1994, with Concorde overhead

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  Under The Town Bridge, 2005

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  Jubilee Crescent, 2006

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  Near Ferry's Corner in 2005

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  Near Custom House, Summer 2005

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  Looking from the station area

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  The harbour station 1986

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  Commercial Road 2011, looking south

References

• Lucking, J.H. (1986). The Weymouth Harbour Tramway, Poole: Oxford Publishing. ISBN 0-86093-304-0
• Beale, G. (2001) The Weymouth Harbour Tramway, Wild Swan Publications. ISBN 1-874103-67-4

External links

• BBC News story includes vintage film of the tramway in operation
• Tramway Meeting August 08
• Photos of a visiting railtour in 1993
• Weymouth Quay Railway - many images taken July 1985
• Southern E-Group article about the last train to use the line in 1999
• Weymouth Quay Railway (Gear Wheels The Online Motoring Magazine)
• Virtual Cab Ride along the tramway, or quay line
• Photos of the tramway taken in 2006
• Boat train video, June 1987
• Sequence of a fuel train on the tramway, sometime in the early 1980s
• Video of the last train to use the line in 1999
• Multimap view of the tramway
• Article about Melcombe Regis station on the nearby Portland Branch which includes a vintage map of the tramway