The Heart of Wessex Line runs from Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth, a distance of 88 1/4 miles. Trains take approximately 2hrs 25min to complete the journey. All trains are operated by Great Western Railway although South Western Railway runs some services between Bristol and Westbury, and also in the summer between Yeovil Junction and Weymouth via Yeovil Pen Mill. Just before Weymouth station, the Weymouth Quay Tramway diverges off and makes its way through the town to the quay however the last regular passenger services ran in 1987 and the line is currently disused. Stations There are 20 stations on the route: 1. Bristol Temple Meads 2. Keynsham 3. Oldfield Park 4. Bath Spa 5. Freshford 6. Avoncliff 7. Bradford-on-Avon 8. Trowbridge 9. Westbury (joins the Reading to Taunton Line as far as Castle Cary) 10. Frome (on a loop off the main Reading to Taunton line) 11. Bruton 12. Castle Cary (diverges from the Reading to Taunton Line and start of single line section to Dorchester Jn) 13. Yeovil Pen Mill (passing station on the single line between Castle Cary and Dorchester and also the start of the short branch up to Yeovil Junction on the West of England Line between Salisbury and Exeter) 14. Thornford (request stop) 15. Yetminster (request stop) 16. Chetnole (request stop) 17. Maiden Newton (passing station on the single line) 18. Dorchester West (final station before joining the South Western Mainline shortly after) 19. Upwey 20. Weymouth Signalling The signals along the route are all colour light signals with the exception of the Yeovil Pen Mill station area which is controlled by upper-quadrant semaphores from the signal box just north of the platforms. Tunnels Bristol to Westbury: St Anne's Park No.2 Tunnel (154 yards long) St Anne's Park No.3 Tunnel (1017 yards long) Saltford Tunnel (176 yards long) Twerton Long Tunnel (264 yards long) Twerton Short Tunnel (45 yards long) Sydney Gardens West Tunnel (99 yards long) Sydney Gardens East Tunnel (77 yards long) Bradford Tunnel Westbury to Weymouth: Evershot Tunnel Grimston & Frampton Tunnel Poundbury Tunnel Bincombe Tunnel Rolling stock Trains between Bristol and Weymouth are operated by a mix of Class 150/158/159 Sprinters and Class 166 Turbos since 2018 also a HST used to operate the Weymouth Wizard service on Summer Saturdays however the HSTs are now being replaced by new IETs and this service will be operated by Turbos from Summer 2018. At Westbury a mix of freight locos Class 08, 59, 60, 66 and 70 operate in the yard. I think this route would be a great addition to Train Simulator.
AWESOME!!!! I've always wanted this route, mainly because I've ridden the Class 150/2, Class 150/1 and Class 153 countless of times from Weymouth to Yeovil Pen Mill and back, and I enjoyed it! I've even started building maybe the first quarter-mile or so, from Yeovil in the direction of Weymouth. The bridge that's there is also in my map, and the foliage and speed boards are exactly the same as per reality, if I do say so myself. Here's some pictures of it (more will follow, I can't upload any more): Pen Mill Junction by 52_Western posted Mar 8, 2018 at 12:39 PM Map View Of Yeovil Pen Mill by 52_Western posted Mar 3, 2018 at 10:08 AM
The route from Bristol TM to Castle Cary via Westbury containing the first 12 stations can be found in Just Trains 'South Western Expressways'