Bailey Gate railway station was on the

Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR, also known as the S&D, S&DR or SDJR), was an English railway line jointly owned by the Midland Railway (MR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) that grew to connect Bath (in north-ea ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

Usage

The station served the

United Dairies United Dairies was a United Kingdom-based creamery, milk bottling and distribution company. The company was formed in 1915 and merged to form Unigate in 1959. During World War I, there were dire shortages of men, horses and vehicles commande ...

cheese factory and the village of

Sturminster Marshall Sturminster Marshall is a village and civil parish in the east of Dorset in England, situated on the River Stour between Blandford Forum and Poole. The parish had a population of 1,895 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,969 at the 2011 Census a ...

but was named after a local farm to avoid confusion with another station on the same railway at

Sturminster Newton Sturminster Newton is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish situated on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour in the north of Dorset, England. The town is at the centre of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy agriculture region around w ...

. The station had extensive sidings and was one of the largest depots for transporting milk on the UK railway system. Milk was carried in tanker wagons from Bailey Gate to London and was a major source of revenue for the railway.

Sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...

was also loaded onto wagons for transportation to refineries.

Buildings

The station consisted of three buildings, a Waiting Room/Ticket Office, a small shed for the lamps on the downside and a signalbox on the upside, behind the station were the sidings for transhipment. Access to the station from the west was via a small path that ran down from the slope of the bridge, which took the user to the up platform where, to gain access to the station buildings, one had to cross the railway lines via a small wooden crossing next to the bridge. Access from the east was via the main entrance to the goods sidings down the slope and around the side of the station via a gateway.

Closure

The station closed with the railway under the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

in March 1966. Track was finally lifted in 1969, as the railway remained open until the closure of the goods terminal at

Blandford Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...

that year. There is now an industrial estate off the

A350 road The A350 is a north–south primary route in southern England, that runs from the M4 motorway in Wiltshire to Poole in Dorset. Route Starting at junction 17 of the M4 motorway north of Chippenham, the first three miles are a dual carriageway t ...

called "Bailie Gate" at the site.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Bailey Gate Station map
Ordnance Survey Disused railway stations in Dorset Former Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1860 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Beeching closures in England 1966 disestablishments in England 1860 establishments in England {{SouthWestEngland-railstation-stub