PORTLAND RAILWAY COMPANY

THIS ARCHIVE WAS PURCHASED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES COMMISSION/VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM PURCHASE GRANT FUND, THE FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARIES, AND THE FRIENDS OF DORSET'S ARCHIVES

Serious discussion concerning the formation and construction of a railway on the Isle of Portland began in 1824. The growing demand for transport of stone between the quarries and points of shipment hastened an early decision on the use of rail for this purpose. The trucks were to be horse-drawn.

By Act of Incorporation the Portland Railway Company came into being on 10 June 1825. It actually opened in October 1826, running from Priory Corner to Castletown pier. By the 1850s it was one of two private railway companies on the island, the other owning the Easton and Church Hope Railway. This latter company attempted to take over the Portland Railway in 1886 but the necessary Bill failed in Parliament after much opposition.

The Portland Railway continued to operate until September 1939, the track remaining in position until 1957. Land belonging to the Company was sold to Portland Urban District Council in 1963. Thus no physical assets remained except the Steward family's railway which joins the old Portland Railway and runs to the quarries beyond New Ground. The Company, however, was not dissolved until 1972, when the administrative section was finally wound up.