Great Western Coffee Shop

In their updated timetable from May, South West Trains plan one journey each way from London Waterloo to Weymouth via Yeovil Junction and one other service each way from Yeovil Junction to Weymouth on Summer Saturdays only. Trains will stop at all stations on the Heart of Wessex section.

Has SWT released any details of timings of these new services?

0750 Waterloo-Weymouth 1126 http://www.opentraintimes.com/schedule/W96674/2016-05-21
1210 Weymouth-Yeovil Pen Mill 1254 http://www.opentraintimes.com/schedule/W96659/2016-05-21
(some shuttling between the Yeovils)
1405 Yeovil Junction-Weymouth 1508 http://www.opentraintimes.com/schedule/W96662/2016-05-21
(into Jersey Sidings)
1656 Weymouth-Waterloo 2019 http://www.opentraintimes.com/schedule/W97039/2016-05-21

Thanks BNM.

Fills in some of the gaps left in between GWR services.

Compares to 08:35 (Waterloo) to 11:13 (Weymouth) on Saturday (next) via Winchester and Poole

There have been discussions about a regular faster route from Weymouth to Waterloo (via a mooted new curve, south to east) at Yeovil. I'm in considerable doubt on current traffic levels; although the route through Poole is torcherous, it provides a goodly urban area to help fill trains coming up from Weymouth every 30 minutes, and until there is significant development  from Dorchester to Thornford, I would be surprised to see a good business case.   Highday and holiday trains - days out from South Wiltshire and Andover to the seaside with trains that are at peak use on Mondays to Fridays is quite another matter (and not a surprise).

My sentiments exactly! Visiting Dorchester and walking across the South Station footbridge occasionally it is readily apparent that loadings out of Weymouth on the existing trains are light. As you rightly say, Summer Saturdays etc may well do well and use otherwise surplus carriages. No requirement for new infrastructure and serve both Yeovil stations.

Should a fast service be justified, should it run from Weymouth to Castle Cary, Reading and Paddington (the reason it was originally constructed)? However, I cannot see there can be a sufficient demand.

The train is the extension of a Salisbury service and is probably aimed at generating custom from Andover to Yeovil for Weymouth rather than from the London area. Additionally it would allow passengers west of Yeovil to gain easier access to Weymouth.

  There is an half hourly First Bus service from Axminster station to Lyme Regis and Bridport, with the X51 going on to Dorchester South station and the X53 taking the Jurassic coast road to Weymouth. Both take around two hours for the journey but the views are spectacular!

It also seems to be only one through train each way, rather than the two each way originally listed in the thread in the SWT part of the forum back in February last year:


Paul

Further details of SWT's Summer Saturday/Bank Holiday services running over the Heart of Wessex route can be found here: http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/summerspecials.aspx

Interesting that the press release talks of direct trains from London Waterloo to Maiden Newton for the first time in 50 years. Have there ever been direct trains between the two - apart from possible diversions - in the past?

All but one of the stops at Upwey have the time missing in this news item. Reads in one case as if there is a station called 'Upwey and Weymouth'.

For than matter though why stop the train to Weymouth in the morning at Upwey but not the one back to Waterloo in the evening.

As someone who grew up in west Dorset, many years ago, I can definitely state that there have been no through trains from Waterloo to Maiden Newton in my lifetime (more than 50 years).  I suspect they are referring to the last through trains from London (Paddington) which ceased in about 1959 I think

I do remember the through train from Paddington being a slip coach. For the benefit of younger readers this was a coach detached, at speed, from an express bound for the West Country. The slip coach then coasted to the next station (Castle Cary, I think) and was then shunted into a conventional train to its destination. I never travelled from London but remember seeing the coach in a train on the BR(W) local. We stayed at West Bay and used the Bridport branch to Maiden Newton, which is where I probably saw the carriage. Returning to London there was no magical trick to get the slip coach up to line speed to be pushed on by the main line train, it had to be shunted onto the rear of the London train during a Castle Cary stop. Similarly lots of shunting would be needed to add it to the rear of west bound services. No wonder they were withdrawn!

The speed the other way did not matter.  It was only London people who ere in a hurry to get anywhere.  Country people were never in a hurry :D.

Throughout the fifties, and possibly earlier, slip coaches were attached to the 1030 ('Limited') and the 330 from Paddington and were detached approaching Heywood Rd, and taken into Westbury by a pilot loco. There were complete through trains from Paddington at lunchtime and 6pm (first stop Newbury), both with excellent restaurant cars. I think that the slip coaches were returned direct to London, but I cannot remember on which service.