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'Momentous day' as rebuilt line links with station

North Dorset Railway The photographer is on an embankment looking down on eleven people wearing orange hi-viz and hard hats working on a railway line on a bright sunny day. Two mini diggers stand alongside the track and the men are levering the final section of steel into place on the sleepers. On the track in the background is a green steam locomotive.North Dorset Railway
The team spent three years rebuilding the embankment before track laying could begin

Volunteers rebuilding a section of railway that was ripped up in the 1960s have laid the final section of a track extension, linking it to a station.

North Dorset Railway is reinstating a section of the line at Shillingstone station, which is already home to a popular railway museum and cafe.

Its completion means there is now half a mile (0.8km) of track from the station that will eventually enable the charity to operate brake van rides for visitors.

The group described the milestone as a "momentous day" but said there was still much work to do before it could welcome passengers.

North Dorset Railway Close-up of a large gold-coloured bolt with a square head and the initials AS embossed on the top. It's screwed into a sleeper chair that holds the railway line to the wooden sleeper.North Dorset Railway
A "golden screw" secured the final section of track

Work to extend the track a further 400m north of the station began in 2021 with the diversion of the North Dorset Trailway.

This was followed two years of earthworks, before the first sleeper could be laid in November 2024.

The project was made possible by supporters who bought the land, donated materials and loaned machinery.

The final "golden screw" was put in place by operations manager Phil Jacques who described the final day of work as a "Herculean task" involving "12 volunteers working a nine-hour shift in 26ºC, continually supplied with water and other drinks, and food by another group of five volunteers".

Mr Jacques said there was still "many more weeks" of work ahead, with the next milestone being an inspection by the Office of Rail and Road.

North Dorset Railway The photographer is standing on the railway track where eleven people wearing orange hi-viz and hard hats and two mini diggers are working. In the background is a green steam locomotive.North Dorset Railway
Volunteers have worked in all weathers to build the track extension

Shillingstone station closed in 1966 when the nationalised railways were restructured but, in 2005, a group of locals took on the lease and began restoration work.

Over the years, volunteers have repaired the platforms, re-laid the tracks and restored the station building.

The signal box, which had been demolished, was completely rebuilt, and members have been carefully restoring a growing collection of wagons and locomotives.

There are now more than 100 volunteers who help run the cafe, tend the garden, renovate stock, build infrastructure, and provide technical and administrative services.

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