OTD - 7th January (1957) - Wishing Well Stations

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Wishing Well stations

Upwey Wishing Well Halt opened in 1903 and closed on 7th Jan 1957.  St Keyne Wishing Well Halt opened in 1860 and remains open to this day. To my knowledge, these are the only two stations named after wishing wells, though other types or well have features in Malvern Wells, Tenbury Wells, Royal Tunbridge Wells and so on.

For something a little different, visit http://www.michaelclemensrailways.co.uk/?mod=1&dok=23 where you can hear the sound of a steam train climbing from Weymouth. See also https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/19371487.just-steps-remain-upwey-wishing-well-halt-station/

* Does anyone fancy sorting out / writing up the story of multiple "Upwey" stations, "Upwey Junction" and "Upwey Wishing Well"?

* Does anyone fancy telling the story of the St Keyne well?




Copyright

[grahame]

Upwey Wishing Well Halt, and Upwey Wishing Well, 12th February 2022.  The wishing well is some distance from the site of the halt - in older days it might have been called "Upwey Wishing Well Road Halt".   

Sad to report the demise of Upwey Wishing Well Halt, Radipole Halt, Melcombe Regis, Westham Halt, Sandsfoot Castle Halt, Rodwell, Wkye Regis Halt and Portland. How would they have fared if they had survived to modern times, with alternate trains (from the Poole direction terminating at Weymouth and at Portland - bearing in mind that "Melcombe Regis" was virtually another platform at Weymouth Station in the same way as York Road / King's Cross, and as the stations at St Budeaux

[bradshaw]

This gives a good summary.
Upwey(GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) opened 1871, closed 1886. It was located 600m north of its replacement
Upwey jct 1886, renamed Upwey and Broadway 1952, renamed Upwey 1980, still open
Broadwey station on the Abbotsbury branch opened 1885, renamed Upwey in 1913 to avoid confusion with Broadway in Worcestershire, closed to passengers 1952 and became Upwey Goods stn until closure 1962
This os map of 1886 shows the location

https://maps.nls.uk/view/106011618

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/u/upwey_junction/#:~:text=Upwey%20Goods%20closed%20on%201,replaced%20with%20two%20bus%20shelters.

There is a modern tradition of Well Dressing first started in 1986, held in May, it follows the Derbyshire tradition of celebrating the purity of the spring water.