Maiden Newton railway station
Maiden Newton railway station is a railway station serving the village of Maiden Newton in Dorset, England. The station is located on the Heart of Wessex, from the zero point at London Paddington, measured via Swindon and Westbury. History. Opened on 20 January 1857 by the Great Western Railway with the section of their route from to . This completed the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth line from , the first part of which had opened in 1848. The station consisted of two platforms with a flint station building and goods shed at the south end. A signal box  was added later - it was closed in the summer of 1988, when the "no signalman token system" was introduced between Maiden Newton and Yeovil. From 1857 to 1975 the station was the junction for the Bridport Railway and an extra bay platform was added at the north end of the station for these trains. This can still be seen at the west end of the station and this end of the trackbed is a footpath and cycleway. The station is Grade II listed. The main station building was built for the opening of the station and although in the style  of Isambard Kingdom Brunel is most likely to designs by his assistant Robert Pearson Brereton. It is constructed of flint with Hamstone dressings and an artificial slate roof. The other buildings within the listing include a smaller shelter with Welsh slate roof, and the footbridge of reinforced concrete installed in the 1950s by the Western Region of British Railways. The station building survives but is no longer used by the railway. Location. The station retains two platforms as it is a passing place on the single line between Dorchester West and Yeovil. The entrance is on the northbound platform, the  side closest to the village. Access to the southbound platform is normally by the footbridge but there is a level crossing at the south end of the station for passengers who are unable to use the bridge. Services. Great Western Railway operate services from , , and to . South Western Railway used to run additional services between and Yeovil Junction on Summer Saturdays. Signalling. The electric key token instrument for the block section to Yeovil are now operated by the train crew under the supervision of the signal operator based at Yeovil Pen Mill. The block section to Dorchester West is operated  under the "tokenless single line" principle with track circuiting.