Abbotsbury Railway

As described above steam railmotors were introduced in the area from 1905. This did not displace locomotives completely, and a number of 517 class 0-4-2T locomotives were in use with auto-trailers in the area. Both forms of train were referred to as railmotors and there is some ambiguity about the term; it is likely that both forms of traction co-existed. The goods service declined in volume considerably in the 1920s, and the goods trains were reduced at first to three days a week, and later to mixed trains only.

From September 1937 a new series of 0-4-2T was introduced, the 48XX class, and they came to dominate working on the branch. They were renumbered in the 14XX series later, a number sequence that had been used for earlier types of the same wheel arrangement.

In February 1936 the first GWR diesel railcar allocation to Weymouth took place, and in due course this type appeared on the Abbotsbury branch.

In the summer of 1939 there were seven passenger trains each way daily, and four on Sundays, the latter being worked by the GWR diesel railcars.

The end of the independent existence of the Abbotsbury Railway came suddenly, when a board meeting on 19 November 1895 approved the terms of a sale to the GWR. The purchase was formalised on 7 August 1896 by the Great Western Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. ccxxxii). The purchase cost the GWR £27,561.

An accident

A derailment occurred on 23 January 1894: the 6 p.m. passenger train from Weymouth to Abbotsbury hauled by Armstrong standard good locomotive no 52 running tender first was negotiating the sharp curve between Upwey Junction and Upwey stations. The leading (in the direction of travel) coupled wheels derailed to the right, by the flange climbing the high rail. The parliamentary plans showed the curve to be 12 chains radius, but there was a short section at 8½ chains. The locomotive class had a relatively long rigid wheelbase, at 15ft 8ins and there was no check rail. The driver was found to be working regular shifts of 14 hours 5 minutes on six days a week, although this was not contributory to the accident.

Major Marindin was the Board of Trade inspector and as well as calling attention to the hours of duty, he recommended that the sharpest part of the curve should be eased and relaid "with a chair road", (the existing track was flat-bottom rail spiked direct to the sleepers); to fit a check-rail and to increase slightly the slackness of gauge; and "to work passenger trains on the branch only with tank engines and as far as possible to avoid running six-wheel coupled engines upon it".

This ban in the meantime left the motive power duties on the line to other designs, notably the 0-4-2T's which ran for many years. The "517" class gave way to the "14xx"class which were used for passenger and goods traffic until closure. Steam rail motors ran on the line for a few years but having the same weaknesses here as elsewhere were converted to auto trailers. Towards the end of the line's existence GWR diesel railcars were used to reduce costs.