Last Train to Wimborne May 1977

I have reissued my video of The Castleman's Corkscrew rail tour to Wimborne in May 1977. Having converted the original cine film to digital using a digital converter I was so surprised at the improved quality I though it worth submitting again

[@alzeNL]

Having only lived in Bournemouth for a few years and in that time seen how the urban sprawl continues to grow, along with the high volumes of road traffic, just how valuable these lines would of been now in getting more traffic off the road and using a 'metro' system much like what is seen in south london with the tram system there, being able to get from Croydon to Wimbledon which both integrate with main line stations could of easily been replicated if the track bed had been pulled up and developed upon here in Bournemouth.

[@djburland]

Nice film. Such a tragic closure and short term planning by hopeless politicians

[@Tullian100]

Fantastic footage, and such great quality, it almost looks recent. What a shame this part of the line lasted so late, yet still wasn’t revived to take pressure off of the roads.

[@tonydavis5628]

Excellent film ,its a great shame this line was ripped up this line would have taken so much traffic off the roads in Dorset, I just hope one day these lines will be reinstated ,as well as many more all over the country.this video film is so interesting how it was around the 1970s ,it was a big mistake by the politicians and their cronies getting rid of these lines.

[@tenterdentown2452]

This proves it was worth forking out for the digital converter. I hope you have got plenty more films to convert! Thanks for uploading!

[@michelowey9791]

Should never have gotten rid of the old railway lines connecting Ringwood, West moors, Wimborne and Poole.

[@bigcasey4143]

I agree with you, but I am somewhat biased, having retired some two years ago from my old job as a train driver after 40 years' service.... I went to school in Wimborne 1968-72.... so remember the Town and he old station, especially as we schoolkids had to line up to await the arrival of the Queen by train in 1969... almost nothing remained of the old station when I last visited Wimborne some 15 years ago; you'd have a job to know that the railway once passed through... even my old school has been turned into a retirement complex for the super wealthy.... On a different note, I remember going for a walk along the very overgrown trackbed of the old railway from West Moors, heading for Ringwood sometime in the 1980's and finding old and fading Beeching Era closure notices still intact on the old timetable boards at Ashley Heath halt.... The trackbed now forms part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network Castleman's Tramway cycle route and the station platforms are still there... but lacking any trains since 1964...

[@michelowey9791]

@@bigcasey4143 true it's good for cycling and walking now. Although there is always a problem with transportation and timing of buses in these areas. These trains linked areas and went centrally to main towns . All within walking distance of routes that are not covered currently by buses. If they had kept these it would of diminished the amount of cars on the road continued to have served school children and the elderly

[@michelowey9791]

@@bigcasey4143 it would of also kept down the number of youngsters driving cars in rural areas who have had a fatal accidents in the New forest and surrounding rural areas.

[@stratac30]

If only the government had had the foresight to keep this line open, how places like Broadstone, Wimbourne and Ringwood would have benefitted from having a railway station today with it's links to Poole and Brokenhurst, it would have kept lots of cars off the road.

[@michelowey9791]

I think exactly the same way. Animals in the forest would have been safer. The bad bus routes that don't connect Hampshire and Dorset well wouldn't have been a problem

[@jonz2984]

Thank you for uploading this film. I did not realise that this line closed relatively recently. Nice footage of crossing the Branksome viaducts.

[@mekydro]

I rode the mid-afternoon run from Bournemouth to Wimborne & back on that final day. Very sad, and such a waste.

[@malthusXIII-fo3ep]

Superb quality film. Football fans may have spotted those very high floodlights @ 0-33. This must be the ground of Poole Town FC.

[@iLuvTenerife]

Thank you Ian - I priceless piece of archive footage . I regularly cycle this trailway, but only have vague recollections of the river crossing bridge at Wimborne station before it too was removed - so great to see. Quality is excellent 😁

[@gaugeonesteam]

I don't think it was "removed" I seem to remember it was "Blown up"

[@petrolhead28]

Like mourners at a funeral. The chaos of mass personal transport was Inevitable.

[@BibtheBoulder]

Wow! I Never realised the line to Wimbourne lasted until the 1970's....

[@Beatlefan67]

Great footage - thanks for sharing!!

[@John2E0GTU]

Fabulous piece of history!

[@bosvegasboscombe388]

Why did they do this? The town needs those stations now there’s so much traffic

[@andywillis2650]

Couldn't agree more, just wish all the old local routes were still in place - wouldn't be this traffic chaos we have now ! :)

[@gaugeonesteam]

I believe one of the problems was this: Compulsory purchase orders to buy land for railway building in Victorian times included a clause which stated that if the land ever in the future was no longer needed as a railway it had to be offered for sale to the desendents of the family who owned it before the compulsory purchase order. ie: the only way to protect the trackbed land was to keep running loss making train services. But, I agree with you. it's heartbreaking that these railways no longer exist.

[@thecuttingsark5094]

I e forgotten the name of the politician. Basically, the belief was that railway was a thing of the past and roads would be the way forward. Lots of lines were actively closed, dismantled and sold.

[@gaugeonesteam]

@@thecuttingsark5094 Ernest Marples I believe. Transport minister and owner of Marples Ridgeway Road construction comany.

[@thecuttingsark5094]

Robin Spicer it was known as the ‘Beeching cuts’ 1963. This Marples chap needs a google now!

[@BalearicBeatnik]

its unthinkable now to think of people poking their heads out of train windows

[@AccessAdvisr]

Plus standing next to the line, and on bridge edges! Ah the Seventies!

[@angelsone-five7912]

Always sad when a line closes.

[@martyn6792]

I went to Shaftesbury Grammer school in the mid to late 70's and used the bus from Bournmouth to Shaftesbury, on part of the bus route, we crossed a level crossing and heading to Shaftesbury near Wimbourne, if you looked out the right hand side you could see what looked like sidings with carriages or multiple units standing, they were certainly there for a few years, I had a 100cc bike from 79 and stopped using the bus It is such a shame they didn't mothball at least trackbed and any bridges. They're re-opening quite a few lines across the country now, how much easier it would be if trackbed still existed

[@harrygatto]

Surprising how many people here don't know how to spell Wimborne (there is no u) and a grammar school boy who doesn't know how to spell grammar.

[@martyn6792]

@@harrygatto My excuse is it was a long time ago

[@6ramazon]

I have loads of cine film to convert to digital----where do I get the equipment required? Great footage by the way!

[@jonz2984]

A dedicated cine film to digital converter costs from about GBP 300 upwards. There are lots of providers offering a conversion service from about GBP 5 per 50 ft roll upwards, easily found online. Generally the higher prices mean additional services like frame-by-frame correction of colour and density, wet cleaning and higher resolution scans. If your film may have cherished images, it would be worth seeking the advice of a specialist company and be prepared to pay more to have the best possible results. If you have a cine projector (available fairly cheaply secondhand), you can project the film onto a suitable surface and copy it with a digital video camera. A modern mobile 'phone works well, and there are apps available to provide some editing capability. Videos describing the process can be found online. However, it is best to practise the techniques of projection and copying with less-valuable films as the film can be easily damaged by poor handling or a projection jam. A standard -8 (or double 8) 50 foot reel plays for about 4 minutes and the resulting video is about 500MB using a good quality phone.

[@karentravers4316]

1 person missed the last train to Wimborne

[@martinphillips9686]

Where is the sound?

[@Taz6688]

Biggest mistake the government made getting rid of these small station and lines, the trade that they offered and reduced road congestion, sadly road transport and haulage was seen as the new religion, how times have changed.

[@Sam_Green____4114]

Disgraceful this line closed ! They could have run a Wimborne - Broadstone-Creekmoor-Poole-Parkstone-Branksome-Bournemouth shuttle. It only needed to be a single line from the Weymouth line to Wimborne with no Ticket offices at Creekmoor , Broadstone , Wimborne ( pay on the train ) .A two DMU would have done it ! The traffic is terrible now around Broadstone and Wimborne now !

[@porno6361]

What is the viaduct at the beginning of the film,and where does it go to?

[@Tobeshadow]

It originally formed a triangle loop with Bournemouth West Station, the terminus of the Somerset and Dorset railway from Bath. There is still some track on the other side today which forms part of a motive power depot. If you go to google maps and put 'Branksome, Poole' in the search, you should see the viaduct and the triangle shape pretty easily!

[@porno6361]

@@Tobeshadow great,thanks for the info👍

[@stevenbeith4470]

Can anyone tell me the loco number please 331??

[@valeriewilliams4876]

Hi Ian, I am doing a MA Photography and would like to use a very small clip from you video in my project on the Castleman Way, the piece where it goes under Merley Bridge. Naturally I would credit you with the clip. I hope that is ok

[@0230179]

Certainly, please help your self to any part of the video, I would be interested to see the the final cut

[@valeriewilliams4876]

@@0230179 Thanks.

[@railfreightdrivergallagherGBRf]

Wimborne & Broadstone could do with a railway again. All that new housing just encourages more traffic onto already congested roads!! Typical of BR & Government short sightedness.

[@RailFlicks]

Hi Ian, I'm making a 'then and now' style film of this branch from Broadstone to Wimborne. I'd like to use a few seconds of your shots in this video. Would you be happy for me to do so? I don't make any money from my films, so I'm unable to offer any financial reward, but of course I'll credit your work. Let me know what you think. Many Thanks.

[@michaelhaywood8262]

Why no sound? A commentary would have made this video much better.

[@257squadron]

A stupid decision to end this line.😊

[@markrarnold]

Shame it's been edited so heavily

[@Tullian100]

Possibly not edited. Cine film reels only lasted around 4 minutes, so you had to be very selective over what you filmed!

[@iancorps2866]

@@Tullian100 Quite right, cine film was expensive, so you had to make every shot count