Bridport West Bay railway station

Bridport West Bay
General information
Location	West Dorset
Owned by	GWR Western Region of British Railways
Managed by	Bridport Railway GWR
Platforms	1
Key dates
31 March 1884	Opened
1 January 1916	Closed
5 January 1920	Reopened
11 April 1921	Closed
11 July 1921	Reopened
22 September 1924	Closed
6 October 1924	Reopened
22 September 1930	Closed for passengers
1962	closed for freight traffic

West Bay railway station was the terminus of the Bridport Railway in western Dorset, England. In 1879, the Great Western Railway, who held the operating licence for the original Bridport Railway (which ran as far as Bridport town), decided to extend the railway to Bridport Harbour. Construction started in 1883, and the line opened on 31 March 1884. The station was called West Bay by the GWR in order to encourage holiday traffic. The line between West Bay and Bridport closed to passengers in 1930, and operated for goods services only until its final closure in 1962.

The site today

The station in use as a cafe

After many years as the office of a boat yard, in 1995 the station was restored with a short length of track at the platform. The station building has operated sporadically as a cafe since then. From West Bay, a section of the former track bed can now be walked into Bridport.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
East Street (Bridport) Line and station closed		Great Western Railway Bridport Railway		Terminus

References

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Station on navigable O.S. map