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Hamworthy railway station

Coordinates: 50°43′30″N 2°01′10″W / 50.72500°N 2.01944°W / 50.72500; -2.01944
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50°43′30″N 2°01′10″W / 50.72500°N 2.01944°W / 50.72500; -2.01944

Hamworthy
National Rail
Station building
General information
LocationHamworthy; Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
England
Grid referenceSY987917
Managed bySouth Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeHAM
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Original companySouthampton and Dorchester Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and South Western Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
1 June 1847Opened as Poole Junction'
2 December 1872Renamed Hamworthy Junction
c. 1973Renamed Hamworthy
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 0.155 million
2019/20Decrease 0.134 million
2020/21Decrease 44,902
2021/22Increase 0.103 million
2022/23Increase 0.116 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Hamworthy railway station serves Hamworthy, an area of Poole in Dorset, England. It is a stop on the South West Main Line, located 115 miles 77 chains (186.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo.

History

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The station opened with the Southampton & Dorchester Railway, which later became part of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), in 1847 as Poole Junction, being the junction of the main line with the spur to the port of Poole.[1] At that time the line to London Waterloo then went via Broadstone, Wimborne and Ringwood before following what is now the South West Main Line from Brockenhurst. When the current Poole station opened in 1872, the station was renamed Hamworthy Junction and remained so until the 1970s. A causeway across Holes Bay opened in 1893 enabling through trains from London to Weymouth to serve Poole directly.

Motive power depot

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A motive power depot with a coal stage was built at the station by the LSWR in 1847. It was closed by British Railways in 1954 and after several years in use as a storage facility, was eventually demolished.[2]

Services

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The station is served by South Western Railway who currently operate an average of one train per hour (two on Saturdays) in each direction with trains going to London, Brockenhurst, Wareham and Weymouth.[3] With a journey time of around 4 minutes the train is the fastest method of travel between Poole town centre and the area surrounding the station compared to the morebus bus service which takes around 14 minutes (not including delays caused by Poole Lifting Bridge).[4]

Until 1967, trains through the station were normally steam hauled. Between 1967 and 1988, passenger services were normally provided by Class 33/1 diesel locomotives with Class 438 coaching stock (also known as 4-TC units). The line was electrified in 1988, using the standard British Rail Southern Region direct current third rail at 750 volts. Class 442 electric multiple units were initially used following electrification, until being displaced by Class 444 electric multiple units in 2007.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Poole   South Western Railway
South West Main Line
  Holton Heath or Wareham
Disused railways
Broadstone
line and station closed
  Southampton and Dorchester Railway   Wareham
line and station open
  Southampton and Dorchester Railway
Port of Poole branch
  Lake Halt
line open, station closed

Facilities

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The platforms are able to accommodate trains of up to five coaches. Longer passenger trains are rarely seen past Poole. The station does not have a footbridge but has an underpass that also serves as a public footpath from Turlin Moor to Hamworthy. There was a foot crossing at the Poole end of the station for passenger in wheelchairs or with heavy luggage but this has been removed and access to the platform end fenced off. A light indicating if it is safe to cross remains at the end of platform 1 but is permanently switched off.

Hamworthy was one of two South West Trains stations not to receive a Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress self-service ticket machine to replace the former "Quickfare" (Ascom B8050) machine installed during the Network SouthEast era due to fears of vandalism, although tickets could be bought from the ticket office at certain times of the day and a permit to travel could be purchased at all times. The Quickfare machine was removed in October 2006. South West Trains installed a Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress self-service ticket machine in August 2008 and removed the permit to travel machine. The ticket machine is fitted with a security shutter and casing to protect it from vandalism.

This is the junction where the Hamworthy Freight Branch to Poole docks joins the main line. There is a disused third platform at the station facing the Poole docks line. The signal box which controlled the branch was at the Poole end of platform 2 but has since been demolished.

Until recently, Hamworthy had the only remaining semaphore signal on the South West Main Line, but this was removed in May 2014 as part of the signaling upgrade scheme.

References

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  1. ^ "Southampton and Dorchester Railway Pages 416-417 An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 2, South east". British History Online. HMSO 1970. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  2. ^ Griffiths, Roger; Smith, Paul (1999). The Directory of British Engine Sheds and Principal Locomotive Servicing Points. Vol. 1: Southern England, the Midlands, East Anglia and Wales. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. p. 16. ISBN 0860935426.
  3. ^ Pocket timetable 28, South Western Railway
  4. ^ Go South Coast Bus Group - Timetable 9, Poole Circular Retrieved 15 August 2016