Bailey Gate railway station

Bailey Gate railway stationwas on theSomerset & Dorset Joint Railwayin theEnglishcounty ofDorset.

Bailey Gate
Bailey Gate railway station in April 1963
General information
Location	Sturminster Marshall,East Dorset England
Grid reference	SY949995
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Dorset Central Railway
Pre-grouping	Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
Post-grouping	Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
1 November 1860	Opened (Sturminster Marshall)
31 August 1863	Renamed (Bailey Gate)
7 March 1966	Closed

Usage

The station served theUnited Dairiescheese factory and the village ofSturminster Marshallbut was named after a local farm to avoid confusion with another station on the same railway atSturminster Newton.

The station had extensive sidings and was one of the largest depots for transporting milk on the UK railway system. Milk was carried intanker wagonsfrom Bailey Gate to London and was a major source of revenue for the railway.Sugar beetwas 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 theBeeching Axein March 1966. Track was finally lifted in 1969, as the railway remained open until the closure of the goods terminal atBlandfordthat year.

There is now an industrial estate off theA350 roadcalled "Bailie Gate" at the site.

Bibliography

• 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.ISBN978-1-85260-508-7.OCLC60251199.OL11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (2000).Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas(1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers.ISBN978-0-906899-99-1.OCLC228266687.
• 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.ISBN978-1-85260-086-0.OCLC22311137.

External links

• Bailey Gate Station mapOrdnance Survey

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Corfe Mullen Line and station closed		Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway LSWR&Midland Railways		Spetisbury Line and station closed
Wimborne Line and station closed