What do you consider is responsible for the threatening atmosphere? You mention "undesirables", but what attracts these people to this one, small, area of Weymouth?

 

Good social distancing.  Did that Ice Cream shack ever open for them? 

 

Oh, that can be done:



 

 
I think the trouble with Weymouth is that despite it being one of our nicer seaside towns, the area round the station is not very nice at all. 

Every time I’ve been there I’ve always felt there was a threatening atmosphere and if you provide toilets at the station they will be routinely vandalised unless you spend a disproportional amount on security to keep out the undesirables.

The best approach would be to improve the general area first, which isn’t within the scope of the railway of course.

 
Letter from the Dorset Echo by Sally Puplampu


Loads of comments too - almost all in support of Sally's view that the lack of available public toilets at the station is not clever, and some widening on to the view that the station in general is pretty unwelcoming in spite of expenditure on "improvements" in the last year or so.

 
From the BBC:


Shocking! 

 
Not exactly top of my list of disruptions but


Looks like a personal accident waiting to happen for someone who needs an accessible loo. Up-thread advice to people wanting to use the loo at Weymouth Station has been "use the toilets on the train" ... Oops.

 

You're right.  The old tramways track has been gentrified into a walkway with interpretation signs.  The frontage of the station has indeed been redone.  But that's not much help when the station building is closed from (?) mid afternoon on a sunny summer Saturday, with passenger for trains having to find their way around the side of the building to the back gate.

Yes, there *is* a shiney new high fence with gates around the back, and no doubt they are closed after the final train.   Staff member? - yes, you are correct that there's a train dispatcher (if not his official title, the role he has playing) in the office off to one side of the station building.  It was not obvious to me that he was available to help people and the office has no windows through which you can see someone inside. And when the main building is closed, the only way to see the departure board is to squint road to see it.

Yes, things have been done.  It could be so vastly improved by having a departure screen displaying next trains as passengers enter through the (!) back gate, and having the member of staff spend his time between dispatching obviously available and approachable to customers.

 
Weymouth station and immediate area have actually been upgraded in recent months. The front of the station has been remodelled with a new public space and history boards. The car parking has been reorganised and the platform canopies have been repainted and ?reglazed where required. A cafe also operates in the station which last year was a much newer innovation. The former quay branch nearby was made into a linear park (although not to the original glamorous plan!). This mostly involved Dorset Council funding although NR and SWR probably contributed. The final change has been erection of a new fence and gate on the car park side to prevent access out of hours. I always found it surprising that open access prevailed until now when trains were parked overnight. 

The toilets do seem to be permanently shut now which is disappointing but due to the anti-social behaviour experienced in the past. Although I have not visited the station very late in the evening (recently) I do believe it is staffed until close of play (ie after midnight)  but you need to seek out the staff in their little office to the left of the ticket office area when viewed from the platform. A sign indicates "customer help etc."

I have not visited the station for a few weeks so it is possible that some of the above is not accurate but I have been a regular visitor over many years.

 

 

 
I didn't see the underground toilets. These are the ones I used (minus the green fence). It's good to see a local council improving or increasing toilet facilities when many others have chosen to close them.

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/18618576.weymouth-esplanades-new-toilet-beach-office-will-open/

 
The new CRP struggles to make the station look open and vibrant amongst all the rules


I suspect there ARE loos but they are reserved for staff and customers aren't catered for. 
Mind you, the one esplanade has special loos for underground ladies, whoever they are.

 

I have to agree with your comments. I was there on Saturday, went to find the loo, found there was none so went back to the train I had just got off and used the toilet on that. There was a sign suggesting I use toilets on the esplanade and having done that later in the day I can report that they are not exactly close to the station. But they are plentiful unisex cubicles in good condition.

And yes I found the front gate locked on my return too. I can't remember if there was a sign pointing to the side entrance. I just knew it was there.

 
All the lovely new stuff out the front, and Weymouth Station remains a disappointment.    I didn't comment on it earlier today; I had simply drawn a deep breath yesterday, sadly noticed in unimproved from this thread 4 years ago.   However, SWR asked me via a survey my opinion, so this is what I wrote.


Not really helped for newcomers to rail being faced with a train with a scrolling screen labelled "Barnstaple" which was (of course) going to Swindon.   

 
Press reports seem to indicate the toilets will not be reopened. In theory a reduction in anti-social behaviour around the station might prompt a rethink!

 
Does it include the re-opening of the toilets on the station?

 
According to this piece from Construction magazine, the improvement work at Weymouth station has now been completed.

 
Thanks for this.

Ooh, maps.nls.uk has 1:500 mapping of the station:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/231274875

Mark

 

We did the history of this not long ago (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=26383.msg322057#msg322057). The land sort of made itself.

 
Quite surprised at the amount of made ground to the left of the railway in Weymouth since 1900.

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14.136666666666667&lat=50.61924&lon=-2.44919&layers=168&b=4

Mark

 
The platforms normally used by SWT are the 1957 excursion platforms. The rest of the station was demolished in preparation for electrification and a new, short platform built for the GWR services

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/w/weymouth/

 
Further data - from OpenTrain Times, and for NLS via out map page




Click on the images to see them bigger

 
Weymouth station was cut right back at a low point and these days is woefully inadequate on a nice summer's day. Even in the least destructive options in things like the Serpell Report, Weymouth was to only be the terminus of a line running from Southampton and that platform is just a token "we had better provide something for the moment" for the moment while the old GWR line to Yeovil dies.

 

Probably, it is the one on the left if you stand in the station foyer.

 
Is this platform 1 that you are referring to froome? If so, I agree that there isn't much capacity on this platform when there are passengers waiting for the incoming train on a busy summers day.

 
My partner caught a train from Bath to Weymouth last week, which arrived an hour late, and said that when she tried to get off at Weymouth, the platform was so crowded by people waiting to board it, that it became dangerous to try to walk down the platform, and especially beyond where the end of the train was, as she felt she would get pushed off the platform by the crowds.

Although I haven't experienced it that overcrowded, there have always been large crowds on the platform when I have got off, and it does make it awkward to get out of the station easily. The platform certainly doesn't feel like it has enough capacity for the demands on popular services.

Is this an issue that is being addressed at all?

 
From
https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/roads-highways-maintenance/highway-improvements/weymouth-branch-line-track-removal

 
Title should probably be Weymouth station front; the seafront is unaffected, and was glorious when I visited a couple of weeks back.

This does look as though it should be a big improvement, and on a related note although much of the old tramway through the streets has been removed there is still a section through a car park which I suspect will survive for some time as it seems unlikely to bother anyone or need any maintenance.  I remember watching the boat trains creeping through the town in the early 70s.  A fascinating but distinctly cumbersome and archaic operation, and quite a spectator sport with the almost inevitable wait for a badly-parked car to be moved out of the way.  I could see why it stopped running before the boats did.

I was pleased to see that the local bus fleet still lives in a proper garage opposite the station rather than being stored exposed to the elements on a patch of wasteland as is more typical nowadays; particularly beneficial given the sea air.

 
The sectional appendix still showed 21 ch (say 400m) available, which I think is about the length between the junction with the single track section of the main line, and the gates on the north side of Jubilee Cl near that signal.   Possibly a bit longer than needed for any reasonably expected use?

Paul

 
I heard somewhere the quay branch stub is being retained as a storage area, so the signal has to remain lit as it is lamp proved, if no lamp, then stub cannot be signalled into.

 
Joining the lifting of that disused track to current issues with passenger numbers on the railway?  I’d say it’s two completely unrelated stories.

If he wants to know why the signal is still working?  It’s a significant cost to fully alter the signalling system, so as in probably hundreds of other examples, you have a red signal leading from or to nowhere.  I suspect that as that line is still usable up until just beyond that point, there’s been no urgency to remove it, I believe it would still need a small fixed red pointing the other way on a set of buffers?

 
Also available on BBC South Today.

A must for all Weymouth transport fans.

 
While compiling that report Paul Clifton posted this picture on Twitter.



Clearly glowing red despite the vegetation.  Be a worry if it was showing any other aspect.  It is the exit signal from the line to the harbour which, as we know, has been largely lifted!

 
Been featured on BBC spolight news for the south west of England on Friday evening.

Available for 24 hours only on the play again facilty.

 
approx 18:40pm on Tuesday night

BBC Local news available for 24 hours only on i player catch up thingy

 
Guessing you live very near Weymouth station then? yes agree the local roads are very narow, so pavement parking might be justified. perhaps narower cars...

 
On my road (which, fortunately, is a private one that the council have no jurisdiction over in some ways such as surfacing) if the residents didn't park on the pavement then other vehicles such as delivery vehicles, fire engines, ambulances and refuse collection vehicles would not be able to access the road due to insufficient room. If this is a serious idea then care needs to be taken as to where it is imposed.

Dave

 

Good old local newspaper "below the line" comments!   

 
From the Dorset Echo


The comments on the article indicate a lack of faith in any notice being taken of consultation inputs, suggests it's an awful lot of money achieving little, and suggest that the station should be move out of town with buses and / or trams for the final stretch into and around the town - perhaps down to the harbour, anyone? 

 
The best way to reuse any rail recovered from a roadway is via a blast furnace. Blackpool had to get rid of the original lines, buried for 80 years, to build the extension to North Station. Manchester had similar issues in places.

 

They are double rails with only a specific use within a roadway, presumably carried in special chairs.  Is it likely anywhere in the heritage world would need this particular type of rail rather than ?normal? rail?

Paul

 

In my limited experience of removing tram old lines from under roads removing them intact may well have been more expensive than removing them in small chunks.

 
I've heard no report or suggestion of the lifted rails being perhaps donated to a heritage railway somewhere.  It might sugar the pill a little for some of those most upset by what has happened.

On a personal note, I have walked along the line when I visited Weymouth a few years ago and like anywhere else with "road rails" I thought they added historic and architectural interest to the town..but that's just me.  It's unfortunate that they were perceived as a hazard. I did wonder if some simple filling of the gap could have been a cheaper remedy. It looks like the rotting sleeper fear was unfounded as from what I've seen they were made of concrete....oh well!

 
As I was born in Weymouth, but raised in our quayside house, I'm wondering whether Dad has any slides of trains running in front of the house.  Never been through his slides, too many of them.
He always talked about the trains running past, with the added vibrations.
A major job for retirement perhaps..

 

They have had a bad recent history in Weymouth, after the navy base closed, the the ferry moved to poole, Winfrith nucler reserch was moved, as well as the demise of Eldridge Pope in nearby Dorchester, which was not only a brewery, but a major canning plant for all sorts of customers, been for a tour, was a large local employer, so I do have some sympathy for West Dorset. A great place to set up a white goods manufacturing plant, after we have to pay tarrifs for European imports next year.

 

I get the impression that a story about a broken electric toaster would elicit much the same comments from the same darkened box-rooms. Entertainment must be hard to come by in that neck of the woods, since the Olympics left.

 
The photo shown in the Dorset Echo only shows the first phase of the work which has been recently completed. The remainder of the job towards Weymouth Quay will take several more weeks. The area along the quay may also prove more challenging (with some concreted sections) and "should" include the removal of various loops and sidings which have been part buried for some years and lie away from the main running line. 

 

A great example of the keyboard warriors that every newspaper of every town has contributing comments to their articles.  They all seem to live in the place that has the most corrupt officials, least competent workmen, and lots of other views that were clearly deemed too controversial and had to be deleted.

 

Not much of an epitaph, but there it is, gone.

 
Photo in Dorset Echo website

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/18812515.road-reopens-weymouth-rail-tracks-removed/

 
From the Dorset Echo

 

Well, sometimes it is people with specific agendas and narratives leads them to say things that the vast majority of people would think as strange to justify those belief...good old confirmation bias, and sometimes it's just because "There's nowt as queer as folk".

 

I am downloading it from iPlayer. I don't know if it is shareable if I can edit the bit out. I saw it last night, sad but seemingly inevitable. You have a very short time left to watch:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000n91n/spotlight-evening-news-05102020 Just after 12 minutes.

 
film footage on BBC spotlight 18:30pm local news on monday 5th october.

If you can record it,its available for TWENTY FOURS only 

 
From the BBC

 
It is hard to see where such (negative) opinions can possibly originate. The Weymouth Tramway has not seen a (proper) train for over 20 years so its final demise is not relevant to current rail economics. Should the entire rail industry be placed under extreme financial pressure then such harsh cuts might occur - at high political cost.

Most unlikely either route into Weymouth is under any current (or near future) pressure. Both routes are considered sufficiently viable in normal times and Weymouth can still build further on its top listings as a leisure destination.

 

And the article to support that tweet spawns letters and comments on those letters. The prophets of doom are at work in the Dorset Echo



I don't agree with the views quoted - I'm sharing them to flag that there are people who hold them ...

 
Work to start on removing tramway on October 5th

https://twitter.com/dorsetcounciluk/status/1307988426755579904?s=21

 
From the Dorset Echo

 
From the BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-51677959

 

According to this article in rail.co.uk it is closed:

It's not listed by the ORR has having been closed under the 2005 act, so I wonder if it wasn't open - in the sense of that act, at least. If there was no scheduled service, what was there to close? NR may have been able to close it without all that ... stuff required by the act.

 
The line is “permanently out of use”, and no longer shown in the online sectional appendix, but I’ve been monitoring this for years and don’t recall any recent closure procedures as per the 2005 Act requirements...

Perhaps its effective closure predates the Act?

 
I know the Tramway has been mothballed, but has the statutory formal closure procedure for the line and Weymouth Quay Station been started yet? That procedure is required by the Railway Act 2005 I believe.

 
It looks like the end of the line is very near


https://news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/2020/02/28/dorset-council-and-network-rail-win-funding-to-improve-road-safety-in-weymouth/

 
It is intended to remove sections of the line in order to determine the cost of complete removal.

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/18237062.end-line-weymouths-harbourside-tracks/

 
A version for women has been designed as well, but AFAIK so far only used at festivals.

 
The 1980s Weymouth Station modification/rebuild is certainly not without it's critics on this forum as has been the case for other examples of post WW2 station architecture . This got me thinking, do forum members have any examples of post WW2 Station architecture that they actually think works well, both aesthetically and functionally? Also, are there any notable "dishonourable mentions" that forum members would like to let off some steam about?

To avoid a total topic drift fiasco, I'll start a new thread in a couple of mo's somewhere under "The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom" heading.

 
Many of the male gender who have, like me, now got to "a certain age," can certainly empathise with this man's character...

 
Many towns in the UK have pissoirs that rise from the ground in the evening or are dropped off from a lorry on a Friday / Saturday night. A very sensible idea. Sorry ladies.

Of course in many European cities they are available 24/7. I don't know how much maintenance they need. Some may feel uncomfortable using them but I'm perfectly ok with them.

 
I've been away in Weymouth this weekend, so had a chance to see how much of a disappointment the station is. I have been there many times before, as I particularly like Weymouth as a resort.

Yes the toilets are closed, permanently by the look of it, and the station isn't particularly welcoming, but I know many that feel worse. I quite like the way you can walk from the platform straight out onto the street by the side and be in the heart of the town immediately, and while the area around the station is probably Weymouth's poorest, it only takes a minute to have the vista of the glorious crescent beach and all its activity and a walk along its prom.

In terms of toilet provision, Weymouth must now be one of the few main towns in the south-west which still has a reasonable number of public toilets and all free to use, unlike most tourist places where all are charged.

Personally I would have thought toilet provision ought to come under the remit of the Disability Discrimination Act, as many of us have disabilities which require frequent access to toilets. And provision on trains is no real substitute, as when they are working (which IME they often aren't), the trains can be so overcrowded that it can be very difficult to get to one, and for those who are very frail, trying to in a moving train is not practical.

 

Reminds me of a two (or was it three) coach Sprinter I got back from after the Cardiff FA Cup final in 2006. I had been in the huge queue outside Cardiff Central for what felt like an age, just missing being allowed through for the previous service. "Bursting" would be an understatement of mine and my fellow travellers condition by the time of the following service (due to a small amount of drowning of sorrows). Fortunately, I was first on the train when station staff allowed the queue to move again and first to it's loo. There was still a queue for it through the coach when I got off at Temple Meads.

Edit: I still feel more reassured using a public convenience only used by people who have already ( in theory at least) purchased a railway ticket.

 
It is OK to say "go on the train".  My very crowded 3 coach train to Weymouth last Saturday only had one out of three toilets in working order.  I suspect that ran out of water long before the end of the day.

 
Not if the TOC would need to pay for full-time security, I don't.

 

Indeed ... there really should be a minimum level of toilet provision.   For those meeting and greeting, seeing people off, arriving back at the station in good time, awaiting a delayed or cancelled train, just arrived thinking "we'll go to the loo when we get there", etc.   There are public loos in Weymouth - on the front, about 200 yards from the station.  Think some are still open but some closed.

Just on the train is - in my opinion - below that minimum level for a place like Weymouth.

 

They should be able to rely on a station toilet if like Bristol the LA has shut all public loos.

 

 
The trains generally have a toilet. Those without a ticket shouldn't rely on stations

 

From Gloucesterhire Live


Does strike me that just about all options to perform a natural body function that some of us need quite regularly are being taken away.  Wise advise I was given on how to say no:
* Express regret
*.Give reason
* Suggest alternative
With a practical alternative, fair enough but everyone has been reading "just say no".

I wonder if BTP at Weymouth have their own / access to staff toilets ...

 
An article from the Dorset Echo from last November was just recycled on my feeds for some reason ...


The comments on the article, as ever, set the local mood though ...







There seems to be elements in Weymouth who are less than proud of their station ...

 

Lots of history and very interesting pictures at http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/w/weymouth/

 

From the BBC earlier today ...


The article picks out Northern England ... but I wonder about some towns in the South West too, including Weymouth.

 
The current Weymouth Station (building) was built around 1983 to replace the vast and decaying Brunel era wooden relic. This had received bomb damage in the war and heavily modified to make is safe/usable. It was far too large for the then current traffic and much land was surrendered mainly for retail use! When new it was quite an improvement but is slightly neglected now. I am a regular traveller to Weymouth and, have perhaps once, seen the toilets locked out of use. They have not been closed "for years." They are, however, never currently available in the eveings - presumably once the ticket office closes. This has been the situation for a long time.

If I have not used the 20.21 Sat for a while now and maybe it is getting worse but I have had few negative experiences.

 
I don't know Weymouth but my general thoughts coincide with MrC's above. My first thoughts on seeing "toilets closed due to criminal misuse" (note misuse not damage) is "shooting gallery" and on knowing this is a seaside town, I add a depressed local economy and stag parties. (Yes, that's a lot of stereotyping in one sentence: by no means all stag parties are destructive, some coastal towns are thriving and there might be other reasons for this specific toilet closure - but as a generality, those are my thoughts.)

 

Sorry but I have to disagree. The issue with Weymouth (and similar seaside and holiday towns) is not the infrastructure but more that changes to social care, increasing numbers of anti-social elements and the growth of care in the community (amongst other policies) has led to the under-funded police and (para-)medical services as the only way to handle certain members of the population. Weymouth station is slap bang in the middle of a depressed seaside town with a huge drugs and drink problem so it's no wonder it's ended up the way it has. It's also the destination for a great number of summer travellers (mostly from Yeovil and points North) who's only aim is to get absolutely paralytic. The only way to avoid the issue would be to have the building permanently walled off with one or two entrance points and/or a permanent security staff presence. I can't see many on here welcoming either a walled-up station or an increase in their ticket prices to pay for heavy 24x7 security.

And frankly the current station architecture while not perfect is vastly better than the old dump with far better access to and from the car park/drop-off points, together with better disabled access.

 

 
Last time I went to Weymouth, I didn't go out the front of the station - our train did a rather odd manoeuvre involving backing up and then heading off down Commercial Road - which was a lot of fun and had the added benefit that my eyes were not assaulted by the truly abysmal station building.

Actually, from the dates I suspect that it was in the process of being built (if that is the correct term for assembling an architectural wart) when I last passed through. It is a product of the era that brought us the Serpell Report and the dequadrification of Filton Bank. If it acts as a magnet for ne'er-do-wells, then little wonder - its architecture is so similar to that of a Young Offenders' Institute, they probably feel right at home.

 
Whilst at Weymouth today I noticed that the notices state that the toilets are closed on the advice of BTP.  I also understand that the problems on the 2023 departure have now transfered to earlier departures because of the police presence on the former service

 
My understanding is that, according to the terms of TOC franchises, the stations need to be handed back/over in the same state or better than they were in on receipt. Working toilets would surely be a part of that but I suppose they could be repaired just prior to handover in order to minimise the risk of repeat repairs. If that is the case,  what then does that say about TOC station maintenance Ts and Cs?

 
I first met Graham outside the toilets at Weymouth Station (stop it!!) - so it isn't all bad.

Seriously though I do agree it doesn't create a good shop window for the place in the way, say, Brighton Station does.

 
Weymouth station is a poor first greeting to visitors to the town. Toilets have been closed ‘due to vandalism’ for a few years now. The lack of literature in the racks is a more recent thing but adds to the ‘we don’t care’ look and feel of this station.

SWR need to make more effort with this station but with the keys to the franchise probably due to be handed back soon to dft, I doubt they care.

I think Weymouth station just about sums up how much things have slipped on the SW mainline these past few years.

 

Weymouth Station and the area around it certainly didn't feel welcoming when I was there last Sunday.  Greeted by a revenue protection blockade, then (when clear of the platform) finding that the toilets were all locked.  A general uncared-for look - things like near-empty literature racks, and various laminated signs instructing passengers how to behave. Later in the day, a lack of enough seating for those people who had come back from the town in good time for the return train home, but which wasn't yet available to them and a heavy police presence. 

This "Welcome to Weymouth" message has extended beyond the station. Anyone anxious for a loo will find that the businesses on Queen Street just outside have "toilets for customer use only" signs, and the big advert on the Weyline Taxi office that faces you as you head out from the station offer you good fares to HMP Verne as its headline.  It does talk about return fares, at least!

First thoughts is "the vandals have won".  But I have no proof of that; not been in the loos, don't know how big a battle has been fought or whether they're a convenient excuse to provide only minimal facilities ... and that minimal facilities are a good way to keep non-travellers who are considered undesirable away from the station.

 
Station Toilets locked up due to vandalism,and no train/s in the station
One passenger requested if station staff could open one of the toilets and the station staff opened one of the toilets.
Another pasenger requested the same thing,and was told "use the trains toilets" as a train was now in the station.

 

Probably no worse than any other street running tramway.

The main problem when the boat train was running was cars parked inside the yellow lines. In places they were some distance from the running rail due to the overhang of the mark 1s on curves. So drivers thought they could park just over the line and got hit by the train! Also the length of the train. So similar problems would arise if it was a steam/diesel heritage operation.

A modern tram would have much less overhang and be shorter. The only problems with a modern tram would be that it is potentially  faster and quieter than a steam train

 
I'd be interested in seeing an up to date H&S assessment....

 
Dorset Echo (five months ago - must have missed it then - re-lifed via Facebook)

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/17422500.campaign-for-better-transport-calls-for-weymouth-harbour-tramway-to-be-reopened/


Article goes on to cover the history of the tramway and has brought lots of comment

 
More problems heading to the seaside today. A Cardiff to Weymouth railtour experienced delays on its way to Castle Cary. It missed its slot to Yeovil Pen Mill and was thus further delayed waiting for a Weymouth - Gloucester GWR service.

That railtour delay at Castle Cary also delayed the Waterloo - Corfe Castle SWR service behind it.

 
Looking at outcomes on Real Time Trains, return train set off from Dorchester West about 5 minutes late which (if information systems had worked effectively) would have allowed the majority of passengers from Weymouth to catch the 17:20 Waterloo train and walk between stations in Dorchester.   It was back on time after Westbury.

 

Or, as I heard an exasperated shopkeeper say once "I'm fed up of telling folk there's no demand for it!".

 
Indeed, it probably wouldn’t get back up.

 

And that would explain why they REALLY don't want it to go down the hill into Weymouth!

 

One engine out on 158955.

 
Looks like the 1740 relief bus out of Weymouth will be well used tonight due to...


Leading to...


Anyone know what the fault is?