BOOK REVIEW
DORSET STATIONS: THEN AND NOW
MIKE OAKLEY
THIS collection of nostalgic photographs is an homage to the glory days of railway travel in Dorset.
Mike Oakley's book harks back to the days when Dorset boasted 74 railway stations from those serving big towns to the tiniest of rural halts.
Today, only 25 remain – and that’s including five preserved by volunteers at Swanage Railway.
Mr Oakley, a retired town and country planner, explores what happened to this extensive network of stations.
The book boasts a helpful map of the county to show us all the forgotten stations and a timeline of openings and closures of sections of lines in the county.
It is remarkable to see some of these forgotten stations, including the grandeur of Abbotsbury Station, with just a goods shed remaining on the site today.
At Dorchester South the major changes to the station have been chronicled, with the former curved down platform and shelter and timber built train shed hardly recognisable.
* Dorset Stations: Then and Now costs £10 in hardback from Dovecote Press.
JOANNA DAVIS
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