Wimborne benefitted form the arrival of the railways in 1847 - mainly through the efforts of Charles Castleman (see Allendale House) a local solicitor. The market town now had an additional means of transporting farm produce to London and other nearby towns. The station reduced the journey to London from around fourteen hours to just four and made it possible for those able to afford the ticket to travel easily to the capital.
The line was also a part of the move to open the West Country too with a link to Weymouth and Dorchester . An additional line from Salisbury opened in 1866 (Salisbury & Dorset Junction Company) The line became less used with the growth of Bournemouth and the creation of a direct line from London and then Westwards - and although still used less frequently it survived until the Beeching Cuts of 1963-5. The line finally closed to Freight traffic in 1977. The station itself and the cattle market to the North West was where the Wimborne Market and the Riverside Industrial estate now stands.
Town Map
