<DIV>The Salisbury & Dorset Junction Railway was built to consolidate the L&SWR's domination of Hampshire and south Dorset, in an effort to keep the GWR away from Bournemouth. It also gave Salisbury businessmen a more direct route to Poole and Weymouth. Passing through three counties, it traversed contrasting landscapes and served a wide if thinly populated agricultural area. The water meadows between Downton and Fordingbridge produced cattle, milk, and watercress. Year-round passenger traffic on the line was at best erratic, but the line provided a useful diversionary and holiday route. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the line sadly became a victim of the Beeching axe in 1964. Since then, however, the populations of the towns it once served have grown considerably, and had it remained open, it would have proved very useful, particularly for travel to Salisbury and the Bournemouth-Poole conurbation.</div>