The Bournemouth area - in the mid 1850's still largely undeveloped - was served from 1862 via a branch from Ringwood to Christchurch. In 1863, the Somerset and Dorset (S&D) reached LSWR metals at Wimborne. Rails were extended to Poole (1872), Poole Harbour (1874) and Bournemouth West (1874). The imposing new station at Bournemouth Central opened in 1888 as part of a new LSWR cut-off route connecting Brockenhurst directly to Bournemouth, bringing the latter 8.5 miles nearer to Waterloo. The last section of the route was completed in 1893 with the opening of the Holes Bay curve, linking Hamworthy directly with Poole.

The Bournemouth to Weymouth line passed to the Southern Railway (SR) in 1923 and to the southern region of British Railways (BR(S)) in 1948. In 1950, the former GWR line from Castle Cary was transferred to BR(S), although BR's Western Region continued to operate the line. Indeed, not much changed until the late 1950s, when direct services from Weymouth to Paddington were withdrawn.

Most of the main line remains open today, although shorn of most of its sidings and branches. The Ringwood line had faded in importance after opening of the LSWR's cut off route and closed in 1964. Bournemouth West closed in September 1965, and the S&D line closed in March 1966. Electrification of the Waterloo-Bournemouth line was completed in July 1967, bringing steam to an end on what was by then the last steam-operated main line in Britain. The third rail reached Weymouth in 1988, bringing the resort its best-ever passenger service.   

Sharp Jones Pottery was served by a spur adjacent to Branksome station. Traffic was usually worked by Bournemouth B4s but larger locos worked wagons into the exchange sidings.

Saltern tramway. This private line ran from Parkstone station yard to the George Jennings pottery, which boasted its own Peckett shunting engine, and on to shipbuilding and engineering works at Salterns pier, 1.25 miles away.

Poole Gasworks was opened in 1923 on land reclaimed east of Poole station. The gasworks and its private sidings closed in 1972.

Poole Tramway. Opened in 1874, this freight-only tramway ran for about a mile from Poole station along West Quay Road to the Quay. It was worked primarily by B4 class 0-4-0 tanks. It closed in 1960.

Hamworthy Goods. Opened in 1847, this short branch from Hamworthy Junction closed to passengers in 1896 but remains open for freight. Again, B4 tanks were the usual visitors in steam days with several private owner locos working the wharves. The line served a number of private sidings including architectural pottery and shipbuilding.

Admiralty Cordite Works, Holton Heath.  Holton Heath halt (opened in 1916) and adjacent exchange sidings were provided by the LSWR to serve this sprawling site, which operated its own narrow guage railway serving both the works and an adjacent jetty. The works closed in 1961 and the site is now an industrial park, but the adjacent halt remains open.

Swanage. The Swanage branch opened in 1885 and became reasonably prosperous thanks to summer excursion traffic and mineral workings at Furzebrook. Goods services ceased in 1965 and the branch closed in 1972, with only the section to Furzebrook remaining open for mineral traffic. The section from Swanage to Harmans Cross was later reopened by the Swanage Railway as a preserved line.

Abbotsbury. This sleepy rural branch from Upwey opened in 1885, operated by the GWR. It never achieved its promise of mineral traffic and closed in 1952, with Upwey station remaining open to goods until 1962.

Weymouth Quay. From 1865, this served the Channel Island steamers operated by the GWR and later BR from Weymouth harbour. It carried both boat trains and freight, primarily agricultural produce, via a street tramway. Traffic boomed after the war with increasing excursion traffic and the transfer of Channel Island service from Southampton, but dwindled from the 1960s due to competition from air services and Weymouth's inability to handle container traffic. Passenger services ceased in 1987 and the tramway is now disused.  

Portland. The branch from Weymouth to Portland opened in 1865 and was extended to Easton in 1900. Its principal sources of traffic were the Portland stone quarries and the Naval docks. The line was jointly worked by the GWR (freight) and LSWR (passenger). The line closed to passengers in 1952 and the last goods train ran in 1965.

Weymouth Quay. A boat train ran daily between Paddington and Weymouth Quay, arriving at 12:30pm and returning at 3:40pm in the 1947 timetable. An additional service ran from Birmingham at 8am on Saturdays, returning via Bristol to Cardiff. From 1959, the boat trains ran to and from Waterloo instead. An arriving train would stop at Weymouth junction where the engine - usually a Castle from Old Oak Common, or a Merchant Navy after 1959 - would be removed together with any dining cars and Town coaches. The train would then be hauled to the Quay station by a tramway loco. Freight from the Quay was mostly flowers, tomatoes and other perishable products from the Channel Islands which were conveyed in vans or latterly in conflats by a string of fast fitted "Per Pot" trains routed via Westbury. Bunker oil tanks were also provided for refuelling the ships. Freight traffic was frequently remarshalled in Weymouth yard before departing, usually behind a Hall or 28xx. The maximum speed on the tramway was 4mph with a railwayman being required to walk ahead of the loco with a warning flag; even so, trains were frequently delayed by parked cars. The tramway was usually worked by the 13xx class until 1962 and thereafter by 57xx and Ivatt 2MTs tanks and diesel shunters.

Dorchester South recorded 55 daily train movements in the 1954 WTT. Most SR passenger services started or finished at Weymouth, a notable exception being the Night Mail from Waterloo which ran to and from here. Stopping trains from Weymouth had to reverse into the up platform, a legacy of its days as a terminus. In contrast, most SR goods traffic terminated in Dorchester, only a fish train from Christchurch and the service to and from Nine Elms continuing on to Weymouth, the latter to link with the Portland goods traffic. Goods services also ran to Poole, Bevois Park and from Eastleigh, Brockenhurst and Bournemouth. The goods yard was furnished with a large shed and ample livestock facilities for the local cattle market; private sidings served the adjacent Eldridge Pope brewery and Eddisons steamroller works. In the afternoon the station pilot - usually a G6 - would also trip exchange goods traffic to Dorchester West, either hauling direct to West yard or to the exchange sidings at Dorchester Junction.

Poole saw 170 daily movements from the Weymouth, S&D and West Moors lines. Poole terminated only two passenger services, although all passenger services were required to stop here. Poole had a busy medium-sized goods yard, extended during the war. Until 1960, goods trains also ran from here via a short tramway to Poole Quay. It was the only location on the route other than Weymouth where banking was permitted, with spare locos being made available at Poole through the day to provide assistance where required up the two mile, 1 in 60 bank to Parkstone. 

Bournemouth West was the busiest steam worked terminus on the Southern region, handling most passenger services from Waterloo and from Bath and the North via the S&D. Other than Waterloo services, long distance services ran to Bristol, York, Birkenhead and Manchester. Local services were provided by an M7 and a push-pull train, and ran to Wimborne or Brockenhurst via Poole. Services were also provide to Fareham, Salisbury, Brighton and Portsmouth. West was serviced by a large carriage depot at Branksome handling its allocation of 130 passenger coaches, and an adjacent engine shed that handled S&D locos and non-local SR locos out of Central. There was a small goods yard with only two scheduled goods trains daily, running to Eastleigh (fish) and Bath (mail/goods). The busy station pilot, usually an M7, was required to give a push-off to some heavier trains departing up the 1 in 90 gradient that started at the platform ends. M7s also worked some of the lighter express services to and from Central.

Bournemouth Central was of a compact size that belied its busy status with 114 daily movements in the 1954 working timetable. Accomodation was limited with two bays supplementing the up platform and a double-length down platform able to accomodate two trains. Adjacent to the station, a cramped four road shed was kept busy servicing its large allocation (see below) and servicing loco changes. Express services from Waterloo usually divided here into portions for Bournemouth West and for the Weymouth line, with the reverse performed for up services. Passenger services also ran to Weymouth, Eastleigh, and Oxford. Local services were relatively sparse, mostly using Bournemouth West and running to Brockenhurst via the West Moors line and to Swanage. Goods services were handled from the adjacent goods yard on the site of the original station.

1950 (82F) - 1366 (1367-8, 1370), 14xx (1453-4, 1467), 1501 (1789), 43xx (5305, 5314, 5328, 5337-8, 5359, 5384), 45xx (4507, 4520, 4527, 4562), 57xx (9642), 74xx (7408), Saint (2912), Castle (4080), Hall (4930, 4988, 5968, 5978, 6902, 6912, 6945, 6988, 6993). Total 31.

1952 (82F) - Railcar (20), 1366 (1367-8, 1370), 14xx (1453-4, 1467), 43xx (5305, 5314, 5328, 5337, 5338, 6375), 45xx (4507, 4520, 4527, 4562), 57xx (9620, 9764), Hall (4907, 4988, 6945, 6988, 6993), 74xx (7408).  Total 25.

1955 (82F) - Railcar (25), 1366 (1367-8, 1370), 14xx (1403, 1467), 43xx (5314, 5337, 5384), 51xx (4150), 57xx (3692, 4624, 5781, 9620, 9642), Hall (4988, 5978, 5997, 6902, 6919, 6945, 6993), 74xx (7408). Total: 23 

1959 (71G) - 1366 (1367-8, 1370), 14xx (1453, 1474), 43xx (5384, 6344, 7303), 45xx (4507, 4562), 51xx (4133, 4166), 57xx (3737, 4624, 4689, 5784, 7780, 7782, 8799, 9620), Hall (6914), Std 5MT (73017-8, 73020, 73022, 73029). Total 26.

1965 (70G) - Merchant Navy (35005, 35007, 35012, 35014, 35016, 35017, 35019, 35022, 35026, 35028, 35029, 35030), Std 2MT (41261, 41284, 41298, 41305, 41324), Std 5MT (73002, 73018, 73020, 73042, 73080, 73083). Total 23.

A former GWR shed, Weymouth became Western Region 82F but was transferred to the Southern Region in 1959, resulting in an influx of Bulleid Pacifics and BR Standard classes. Prior to this date SR locos used the facilities but were not shedded here, SR services at Weymouth being worked principally by a large variety of Dorchester or Bournemouth locos. Long haul WR services were dominated by Halls and 43xx Moguls, although a Castle was shedded here until the mid 1950's to work the Paddington boat train. The 14xx and railcar allocation worked local WR services and the Abbotsbury branch, whilst Weymouth's 14xx, 45xx and 57xx classes worked the Bridport branch: Bridport shed, a sub-shed to Weymouth, closed in 1959. The 1366 class worked principally on the tight curves of Weymouth. In addition to regulars from other sheds, a large variety of SR, WR and some LMR locos worked into Weymouth on excursion and special traffic. 

1953 (71C) - 02 (2), G6 (1), T9 (1), U (5). Total 9.

Dorchester shed covered a handful of local SR workings and contingency work, including banking at Bincombe, that could not be serviced by Bournemouth. The O2 allocation worked the Portland branch. Although two Lord Nelsons were briefly allocated here in 1954, the shed was progressively run down prior to closure in 1957.

1953 (71B) - B4 (3), M7 (13), G6 (1), 02 (2), 700 (1), T9 (3), Q (3), N15 (12), Lord Nelson (5), West Country (11). Total 54.

1955 (71B) - B4 (30087, 30093), M7 (30056-60, 30104-7, 30111-12, 30128, 30318), G6 (30162, 30260), 02 (30212, 30223), Q (30541, 30548-9), 700 (30690, 30695), T9 (30706, 30728)  King Arthur  (30736-43, 30782-3), Lord Nelson (30861-5), West Country (34043-4, 34093-5, 34105-8), Battle of Britain (34109-10), Merchant Navy (35014, 35022). Total 54.   

Bournemouth was the main shed for the country end of the Waterloo line and was dominated by large passenger locos. Through-engine working from Waterloo to Weymouth began in 1953, but many trains still changed engines here. Lord Nelsons, King Arthurs and Bulleid Pacifics shared express work in the 1950s, with the Bulleids and Standard classes dominating in the 1960s. M7 tanks, many of them push-pull fitted, performed most local passenger work, including Swanage services, until replaced by Standard 2MT tanks in the early 1960s. The B4 allocation worked the Poole and Hamworthy quay branches, whilst the elderly T9's seem to have spent most of their time on local services on the Ringwood line. Former GWR locos on cross-regional workings were regular visitors to the shed.

Branksome had no permanent loco allocation but as both the nearest shed to Bournemouth West and an overflow for the congested Central shed it performed an important role, servicing both SR locos and those from the S&D, for which five crews were allocated here in BR days. Scheduled visitors in 1954 were Bulleid Pacifics, T9s, and LMR classes 4F, Black 5 and 2P 4-4-0, with ex-S&D 2-8-0 7Fs appearing frequently on summer passenger services.